Eli Lilly Wins Early Round in Prozac Battle

Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Co. said it won an early round in its legal battle to keep Barr Laboratories Inc. from selling a generic version of its top-selling drug, the antidepressant Prozac, causing Lilly stock to rise. Lilly sought an injunction against Pomona, N.Y.-based Barr after Barr filed an application with federal regulators to sell a generic version of Prozac. A U.S. District Court judge in Indiana has already set aside two of the disputed points, including Barr’s question about Lilly’s “double patent” on Prozac, the company said. Lilly has one patent on the actual compound of Prozac that expires in 2001. Another patent on the way the drug works expires in 2003. The trial between the two starts Jan. 25. Lilly rose $4.19 to close at $80.69, and Barr fell $4.31 to $42.25. Both trade on the New York Stock Exchange.