US District Court rules in Lilly's favor on Alimta vitamin regimen patent

The US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has ruled in pharma major Eli Lilly’s (NYSE: LLY) favor regarding infringement of the vitamin regimen patent for its lung cancer drug Alimta (pemetrexed for injection).

The news was announced after markets closed on Tuesday, but Lilly’s shares gained 1.47% to $79.41 in morning trading.

In the case of Eli Lilly and Company v Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc, et al, the court ruled that the vitamin regimen patent would be infringed by the generic challengers' proposed products. The patent provides intellectual property protection for Alimta until May 2022. In March 2014, the court previously upheld the validity of the vitamin regimen patent. The Alimta compound patent remains in force through early 2017.