Managing the impact of patent protection loss for Big Pharma

Exclusivity is everything in the pharmaceutical brand business. Without it, power over pricing disappears and sales evaporate, leaving drug makers helpless – but can this fate be avoided, asks a new report by health care experts GlobalData.

The report considers the looming challenge faced by pharma giants, namely patent protection losses. Big pharmaceutical companies must either prepare to submit to revenue losses, or adopt methods of managing the impact of brand patent expiry. Strengthening of drug development pipelines, opportune product launches and cost saving initiatives may hold the key to surviving patent losses.

While the birth of a blockbuster drug brings new income and energy to a company, the drug’s patent loss causes revenue to drop, leaving the company’s financial situation to suffer. Over the next five years, the global pharmaceutical industry will face a $140 billion invasion of generic drugs due to patent protection losses, as in 2011 and 2012 alone, the USA is due to see major brands worth $40 billion lose patent protection.