Eli Lilly & Co. granted preliminary injunction against Teva

INDIANAPOLIS A U.S. District Court has granted drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. a preliminary injunction preventing the launch of a generic version of one of its drugs, Lilly announced Wednesday.

The company said the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued the injunction to prevent Teva Pharmaceuticals’ launch of raloxifene hydrochloride tablets, a generic version of Lilly’s osteoporosis drug Evista.

Patents on Evista begin expiring in 2012. The drug had sales of $700.5 million in 2008, according to Lilly financial data.