Reuters
Tuesday, December 26, 2006; 2:36 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday affirmed the validity of a patent on Eli Lilly and Co.’s (LLY.N) top-selling schizophrenia drug Zyprexa, upholding a 2005 ruling by a federal judge.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it had found no reversible error in the April 2005 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young, which handed Eli Lilly a major victory in its efforts to fend off generic competition.

The patent at issue in the case runs through April of 2011 and had been contested by Israel’s Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA.TA)(TEVA.O) and Indian drugmaker Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (REDY.BO)(RDY.N).

Representatives for Teva and Dr. Reddy’s could not immediately reached for comment.

In 2005, Zyprexa made up 29 percent of Eli Lilly’s $2.6 billion sales. Shares of the drugmaker were up 1.2 percent to $51.96 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Eli Lilly said the appeals court ruling was a victory for all brand name drug makers.

Read more about Eli Lilly’s drug patent.