Eli Lilly must pay $20m over Cialis patent infringement

Eli Lilly must pay Germany-based pharmaceutical company Erfindergemeinschaft UroPep $20 million for patent infringement.

The jury, which handed down its verdict on Friday, April 21, at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, agreed that Eli Lilly had failed to provide clear and convincing evidence to prove non-infringement.

UroPep sued Eli Lilly in July 2015, alleging infringement of US patent number 8,791,124, titled “Use of phosphordiesterase inhibitors in the treatment of prostatic diseases”.

In January 2008, Eli Lilly announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the use of Cialis (tadalafil) to treat erectile dysfunction.

In 2010, Eli Lilly filed a supplemental application with the FDA, proposing Cialis for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an enlarged prostate gland. The supplemental application was approved in 2011.

UroPep claimed that the sale of Cialis for BPH requires a licence to the ‘124 patent.

The Germany-based company had asked the district court for a judgment in its favour, as well as an award of damages.

UroPep also asked the court for an injunction enjoining Eli Lilly from infringing its patent.

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