Another Alimta vitamin regimen patent win for Lilly

In a string of patent infringement cases wins involving Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), on Friday the company announced that the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled in favor of Lilly that the Alimta (pemetrexed for injection) vitamin regimen patent would be infringed by a competitor that had stated its intent to market alternative salt forms of pemetrexed prior to the patent's expiration in 2022.

The ruling came in the case of Eli Lilly versus India’s Dr Reddy's Laboratories (BSE: 500124).

The patent is for a way to administer the active ingredient in Alimta with certain vitamins to limit toxic side effects. The patent on the main compound, pemetrexed disodium, expired in January last year.