Patent cliff prompts generics to rethink branding
31 January 2012
Eileen McDermott, New York
As more blockbuster drugs tumble off the patent cliff this year, the generic industry is set to become more profitable than ever - but the spike in competition means generics may also have to become more brand-savvy
“In the last year I’ve seen a lot of generic companies seeking to sell their own brand outside of the house brand,” says Frances Jagla of Leydig Voit & Mayer. “The market research has said that patients actually prefer some form of a brand.”
Pfizer’s patent on Lipitor expired late last year. And AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi-Aventis and Amgen will all lose patents on blockbuster drugs this year.
Often in the US, generic drugs are simply marketed under the international non-proprietary name – for instance, AstraZeneca’s cancer drug, Prilosec, is sold as omeprazole by several generic companies. This means the generic companies don’t need to go through the cumbersome FDA naming approval process, which takes 180 days.
But as drugs such as Lipitor, which has been prescribed to 17 million people, go off-patent, generics may want to re-think their brand strategies.
It can be particularly important for a...
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