Patents: Dr Reddy's Laboratories (UK) Ltd v Eli Lilly & Company Ltd
In Dr Reddy's Laboratories (UK) Ltd v Eli Lilly & Company Ltd . [2009] EWCA Civ 1362 (18 Dec 2009) the Court of Appeal (Sir David Neuberger MR, Lord Justice Jacob and Lord Justice Richards) dismissed Dr. Reddy's appeal from Mr. Justice Floyd's refusal to revoke Eli Lily's European patent for olanzapine (see Dr Reddy's Laboratories (UK) Ltd v Eli Lilly & Company Ltd. [2008] EWHC 2345 (Pat), [2009] FSR 5, (2008) 31(10) IPD 31067. The Facts Olanzapine is used to treat schizophrenia. It is a member of a class of compounds that Eli Lily had previously disclosed in an earlier invention. The specification of the patent in suit described the steps that Eli Lily had taken to identify its properties in lengthy clinical trials. The company discovered that the drug was an effective treatment inducing none of the side effects of earlier treatments. It applied for and was granted a European patent designating the UK and corresponding patents in other countries for the d...