U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Rules in Favor of Finnegan Client Eli Lilly and Company, Affirming the Validity of Eli Lilly’s Patents for Evista®

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2010

Contact:    Laura P. Masurovsky, 202.408.4043                    

                    Partner

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Rules in Favor of Finnegan Client Eli Lilly and Company, Affirming the Validity of Eli Lilly’s Patents for Evista®

WASHINGTON, DC - On September 1, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of firm client Eli Lilly and Company, affirming the validity of Eli Lilly’s patents on its important osteoporosis drug, Evista®. The ruling is particularly significant because Eli Lilly is now assured of exclusive patent protection for its blockbuster drug to 2014. The patents were challenged in an Abbreviated New Drug Application litigation by Teva. Chief Judge Rader, writing for a unanimous panel, held that there was no evidence that "would teach, suggest or motivate or supply any common sense reason" for a person to arrive at Lilly’s invention.  The Federal Circuit further affirmed that the patents were enabled observing that the initiation of a human clinical trial presumptively establishes the credibility of the asserted utility

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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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