Zyprexa

in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

They had dropped 16 percent this year through Dec.

16.

The company's shares rose 10.3 percent on Oct.

21, 1987.

Shares of U.S.

drugmakers Merck & Co., Lilly and Bristol- Myers Squibb Co.

also soared.

Merck increased $2, or 6.7 percent, to $32.01, Bristol-Myers rose 63 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $22.65 and Lilly increased $1, or 1.8 percent, to $57.66.

Bristol-Myers is facing a patent challenge to its Plavix blood- thinner medicine.

Shares of AstraZeneca Plc, which is facing patent challenges to its Nexium ulcer drug and Seroquel for schizophrenia, gained as much as 4.3 percent.

Shares of Paris- based Sanofi-Aventis SA, which is facing patent lawsuits over its two best-selling medicines, increased as much as 4 percent.

Appeal Ranbaxy, India's biggest drugmaker with $1.16 billion in 2004 sales, said it will appeal.

Ranbaxy shares fell as much as 8.9 percent today.

``We remain undeterred in our resolve on this issue, and we will press our case in the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,'' said Ranbaxy President Malvinder M.

Singh in a statement on Dec.

16.

More than 18 million people in the U.S.

have been prescribed Lipitor since it was introduced in 1997.

The drug is available in more than 70 countries.

``People may h...

in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

They had dropped 16 percent this year through Dec.

16.

The company's shares rose 10.3 percent on Oct.

21, 1987.

Shares of U.S.

drugmakers Merck & Co., Lilly and Bristol- Myers Squibb Co.

also soared.

Merck increased $2.11, or 7 percent, to $32.12, Bristol-Myers rose 60 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $22.62 and Lilly increased $1.32, or 2.3 percent, to $57.98.

Bristol-Myers is facing a patent challenge to its Plavix blood- thinner medicine.

AstraZeneca Shares of AstraZeneca Plc, which is facing patent challenges to its Nexium ulcer drug and Seroquel for schizophrenia, gained as much as 4.3 percent.

Shares of Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis SA, which is facing patent lawsuits over its two best-selling medicines, increased as much as 4 percent.

The issue of generic medicine is also of concern to employers and pharmacy benefit managers, since the use of generic drugs can save them millions of dollars a year.

General Motors Corp., which is seeking to reduce costs that the company says puts it at a disadvantage to rivals, will spend about $5.6 billion this year on health care.

The shares of pharmacy benefit managers, including Medco Health Solutions Inc., and managed care companies, like WellPoint Inc., dropped today.

Yet, analysts said they were reluctant to...

v.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., 03cv209, U.S.

District Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

To contact the reporters on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at nostrow@bloomberg.net; Phil Milford in Wilmington, Delaware at pmilford@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 19, 2005 09:59 EST ©2005 Bloomberg L.P.

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