Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

> MRK TEVA etc. – I was also curious if you see the Zocor phenomenon (off-patent branded drugs being priced at/below the price of generics) becoming a future trend? If so, that could really put the generic companies at a disadvantage relative to where they were previously.<

I see MRK’s action as carrying the idea of “authorized generics” to its logical extreme.

Zocor per se is not the issue; rather, the branded companies want to make generic companies question the economic rationale for spending big money to challenge patents. What better way to send a message than by showing up the largest generic company (TEVA) on the launch of the largest generic product of all time?

Unless Congress revisits the loophole in the Hatch-Waxman act that permits competition during the 180-day post-launch period that is supposedly exclusive for the first generic filer, the generic companies will continue to suffer in the U.S. and they may have to shift more of their attention to other countries.