Eli Lilly wins drug patent case vs Dr Reddy's in UK
18 Dec 2009
The UK Court of Appeal has upheld the validity of Eli Lilly's patent on its blockbuster schizophrenia drug Zyprexa. The ruling will help Indianapolis, US-based Eli Lilly to protect the patent on Zyprexa, or olanzapine, from the generic challenge of Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
The decision, which was welcomed by Eli Lilly and the British drug industry in general, is in tune with the recent tendency in the UK to uphold the validity of pharmaceutical patents, say observers.
An emerging global pharmaceuticals company, Dr Reddy's Laboratories' generics offerings deliver quality at cost-effective prices in the highly regulated markets of the United States, UK and Germany.
In the UK, Dr Reddy's has more than 30 products in the market. The company acquired Betapharm, Germany's 5th largest generics company, further consolidating its presence in the European Union (EU), with 145 products in the market.
Eli Lilly and Company was the first company to mass-produce penicillin and today is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of psychiatric medications.
Reportedly the most unethical company in the world, Eli Lilly was slapped the largest criminal fine in US history in January 2009 for illegal marketing of its best-selling product, the atypical antipsychotic medication, Zyprexa.