In the annals of Big Pharma, 2012 was expected to be the year of all patent-cliff years. With more than a dozen patent expirations, it was the year most
dreaded by much of Big Pharma. Yes, the biggest blockbuster lost patent
protection in 2011--Pfizer's ($PFE) Lipitor--but in 2012, a whole list of big sellers would drop. Even the Lipitor
damage would hit then, because its patent expired only one month before 2011
ended.
So, pharma's sales wouldn't just drop in 2012. They'd plummet like a
base-jumping daredevil with a faulty parachute. And the year didn't disappoint. For sheer terror, nothing matched the
patent-cliff headlines as the year unfolded. A breathtaking 90% free-fall in Singulair sales for Merck ($MRK)--within four weeks of patent expiration. A Plavix bloodbath for Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY), with sales slashed by 96%. A depressing 83% slide in Seroquel IR sales for AstraZeneca ($AZN). And the list goes on.