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Thursday, April 14, 2005

Ind. Decisions - [Updated] Judge Young rules FOR Lilly in generics' challenge to Zyprexa patents

In a 224-page decision issued this afternoon, Judge Richard Young in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in Indianapolis has ruled in favor of Eli Lilly in Lilly v. Zenith Goldline Pharmaceuticals, et al.

Bloomberg News had one of the first the reports here:

Eli Lilly & Co. won a court ruling that will prevent generic-drug makers from selling low-cost versions of its $4.4 billion-a-year Zyprexa schizophrenia drug before 2011.

U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young's decision to uphold the patent on the key ingredient in Zyprexa is a defeat for Ivax Corp., Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., which wanted to sell copies of the drug. The ruling was posted on the Indianapolis court's Web site today.

Zyprexa accounts for a third of Lilly's revenue and has been its top seller since generic competition emerged to the Prozac antidepressant in 2001. The ruling may have a ripple effect by shaping how investors view the outcome of patent cases involving Pfizer Inc.'s cholesterol drug Lipitor and the Plavix blood thinner sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., analysts said.

``If we were just waiting for Lilly, it wouldn't be such a big case,'' said Trevor Polischuk, a pharmaceuticals analyst at Orbimed Advisors in New York, before the ruling was announced. ``People are looking at the three of these, and the majority rules. If two or more go against the branded companies, then we will have bloodshed.'' * * *

See this ILB entry for background.

The Indianapolis Star has an early story by Jeff Swiatek on its website , access it here.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 14, 2005 05:03 PM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions