Hospira, Dr. Reddy’s Infringe Eli Lilly Cancer Treatment Patent (1)

Hospira Inc. and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. infringed an Eli Lilly & Co. patent covering its cancer drug Alimta, the Federal Circuit said Aug. 9.

Both companies’ New Drug Applications infringed the patent under the doctrine of equivalents, which imposes liability for equivalents to patented technology that don’t literally infringe a patent’s claims, the court said.

“We’re pleased with this decision,” said Michael J. Harrington, Lilly’s senior vice president and general counsel. “Lilly’s extensive research to discover this patent deserves intellectual property protection, which has been confirmed in every challenge in the U.S. to date.”

Lilly owns U.S. Patent No. ...