12.1.2013
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 9/33
Reference for a preliminary ruling from High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) (United Kingdom) made on 5 November 2012 — Eli Lilly and Company Ltd v Human Genome Sciences Inc
(Case C-493/12)
2013/C 9/55
Language of the case: English
Referring court
High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: Eli Lilly and Company Ltd
Defendant: Human Genome Sciences Inc
Questions referred
(a)
What are the criteria for deciding whether ‘the product is protected by a basic patent in force’ in Article 3(a) of Regulation 469/2009/EC (1) (the ‘Regulation’)?
(b)
Are the criteria different where the product is not a combination product, and if so, what are the criteria?
(c)
In the case of a claim to an antibody or a class of antibodies, is it sufficient that the antibody or antibodies are defined in terms of their binding characteristics to a target protein, or is it necessary to provide a structural definition for the antibody or antibodies, and if so, how much?
(1) Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products (Codified version) (Text with EEA relevance)
OJ L 152, p. 1
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