Lilly to appeal generic Zyprexa rulings

US drug major Eli Lilly says it plans to appeal two recent court rulings that could allow a generic version of its best-selling drug, the antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine), to enter the Canadian and German markets.

Lilly says it believes these decisions by the Canadian Federal Court and the German Patent Court are deeply flawed and are inconsistent with both the evidence presented at trial and with the legal principles that it believes apply. While the courts' decisions may result in generic Zyprexa being marketed in Canada and Germany, should Lilly prevail on appeal it would be entitled to damages.

Commenting on the rulings, Robert Armitage, Lilly's senior vice president and general counsel, said: "these decisions, if not overturned, undermine intellectual property protection in Canada and Germany and erode the incentives of pharmaceutical and biotech companies to make the high-risk investments necessary to discover and develop breakthrough medicines. We believe we must take a strong stand on behalf of innovators and intend to take every possible step to protect what we continue to believe are intellectual property rights regarding the validity of the Zyprexa patents in Canada and Germany through 2011."