Amylin Sues Lilly over Sales Deal

Drugmaker Amylin said it is suing Eli Lilly, alleging Lilly violated their alliance by teaming up with Boehringer Ingelheim.

San Diego, Calif., drugmaker Amylin Pharmaceuticals is taking Eli Lilly to court over the latter’s recently announced type 2 diabetes drug development deal with Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), claiming the agreement will lead to anticompetitive activity on Lilly’s part and a breach of strategic alliance agreements.

Amylin and Lilly have an almost 10-year partnership centered on commercializing the now FDA-approved injectable diabetes drug Byetta? (exenatide) and the long-acting exenatide formulation Bydureon?, which has yet to be approved in the U.S. but just last month was recommended for approval in Europe by the EMA’s CHMP advisory committee.

One of the drugs covered under Lilly and BI’s type 2 diabetes drug partnership, signed in January, is the oral dipeptidy