Lilly files $500M lawsuit against Canada over drug patents

News

Eli Lilly has filed a $500 million lawsuit against the Canadian government alleging its patent laws are inconsistent and that it unfairly shortened the patent life for some of Lilly's best-selling drugs.

"Patent decisions in Canada over the last decade not only fly in the face of long-established international standards, but they're subjective and completely unpredictable. The standard seems to be that there is no standard."

Doug Norman, general patent counsel for Lilly in a statement to ABC News

The case, which was filed yesterday, came after an almost year-long dispute over the patents of Lilly's Straterra, used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Zyprexa, used to treat schizophrenia.