Generic drug makers outperformed many of their
branded rivals in 2005, and analysts believe that the trend will
continue through 2006. This trend is going to prove a big nightmare
for branded drug manufacturers. The most obvious target for generic
drug companies in the next five years is the $100 billion in name-brand
drugs which are expected to go off-patent.
In 2006 $21 billion worth of name brand drugs are
expected to lose their patents according to Andrew Forman, analyst
for WR Hambrecht & Co. But generic companies will see just a
fraction of this revenue, because drug prices typically drop 50
to 80 percent when drugs go generic. Generic drug makers such as
Teva or Ranbaxy, the manufacturer of erectile
dysfunction generic drug Caverta, whoever win exclusivity of
a branded drug have the right to produce that drug after it loses
patent protection without competition from other generic drug makers
for six months.
To read more visit: http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/10/news/companies/generic/
