Addressing the issue of divided infringement, the US Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's
finding of induced infringement even though no single actor
performed all steps of the asserted claims in a method patent. Eli
Lilly and Co. v. Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc., Case No. 15-2067
(Fed. Cir., Jan. 12, 2017) (Prost, C.J.).
The patent at issue related to methods of administering the
chemotherapy drug pemetrexed disodium (pemetrexed) after
pretreatment with two common vitamins, folic acid and vitamin B12.
Eli Lilly markets pemetrexed under the brand name ALIMTA®.
After the patent issued in 2010, Teva and other drug makers
notified Eli Lilly that they had submitted Abbreviated New Drug
Applications seeking approval by the US Food and Drug
Administration to market generic versions of ALIMTA®, and also
filed Paragraph IV certifications declaring the patent invalid,
unenforceable and not infringed. Eli Lilly brought suit against
Teva and
