Prozac ruling depresses Eli Lilly

Traders crowd round as Eli Lilly shares plunge

The value of drugs firm Eli Lilly plunged by nearly a third - or $35bn - after a court ruling reduced the length of patent protection for its Prozac anti-depressant treatment.

The ruling came shortly after trading in its shares was suspended.

When trading resumed, the stock was priced 30% lower at 75.1 - compared to the 107.5 paid in the last purchase of Eli Lilly shares before the news broke.

The cause of the fall was a US Appeals Court decision, reversing that of a lower court, which had given Eli Lilly patent protection for Prozac until 2003.

The Appeal Court instead backed a different lower court's decision that Eli Lilly maintained the patent only to 2001.

New competition

The ruling means Barr Laboratories may be able to introduce its generic Prozac sooner than expected, and a year before Eli Lilly brings out a new version of the original drug

Sidney Taurel, Eli Lilly chairman, president and chief executive, said: "Clearly, we are disappointed with the appellate court's ruling and I have instructed our attorneys to appeal the decision."

Eli Lilly sold $2.6bn worth of Prozac in 1999.