Technical Review: New Releases From Drug Maker Majors Cushion Against Patent Cliff Effects

LONDON, January 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

All companies mentioned in the release below have received technical review as of the close of yesterday's session. These reports are available for free at http://www.stockcall.com/register

For many major drug manufacturers, including Pfizer Inc. ⁽¹⁾ (NYSE: PFE ) and Merck & Co. Inc. ⁽²⁾ (NYSE: MRK), the so-called "patent cliff" put a major dent in sales and profits. The loss of exclusivity of many blockbuster drugs allowed generics to be made, and major drug companies have been left to compete with generic versions that are, in most cases, cheaper.

One of the historically best-selling drug which went off-patent in November 2011 is Lipitor. The anti-cholesterol drug was Pfizer's golden goose as it earned the company close to $9.6 billion in revenue in 2011. Merck & Co. also suffered from patent loss with some of its blockbuster drugs such as Singulair, Maxalt, Cozaar/Hyzaar fell off the patent cliff. But these companies have learnt to survive. Register with us today and access the technical report in Merck & Co. at

http://www.StockCall.com/MRK011613.pdf

While several brand-name drug companies have come out with their own generic equivalents, sales have still suffered. Successful marketing abroad has also helped to boost sales for select companies; however; numbers are still down from exclusivity highs. Depressed sales for some could be set to rebound though, as companies are succeeding in bringing a slew of exciting, new products to market.

A number of major drug manufacturers are currently focusing their attention on and receiving FDA or European Commission approval, which if granted creates the potential for big returns. Pfizer recently announced that the European Commission gave its approval to expand the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar 13 to children and adolescents between the ages of 6 to 17 years. The vaccine is for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease, pneumonia and acute otitis media caused by vaccine-type  Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Additionally, industry players are developing treatments and diagnostic methods for a number of conditions, including cancer, Pneumonia, cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer's among others. With a number of these products newly on the market, it will be interesting to see which, if any, become the next big bread winners for major drug manufacturers.  

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