Finnegan Client Eli Lilly and Company Prevails in U.S. Cymbalta® Litigation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 28, 2011

Contact:     Howard W. Levine, 202.408.4259 

                    Partner
                    Sanya Sukduang, 202.408.4377
                    Partner
                    Charles E. Lipsey, 571.203.2755
                    Partner 

Finnegan Client Eli Lilly and Company Prevails in U.S. Cymbalta® Litigation

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. District court for the Southern District of Indiana entered an order on April 27, 2011, in favor of Finnegan client Eli Lilly and Company in its patent litigation against multiple generic drug manufacturers seeking FDA approval to market generic copies of Lilly’s highly successful Cymbalta® product.  In 2008, Lilly asserted its U.S. Patent No. 5,023,269 covering duloxetine hydrochloride, the active ingredient in Cymbalta®, against nine generic drug manufacturers.  The district court’s order prevents the generic drug manufacturers from marketing their generic duloxetine hydrochloride products until at least after expiration of the ’269 patent in June 2013, and further orders them to convert their Paragraph IV patent certifications to Paragraph III certifications.  The district court’s order comes on the heels of the court’s entry of a March 21, 2011, Final Judgment against Wockhardt, finding that Wockhardt’s generic duloxetine hydrochloride products infringe asserted claims 10 and 11 of the ’269 patent and confirming the validity and enforceability of the ’269 patent.  Cymbalta® is approved for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, fibromyalgia, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, and chronic musculoskeletal pain, and is Lilly’s second best selling drug with world-wide sale of over $3.3 billion in 2010.

About Finnegan

With more than 375 intellectual property lawyers, Finnegan is one of the largest IP law firms in the world. From offices in Washington, DC; Atlanta, Georgia; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Palo Alto, California; Reston, Virginia; Brussels, Belgium; Shanghai, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan, the firm practices all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation. Finnegan also represents clients on IP issues related to international trade, portfolio management, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com.

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