INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana—Teva Pharmaceuticals' plan to launch a generic version of Eli Lilly's osteoporosis drug Evista^® (raloxifene) was put on hold today by Judge Sarah Barker of the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The court issued a 10-day restraining order against marketing of the generic.

The delay is expected to keep generic raloxifene off the market for the duration of the ongoing court case over Lilly's patent rights. Teva had indicated it was prepared to launch the generic version prior to the resolution of outstanding patent litigation.

"We appreciate the Court issuing the temporary restraining order and look forward to completing the trial and vindicating our patent rights," said Robert A. Armitage, general counsel for Lilly. "We believe Teva's challenges to Lilly's Evista patent are without merit and we expect to prevail in this litigation. We have taken and will continue to take all appropriate actions needed to protect our intellectual property rights as they relate to Evista."