Top 5: U.S. Drug Patent Expirations in 2012 (Part II)
Posted on Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Last week, we posted Part I of our two-part Top 5 on the biggest drugs to lose patent protection this year. This week continues with numbers 3 through 5, with more drugs that will be open for generic imitators by the end of this year.
3. Singulair (Montelukast) - $3.47 billion 2010 U.S. sales - Merck - August 2012
Compared to the top two drugs on this list, Singulair is not expected to have quite as extreme implications for the company. Merck, the second largest health care company in the world, has had recent success with its diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet. It also has a diverse set of products outside of medications, including Bain De Soleil sunscreen and Dr. Scholl’s shoe inserts. The company projects its revenues in 2012 to remain stable, despite the impending patent expiration of its best-selling product. Singulair is a drug for treating asthma symptoms and accounted for 11% of Merck’s revenue in 2010.
4. Actos (Pioglitazone) - $2.78 billion 2010 U.S. sales - Takeda - August 2012
Actos is a drug that treats type 2 diabetes. Takeda, the company producing Actos, is the smallest yet to appear on this list. This creates an increased dependence on their headline product, and makes it potentially more susceptible to the patent cliff. The company got a head start on shoring up its future by acquiring specialty pharmaceutical maker Nycomed last year, which gives it better access to emerging markets around the world.
5. Lexapro (Escitalopram) - $2.56 billion 2010 U.S. sales - Forest Pharmaceuticals - March 2012
Rounding out the Top 5 is the anti-depressant Lexapro, made by Forest Pharmaceuticals, a relative newcomer to the pharma industry. Forest is known for its rapid growth in recent years, as well as for criminal allegations to which it pled guilty and paid a hefty fine for in 2010. This extra expenditure makes the patent cliff even more impactful. Lexapro is its biggest seller, accounting for nearly half its revenues in 2010, and its second best-selling drug, Namenda, loses its patent protection in 2015. Sean Williams of The Motley Fool put it in stark terms: “77% of Forest Labs' sales will be at risk from generic competitors within three years.”
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