Patent cliff in 2012 and 2013: the numbers

And the numbers are sick!

In 2012, more than 40 brand-name drugs totaling a staggering $35 billion in annual sales fell victim to the patent cliff, watching their patent protection disappear into thin air. As a result, generic companies gained the rights to produce their own cheaper editions of typical name-brand drugs, taking much of the profits that had previously been collected by the name brands.

 

In 2013, the same is expected of many more pharmaceutical companies, prompting expectations of the value of these drugs to decrease by more than half, leaving the value at about $17 billion.