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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowCanada’s Supreme Court dismissed Eli Lilly and Co.’s request to appeal a federal court decision that invalidated its Canadian patent for schizophrenia drug Zyprexa.
The country’s highest court said in a statement Thursday that it decided not to look at the case after hearing from parties involved in the matter earlier this week. A Federal Court in 2011 ruled the patent was invalid because it did not meet “utility” requirements.
The Indianapolis-based firm has claimed recent decisions by Canadian courts invalidating 17 drug patents over “utility” requirements have made the country an outlier among major developed countries, prompting the company in December to notify Canada of its plans to file a trade complaint over its patent for its Strattera drug.
“Addressing Canada’s outlier status with respect to the interpretation of patent law is a priority for Lilly,” the company said in a statement Thursday. “We will continue to consider all our legal options to protect what we believe to be valid intellectual property rights protecting our patents in Canada.”
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