Teva Defeats Eli Lilly in its Attempt to Register a Patent in Israel
Eli Lilly Denied a Patent in Israel for a Pharmaceutical Product for the Treatment of Osteoporosis. After a long legal battle, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. successfully defeated Eli Lilly and Company in its attempt to register a patent in Israel for Forteo, one of the leading drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis (bone loss), a disease largely affecting women after menopause, with worldwide sales of $1.5 billion in 2016. Teva, which was represented by Advocates Tal Band and Noam Blei, of S. Horowitz & Co., opposed the registration of the patent by arguing, inter alia, that the use for which Eli Lilly sought to register the patent was obvious. The Commissioner of Patents accepted Teva’s said arguments and, in so doing, denied Eli Lilly’s application to register the patent. The Registrar further awarded Teva NIS 1.8 million in costs and attorney fees.
