Emisphere Technologies, Inc, of Tarrytown, NY, announced that a Federal District Court judge ruled that Eli Lilly and Company had violated an agreement with Emisphere regarding the use of Emisphere's Eligen technology for the development of an oral formulation of Forteo® (teriparatide), Lilly's injectable recombinant parathyroid hormone (DNA origin) for the treatment of osteoporosis. 

This ruling removes uncertainty surrounding a licensing contract that Emisphere executed with Norvartis AG in December 2004 following the termination of the licensing agreement with Lilly in August 2004. Emisphere will seek monetary damages. Lilly says the company may appeal the ruling.

In separate news, Lilly announced an agreement with Alkermes Inc, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to develop and commercialize an inhaled formulation of Lilly's Forteo utilizing the Alkermes AIR® pulmonary drug-delivery system. Alkermes will receive an undisclosed level of funding for product and process development activities, upfront and milestone payments, and royalties based on product sales. Lilly will have exclusive worldwide rights to any products resulting from the collaboration.

Forteo was approved in 2002 by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women who are at high risk for bone fracture and to increase bone mass in men with primary or hypogonadal osteoporosis who are at high risk of fracture.     
 
Emisphere Technologies is a publicly traded development stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs.

 --A. Techman