Strategic options of actions for pharmaceutical originators after core patent expiration

Abstract

In view of high investments into research and development in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as difficulties to invent new medicines, the economic pressure on the pharmaceutical companies gets greater. At the same time, legal framework for the pharmaceutical industry gets more framed. These circumstances in combination with the fact that with the expiration of a patent protection the generics companies bring generics substitutes to the market and thus cause a tremendous drop in sales of branded drugs, forces companies-originators to look for methods to secure their revenues even after the core patent expiration. Such Life Cycle Management methods, which are used by pharmaceutical companies-originators to extend the patent life, are systemized and depicted in this master thesis. The assessment matrix, comprising market share, financial, and legal risk parameters is developed as a tool, which aims to serve management in evaluation of the strategic options of actions and to help with the choice of the most appropriate Life Cycle Management method for a given company and product.