Eli Lilly & Co. won a ruling that its patents for its Evista osteoporosis treatment are valid, blocking an attempt by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to sell a generic version of the bone-loss drug.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker in Indianapolis, in a ruling yesterday, barred Teva from selling the drug in the U.S. before Eli Lilly’s patents have expired. The judge in April temporarily barred Teva from launching its product until she reached a final decision.
The ruling provides protection for Evista through March of 2014, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly said in a statement. Evista, in which the key ingredient is raloxifene, generated $1.08 billion in global sales last year, the company reported Jan. 29. That includes $700.5 million, or an average of almost $2 million a day, in the U.S.
“We are pleased with the court’s rulings on Evista’s method-of-use patents,” Robert A. Armitage, Eli Lilly’s general counsel, said in the statement yesterday. “We have always been very confident that these patents are valid and enforceable and today’s court ruling sends a clear message on the strength of those patents.”
FDA Approval
Teva, based in Petah Tikva, Israel, received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its generic version of the drug just before the nonjury trial began in March.
Teva, which alleged Lilly’s patents are obvious variations of already known science, had been prepared to begin marketing the drug immediately prior to the Barker’s April ruling blocking the release.
Lilly countered that prior know-how wouldn’t have led drug companies to come up with raloxifene and its property should be protected. Barker agreed, finding Teva infringed its patents and barring Teva from manufacturing and selling the raloxifene product.
“Teva has failed to meet its burden to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence invalidity of the bone loss patents on the basis of obviousness,” Barker wrote in her 120- page decision.
Teva plans to appeal the ruling, the company said in a statement.
Lilly fell 4 cents to $32.41 at 10:03 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Teva American depositary receipts, each representing one ordinary share, rose 15 cents to $50.76 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.
The case is Eli Lilly v. Teva, 06-cv-01017, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
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