Dr Reddy's loses patent case with Eli Lilly over Alimta

Dr Reddy's Laboratories Limited has lost a legal battle with Eli Lilly and Company in a patent litigation on Alimta (pemetrexed for injection), a drug used for the treatment of various types of cancer, in the USA.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled in favor of Lilly, a release from the US drug maker said.

The court held that the Alimta (pemetrexed for injection) vitamin regimen patent would be infringed by the competitor that had stated its intent to market alternative salt forms of pemetrexed prior to the patent's expiration in May 2022.

"We are pleased with today's (June 22) District Court ruling finding the Alimta vitamin regimen patent would be infringed by the competitor's proposed products," Michael J. Harrington, Lilly's senior vice-president, and general counsel said reacting to the court's judgment.

He also said Lilly's extensive research to discover the "Alimta vitamin regimen patent deserved intellectual property protection."

In a separate decision on June 15, the District Court also ruled in favor of Lilly in the case of Eli Lilly and Company Vs Hospira, Inc.

These rulings mean Dr.Reddy's Laboratories and Hospira will be prevented from launching their alternative salt forms of the pemetrexed until the patent expires.

In October 2017, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled in the company's favour regarding the patentability of the vitamin regimen for Alimta.

According to the annual report 2017 of Eli Lilly, Alimta clocked USD 2.06 billion worldwide including USD 1.03 billion in the USA.