Amylin Pharmaceuticals announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly. Amylin alleges Lilly is engaging in anticompetitive activity and breaching its strategic alliance agreements to maximize commercialization of exenatide currently marketed as BYETTA® (exenatide) injection. In 2002 the two companies entered an alliance for the global development and commercialization of exenatide, a medicine indicated as a first line treatment for type 2 diabetes. Exenatide is also the active ingredient in BYDUREON(TM) (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension), a once-weekly version currently under review by the FDA.
In its complaint, which seeks among other things, a preliminary and permanent injunction, Amylin alleges that Lilly is engaging in improper, unlawful and anticompetitive behavior in the manner in which it plans to implement its recently announced global alliance agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) to jointly develop and commercialize BI’s linagliptin product, which will compete directly with Amylin’s exenatide products. The principal relief Amylin seeks is to prevent Lilly from proceeding with its plans to use the same sales force to sell both exenatide and BI’s competitive linagliptin.
