In the trial, the jury found that Lilly's migraine drug Emgality infringed three Teva patents and the infringements were wilful
Lilly to pay $176.5m to Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals in patent infringement trial. (Credit: Momoneymoproblemz from Wikimedia Commons)
A US federal court jury in Boston has directed American pharma major Lilly to pay $176.5m to Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals in response to a trial that found intentional patent infringement by the former in three of the latter’s patents.
The jury found that Lilly’s migraine drug Emgality violated Teva’s rights in the patents, which are related to its own migraine medication Ajovy, reported Reuters.
The federal court jury also rejected Lilly’s argument that the patents were invalid.
However, Lilly, as per one of its spokespersons, is disappointed with the ruling. The US pharma company is of the view that the court decision does not impact its ability to offer Emgality to patients, the news agency reported.
A spokesperson of Teva, as per the publication, indicated that the firm is happy with the ruling and will continue to strongly defend its intellectual property rights.
Both Emgality and Ajovy treat migraines by using antibodies for inhibiting headache-causing peptides.
According to company filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Lilly made more than $577m from the sales of Emgality globally, while Teva earned $313m from Ajovy.
Regarding the patents, Teva filed a lawsuit against Lilly in 2018. At that time, the court rejected two Teva claims that were related and sought to prevent Emgality from entering the US market.
Additionally, Teva, in 2021, filed a separate, ongoing patent case against the US pharma company in Massachusetts over Emgality.
In July this year, Teva and AbbVie’s recently acquired Allergan unit entered into a $58m settlement with the city of San Francisco.