The main assets of Big Pharma are intangible ones. And the biggest part of intangible assets are patents. And the patents have a tendency to be expired with time. Sad (for Big Pharma) but true. The expiration of the patents results in extinction of the Big Pharma companies and we are experiencing the extinction of some companies, like AZ:
"Astra’s patent cliff is particularly steep. Breast cancer drug, Arimidex, has already lost patent protection and sales halved last year. This year’s pain from the loss of Seroquel’s American patent could be severe, with the antipsychotic medicine currently raking in annual sales of almost £1bn.
There is more to come. Nexium for acid reflux will face American generics in 2014 and Crestor, Astra’s biggest-selling drug, loses patent protection in 2016. Crestor is already facing a challenge as cheaper versions of Pfizer’s rival drug, Lipitor, enter the market after its patent expired in November. More sanguine observers, however, argue that Crestor will be protected by its position as a treatment for higher-risk patients.
Elsewhere in Astra’s cabinet of heart medicines, some analysts are concerned that sales of its new blood-thinning drug, Brilinta, are not ramping up quickly enough. Such challenges put the business under pressure as it battles to rejuvenate its pipeline".
AZ is dying. As a huge prehistorical reptile. It's time has gone. Only miracle can save it in 5 years perspective...
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