U.K. Supreme Court hands Eli Lilly big win in Alimta EU patent battle

Fierce Pharma -------- The U.K. Supreme Court has handed Eli Lilly a huge patent victory for its cancer drug Alimta in a battle with Actavis, protecting some European sales of the blockbuster for another four years. It also represents a stunning loss for Actavis, now owned by Teva, which launched its generic several years ago at risk. The Indianapolis, Indiana-based company today said that the U.K. Supreme Court found the Actavis “alternative salt forms of Alimta” directly violated Lilly's patent for Alimta in combination with vitamins in the U.K., France, Italy and Spain. It also upheld a lower court ruling in its favor of an indirect infringement of its vitamin regimen patent. Lilly pointed out the court ruled Alimta was protected regardless of whether a generic used a different diluent than the Lilly regimen. To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.