Big Pharma will survive “unscathed” from this year’s patent cliff, says report

Rebecca Aris

Pharmaphorum

Most global pharmaceutical firms will survive this year’s patent cliff unscathed, according to a report from Standard &amp, Poor's.

The report entitled ‘Why Global Pharmaceutical Firms Won't Fall Off A Patent Cliff’ claimed that whilst most big pharmaceutical companies won’t thrive in the current environment, they would survive.

“We believe a mix of factors will keep the sector resilient to patent expiries. Their pipeline of new molecular entities in late-stage development suggests they can match lost sales from patent expiries with future sales growth if these projects gain regulatory approval.

“Furthermore, companies are finding growth in high-potential markets such as oncology and diabetes treatments, and in fast-growing emerging markets.”

Olaf Toelke, S&amp,P’s credit analyst

Big companies are also buying up smaller medical firms, which is diversifying their product ranges, to protect themselves from significant losses.