Lilly Shares Fall on Concern of Barr Lab's Lawsuit (Update1)
Bloomberg News
January 21, 1999, 5:01 p.m. ET
Lilly Shares Fall on Concern of Barr Lab's Lawsuit (Update1)
(Adds analyst comment. Updates share activity.)
Indianapolis, Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. shares
fell 5 percent after Barr Laboratories officials made positive
comments about Barr's chances to win the right to market a
generic version of Lilly's best-selling antidepressant, Prozac.
Shares of Lilly fell 4 3/16 to 78 1/16. The drop offset
gains Lilly made last week when it won two pretrial decisions in
its lawsuit against Barr.
Barr filed to introduce a generic version of Prozac in 1996,
and Lilly sued to block it. The trial begins Monday in U.S.
District Court in Indianapolis. Barr officials, talking to
investors on a conference call today, said the company had
success with similar challenges to drug patents and would appeal
if it lost.
''If Lilly wins or Barr wins, the issue isn't decided,''
said David Buck, a Sands Brothers & Co. analyst with a ''buy''
rating on Barr. ''I expect appeals, so nothing's decided yet, and
that's a negative for Lilly because it's their largest product.''
Prozac is the world's best-selling antidepressant and its
$2.6 billion in sales made up about 30 percent of Lilly's 1997
revenue. Indianapolis-based Lilly says the patent on the drug
expires in Dec. 2003.
To win the case, said Lilly spokesman Edward West, Barr must
prove that Lilly intentionally submitted false data or withheld
data from patent officials.
''It's a very high standard to meet,'' West said.
Yet after the publicity of Lilly's pretrial victories, the
comments from Barr reminded investors that there was still a
chance the judge could favor Barr, analysts said.
''I think it illuminated that there's still life on the Barr
side,'' said David F. Saks, a Gruntal & Co. with ''buy'' ratings
on Lilly and Barr. ''Lilly still has to fight, and as Yogi Berra
says, 'it ain't over till it's over.'''
Pomona, New York-based Barr fell 3/8 to 42 1/8. Barr
officials were unavailable for comment.
--Christopher Elser in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4107/gfh |
