The University of Wisconsin-Madison's patenting arm has won an appeal in federal court against Canadian drug company Xenon.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in favor of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

The lawsuit dealt with how Xenon handled patent rights to an enzyme that can lower cholesterol levels in the human body.

The appeals court said a lower court correctly ruled in favor of WARF on its claim that Xenon broke its contract for a licensing agreement.

WARF licensed the technology to Xenon in 2001, which then entered into a partnership with Novartis to further develop the discoveries made by the university researchers.

The appeals court says Xenon breached its contract with WARF by not paying its share of sublicense fees.