Court vacates Amylin restraining order against Eli Lilly

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal court has ruled in favor of drug maker Eli Lilly in a dispute with Amylin Pharmaceuticals over Lilly’s partnership with German drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California vacated a temporary restraining order Wednesday that it granted to Amylin last month. Amylin had sought to prevent Lilly from using the same staff to market Tradjenta (linagliptin), an oral treatment for Type 2 diabetes that it developed with Boehringer Ingelheim, that it used to market Byetta (exenatide), an injected Type 2 diabetes drug that it markets under a partnership with Amylin. The restraining order would also have affected Bydureon, a long-acting form of Byetta currently under review by the Food and Drug Administration.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision to vacate the temporary restraining order and deny Amylin’s request for a preliminary injunction,” Lilly SVP and general counsel Robert Armitage stated. “We have complied with our contractual obligations under our agreements with Amylin and done so in a manner fully consistent with all applicable laws.”

Amylin filed suit against Lilly on May 16, alleging that Tradjenta would compete directly against Byetta and Bydureon, and that Lilly thus had violated its contractual agreement with Amylin. While both drugs treat Type 2 diabetes, Lilly responded at the time by pointing out that the two drugs did not compete because Tradjenta is an orally administered drug while Byetta and Bydureon are injectables.