The “Indianapolis Star” reports that US drug maker Eli Li;lly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) has sued Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) in the US District Court of Southern District of Indiana to block Teva from marketing generic Evista for the treatment of osteoporosis.
The “Indianapolis Star” says Eli Lilly has several patents on the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in Evista. The latest patent expires in 2017.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Evista in 1997. Evista is a blockbuster drug with $1 billion in US sales a year, and one of Eli Lilly’s top-selling drugs. The company’s best known drug is Prozac.
The lawsuit is part of the usual battle by ethical drug companies against the generic drug industry, as the ethical companies try to defend their branded drugs when the patents expire.
Teva has been involved in two prominent battles this past month, in which Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) is trying to defend branded Zocor, a cholesterol treatment, and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE; LSE:PFZ) is trying to defend branded Zoloft, an antidepressant.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 2, 2006
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