Tuesday's Health Winners & Losers

Shares of Eli Lilly(LLY Quote) were trading 2.8% higher Tuesday on news a U.S. appeals court upheld the company's patent for Zyprexa. The ruling from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., protects the antipsychotic drug from generic-drug competition until 2011.

In other news, Lilly and Amylin Pharmaeuticals(AMLN Quote) announced after the market closed Friday, and before the extended holiday weekend, that the Food and Drug Administration approved diabetes drug Byetta for expanded use. Byetta (exenatide) injection is approved as an add-on therapy to improve blood-sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes who have not achieved adequate control on a thiazolidinedione, or TZD.

"Almost half a million people with type 2 diabetes have used Byetta to help reduce their blood sugar," said Amylin CEO Ginger Graham. "Now, even more people -- those who use another common category of oral medicines, TZDs -- have Byetta." Shares of Indianapolis-based Lilly were up 38 cents, or 0.7%, at $51.73 in recent trading Tuesday, while shares of Amylin were trading down 60 cents, or 1.6%, at $36.71.

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals(ANX Quote) shares rose Tuesday on news that the FDA had approved clinical testing of its proposed cancer drug ANX-530, deeming it to be bioequivalent to Navelbine, an existing cancer treatment approved for use in nonsmall-cell lung cancer. The San Diego small-cap expects patient recruitment for the initial study to begin in January. Shares were gaining 16 cents, or 6%, to $2.80.

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