MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES <MABS> ORDER BARS SALES
Monoclonal Antibodies Inc
said a a district court has decided to grant a motion by
Hybritech Inc, a unit of Eli Lilly and Co <LLY>, preventing the
sale of certain Monoclonal products.
    The products, including Ovustick Self-Test and Advance, a
pregnancy test, account for 80 pct of Monoclonal sales, the
biotechnology company said.
    The products are made by Monoclonal and marketed by Ortho
Pharmaceutical Corp, a unit of Johnson and Johnson <JNJ>.
    The products were named in lawsuits dating back to 1984,
the company said.
    Documents will be filed within 10 days for the judge to
issue a preliminary injunction, which should become effective
after the filing, the company said.
    The company is evaluating the impact of the injunction on
its operations. "While we're of course extremely disappointed
by the court's decision, we will continue development efforts
on products not subject to a potential infringement ruling,
particularly diagnostic tests for drugs of abuse and sexually
transmitted diseases," the company said in a statement.
    The company hopes to have the new products available for
sale late this year or early next year, it said.
    In the meantime, it will focus efforts on marketing
products not affected by the injunction and designing other
products, it added.
 Reuter
