Pharmacists will be reimbursed for any generic atorvastatin they purchased from wholesalers AAH and Phoenix when the drug was made available earlier this year, the NPA has advised.

The announcement follows an agreement by Teva UK, Rowlands Pharmacy, Day Lewis and wholesalers not to sell Teva's generic atorvastatin following a Lipitor patent row with manufacturer Pfizer.

Pharmacists caught up in the row had been forced to deal with a problem "that was not of their making", said NPA chief executive Mike Holden.

The association was relieved that the uncertainty over the sale of the product had ended, he added.

Community pharmacists found themselves in the middle of a dispute between Teva and Pfizer, after Teva launched a generic version of the drug Lipitor in June, which was sold to pharmacies.

Pfizer initially took out an injunction against the wholesalers and Teva to prevent the sale and distribution of the generic drug on June 20.

The Lipitor manufacturer was unsuccessful in its attempt to extend the injunction to prevent community pharmacists from dispensing the generic product, but Rowlands and Day Lewis were added to the list of defendants in the case. Asda escaped this after it agreed in court on July 22 that it would not deal or dispense generic atorvastatin.

The NPA had been in discussion with Pfizer and other parties throughout the dispute "to press for a satisfactory resolution", the association said.

All parties will comply with the latest agreement until Lipitor's patent expiries in May 2012.