Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) won a U.S. appeals court ruling that upholds the validity of a patent for the lung- cancer drug Alimta and blocks generic competition through 2017. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today rejected arguments by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) that the patent was invalid. It affirmed a lower court ruling. The decision was posted on the court’s website. Alimta, whose chemical name is pemetrexed, generated $2.5 billion in sales last year for Indianapolis-based Lilly, making it the company’s third biggest-selling drug. Alimta is designed to hamper cancer cells’ ability to use folic acid to grow after an initial treatment with other drugs.
