RE:RE:RE:RE:Big Pharma is facing a looming $236 Billion patent cliff According to many, the anticipated arrival of Humira biosimilars in the US next year has pushed their drug Abbvie to the precipice of the pharma industry’s biggest-ever patent cliff. With the drug expected to top $18.6bn in sales this year, this will be an incredible, even unprecedented financial hit for Humira.
The question is, is this a frightening sign of what’s to come for the pharmaceutical industry?
From 2026, a range of ‘blockbuster’ drugs could well suffer a similar fate. The list includes Keytruda by Merck & Co which faces a 28% drop in sales to $15.3bn, Revlimid by Bristol Myers Squibb which faces a 40% drop in sales to $8.7bn, Opdivo by Bristol Myers Squibb which faces a 13% drop in sales to $7.2bn and Darzalex by J&J/Genmab which faces a 12% drop in sales to $6.8bn. There are several other high-profile, high selling drugs facing similar financial fates as their patent exclusivity nears expiry.
It’s important to note these figures only denote US sales. This means the drops in global revenue will ultimately be much higher.
With so much at stake, pharma companies need to start looking at possible ways to plug these upcoming gaps in their global revenue streams. The need is even more acute if, like Bristol Myers Squibb and Abbvie, the company in question faces losing their exclusivity for several drugs within a short window.
Mergers and 'Bolt-on" Acquisitions are being implemented to replace lost revenues and bring in new potential growth platforms when innovative companies with backbone technologies like ONCY are bought and their technologies/ products are brought-in to complement an acquirers existing and future pipelines.