By Joshua Jamerson

Eli Lilly and Co. said it lost a case in the U.K. that would have prohibited competitors from making a generic form of its key Alimta cancer drug before the patent expires in 2021.

Lilly said it plans to seek permission to appeal the decision to the U.K. Court of Appeal; a spokesman for Actavis, the plaintiff in the case, couldn't be immediately reached for comment. Actavis changed its name in June to to Allergan PLC.

The ruling affects Alimta sales in the U.K., France, Italy and Spain. Research firm Evercore ISI said the ruling could allow generics to launch immediately in the U.K. and then in the other three countries once reimbursement discussions are complete.

Alimta, Lilly's second-largest product by revenue, treats mesothelioma, a rare cancer linked to asbestos exposure. It consists of two patents: The compound patent, which covers the basic chemical composition of the drugs, and a second patent, the one that was under review, which covers the method of administering Alimta to patients with certain vitamins designed to mitigate side effects.

Lilly said Friday that the U.K. High Court decided the Alimta vitamin regimen patent wouldn't be infringed by Actavis's marketing in the four countries.

The decision comes after the U.K. Court of Appeal held in June that Lilly's patent would be indirectly infringed by Actavis. The June decision argued that commercializing the generic vitamins as Actavis had proposed "would constitute indirect infringement by supplying an essential means for putting the patented invention into effect."

In August, a U.S. federal court ruled that generic products proposed by a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. unit would infringe a U.S. patent for Alimta.

Alimta sales generated $2.49 billion in 2015 revenue for Lilly, an 11% decrease from 2014, the company reported last month. Lilly said the drop was due to decreased demand and, to a lesser extent, lower prices.

Lilly's shares are down 11% in the past three months through Thursday's close.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2016 09:55 ET (14:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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