Lilly Sues to Block Osteoporosis Generic

Eli Lilly & Co. filed a lawsuit seeking to block Barr Laboratories Inc. from selling a generic form of Lilly’s osteoporosis drug Evista, which had about $665 million in sales last year.

Pomona, N.Y.-based Barr filed for Food and Drug Administration approval to make a generic form of Evista in June, and notified Lilly in October.

Lilly, in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in its Indianapolis hometown, said the generic treatment would infringe four patents related to the drug.

Lilly has said that its patents can protect its U.S. rights until at least 2012. Barr contends the Evista patents are invalid or wouldn’t be infringed by its version of medication.

Shares of Lilly were up $5, or 7.8%, at $69 on the NYSE after the FDA approved the drugs Strattera for attention-deficit disorder and Forteo, a bone-building drug designed to help prevent fractures in osteoporosis patients. Barr shares rose $1.20 to $66.12, on the NYSE.