Survey Shows Half Of Drug Companies Use Counter-Generics Teams
A study done by Cutting Edge Information indicated that a significant portion of pharmaceutical companies use counter-generics teams to protect their drugs’ revenue streams, even as their patents expire. Some pharmaceutical companies have entire divisions dedicated to counter-generics, while others only create or employ a team when a particular drug’s patent is set to expire.
Of all Top 10 and Top 50 pharmaceutical companies included in the survey, almost 75% use a counter-generics team. Comparatively, only 40% of companies outside the Top 50 listuse counter-generics teams. Cumulatively, 50% of pharmaceutical companies were shown to use dedicated counter-generics teams.
It is generally understood that smaller companies used counter-generics teams less because they had less infrastructure or cash on hand to do so, and if they had the means they would be more likely to engage in the use of a counter-generics team. Some companies also have brand management divisions work with counter-generics teams.
David Richardson, a researcher at Cutting Edge Information, believes that there are other tactics that smaller companies can engage in to protect their revenue streams while approaching patent expiration.