More than $80 billion worth of blockbuster drugs faces patent expiration by 2008.  These drugs risk losing 80% or greater market share when generic copies hit the market.  Brand managers can retain market share with advanced strategic planning and lifecycle management, according to a new report published by pharmaceutical business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information, http://www.PharmaGenerics.com .

The report, “Combating Generics: Pharmaceutical Brand Defense” (http://www.PharmaGenerics.com), examines a variety of product- and legal-based strategies available to product management teams for retaining market share even as generic competition reaches market.  Each strategy – including “flanking” generics, Rx-to-OTC switching, developing franchise and line extensions and market-crossover strategies – is explored in detail using in-depth industry case studies.  The report examines both successful and unsuccessful examples of patent and product defense in the face of generic competition.

For example, AstraZeneca retained – and even grew – its heartburn franchise when its blockbuster Prilosec faced generic competition.  The company developed and launched a successor, Nexium, in time to switch patients to the improved treatment, thereby growing franchise sales by nearly 10% from $6 billion in 2001 sales to $6.6 billion in 2002.

Cutting Edge Information published the full findings of its research in a detailed report, “Combating Generics: Pharmaceutical Brand Defense,” which is available at http://www.PharmaGenerics.com.  The report also analyzes the impact of recent changes to the Hatch-Waxman Act in the US and regulatory developments in the European Parliament.  It includes more than 250 metrics on the timing of generics-defense lifecycle management planning and execution, budgets allocated for franchise and line extension R&D, staffing resources dedicated to combating generics, and more. 

“The industry is developing fewer blockbuster drugs today, so companies are realizing the grave importance of protecting the assets that will enable them to continue developing new medicines over the next decade,” said Eric Bolesh, senior analyst at Cutting Edge Information.  “This translates to anticipating generic competition – even before patents expire, planning ahead, and pursuing a course of action that often combines several defensive and proactive strategies to retain market share when generics come into play.”

To download a free summary of this 203-page report, visit http://www.PharmaGenerics.com. For more information or to learn about other Cutting Edge Information research, contact Diana Borja at diana_borja@cuttingedgeinfo.com or 919-433-0219.

 
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