Migraine Medication Battle: Eli Lilly Prevails in Patent Infringement Case Against Teva

A federal judge in Massachusetts has overturned a $176.5 million jury verdict against Eli Lilly And Co LLY. T

he verdict, which had favored Teva Pharmaceutical TEVA, 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 delivered the post-trial ruling, stating that the Teva patents that used antibodies to inhibit headache-causing peptides were invalid. 

The decision marks a crucial development in the ongoing battle between these pharmaceutical giants.

This legal dispute centered around the patents held by Teva Pharmaceutical for their drug Ajovy, which is designed to combat migraine headaches, Reuters noted. 

Teva argued that Eli Lilly's Emgality violated these patents by utilizing similar mechanisms to inhibit peptides responsible for migraines.

Eli Lilly generated over $650 million in revenue from Emgality in FY22, while Teva earned $377 million from Ajovy and expects around $400 million in FY23.

In November, a jury awarded Teva $176.5 million in damages and rejected Lilly's argument that the patents were invalid.

Burroughs reversed the jury's validity decision on Tuesday. She concluded that the patents were overly broad and did not enable scientists to recreate the antibodies without "undue experimentation."

Price Action: LLY shares closed at $549.96 on Tuesday.