In a recent development, a federal judge in Massachusetts granted drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY.N) a successful appeal to overturn a $176.5 million jury verdict against Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA.TA). The verdict had found that Lilly's migraine drug, Emgality, infringed upon three patents related to Teva's rival drug, Ajovy.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, in a post-trial ruling, deemed the Teva patents, which covered the use of antibodies to inhibit headache-causing peptides, to be invalid. Burroughs emphasized the careful consideration given to the decision, acknowledging the significance of overturning a jury verdict.
Representatives from both companies have yet to comment on this ruling.
Last year, Eli Lilly reported worldwide sales of over $650 million from Emgality, while Teva earned $377 million from Ajovy, according to their respective company reports.
Teva initiated a lawsuit against Lilly in 2018 regarding the aforementioned patents. On the same day as Teva's lawsuit, the court dismissed two related lawsuits that aimed to prevent Emgality from entering the U.S. market.
In November, the jury had awarded Teva $176.5 million in damages and rejected Lilly's claim of patent invalidity.
On Tuesday, Burroughs reversed the jury's decision regarding patent validity. She determined that the patents in question were overly broad and did not provide sufficient guidance for scientists to reproduce the antibodies without "undue experimentation."
Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Matthew Lewis.