Here's the latest article from The Chicago Tribune over the weekend on all the drug patent expirations that are expected in the next 4 years and the expected financial impact as generics emerge to get their piece of the expiring pie.
Big savings coming from emerging generic drugs, patent expirations.
According to IMS Health data, more than $100 billion in annual brand-name drug sales will be at risk for generic competition from 2011 to 2015. That's about one-third of the annual spending on all prescription drugs in the U.S.
"You are going to see more and more people being pushed to generics," said Linda Bannister, health care analyst with Edward Jones in St. Louis. "For patients, I see a big dividend for the research the drug companies put in in the late 1980s and 1990s."
Analysts see future drug development moving toward biotechnology as scientists look for ways to treat diseases and conditions that include cancer, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. "A lot of people think drug development is cyclical," Bannister said. "There are a lot of innovative medicines on the horizon. Hopefully, there will be new products."
Posted by Bruce Lehr May 9th 2011.
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