A court in Indiana, USA, has ruled in Eli Lilly’s favor in a long-running patent battle with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries relating to infringement of the vitamin regimen for its blockbuster cancer drug Alimta.

Teva has been seeking to make a generic version of the drug and has been trying to disprove the validity of Lilly’s patents through the courts.

“The significant scientific research that Lilly performed in support of the vitamin regimen patent deserves intellectual property protection. We continue to emphasize that protection of intellectual property rights is extremely important to the biopharmaceutical industry and the patients we serve. These rights help support the development of the next generation of innovative medicines to treat unmet medical needs,” said Michael J. Harrington, senior vice president and general counsel for Lilly.

The patent provides intellectual property protection for Alimta until May 2022, although the compound patent expires in 2017.

In a statement Teva said: “We are disappointed with the district court’s decision and we are evaluating our options to appeal.”