United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Reverses $278M Insulin Royalty Ruling Against Eli Lilly and Company

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a lower court ruling that required Eli Lilly and Company to pay $278 million in royalties to Research Corporation Technologies Inc. The appellate court found that Eli Lilly was not obligated to pay royalties under a 1990 licensing agreement for yeast expression technology, stating the contract did not cover their insulin products. Eli Lilly successfully argued that its manufacturing process did not directly use the specific expression system outlined in the agreement.