Why generic lenalidomide is delayed: Celgene sued generic companies citing patent infringement. Now BMS has reached agreement with 3 companies limiting sales to <10% volume each— effectively prolonging Revlimid monopoly till 2026. Not good for patients. @DavidP4AD @matthewherper
Or the public— because Revlimid is one of the top drugs in the US for Medicare spending. >2 billion a year. @peterbachmd @a_kaltenboeck fiercepharma.com/pharma/new-cms…
The argument that new drugs go generic after 10-15 years & become inexpensive is not a reality in cancer. Patent life is prolonged by a variety of methods:
Lawsuits
Pay for delay
Volume limited agreements with generic companies
Introducing “me too” drugs as novel replacements
Correction: the terms of agreement with one of the companies (Dr. Reddy’s) is not known. But for two of the generic companies it is volume limited to less than 10% until 2026. fiercepharma.com/pharma/after-p…
Thanks to @pharmalot for clarifying this for me.
I find not disclosing the terms of the arrangement with a generic company even more troubling. @pharmalot @DavidP4AD
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