Drug companies can no longer merely rely on making their pills purple, but a way they can make us and them some green is outlined in a front page article in today’s Wall Street Journal. Even though this article doesn’t mention FLML by name, it speaks directly to what FLML has to offer, to address the issue being discussed. The article is titled….”Drug Makers See ‘Branded Generics’ Eating into Profits.”
The issue at hand for major drug makers is the fact that currently, more than 50% of all prescriptions here in the US are being filled by using generic drugs. In the past, generic companies had to wait until patents expired on drugs before they could develop and sell their generic brand of a particular drug. However, by using legal loop-holds these generic companies are now bring drugs to market that are for drugs that the developer still has years to go under the original patent. For example, in the very near future, a generic company will bring to market a version of Norvasc, a drug that generated $3.8 billion dollars for Pfizer last year. Just to give you a clearer picture as to what this means for Pfizer, is the fact that the generic version of Prilosec, developed by Astra-Zeneca, has eroded their market share by 62%.
What has happened in the past is that drug developers have tried to extend their patents by coating the pills, coloring the pills (anyone notice the constant TV commercials about those purple pills), etc. However, this approach hasn’t held up in court as reflected in the fact that last year, makers of generic drugs filed 83 challenges against drug makers. In 1992 only 7 challenges were made by generic developers.
Bottom-line, major drug companies have to find away to protect their products….products that take millions of dollars to discover, put through FDA trials, and develop a market for once they get FDA approval. The generics take the easy way, and even then they get a break because their product doesn’t have to go through the same FDA scrutiny that the original developer has to go.
This is where FLML comes into the picture….merely making a pill a different color isn’t going to give the drug developer an extension on their patent. The drug has to offer a new and major benefit to the patient….and that is where FLML’s cutting edge delivery system will come into play. Drug companies that IMO use FLML’s technology are drastically and positively enhancing the particular drug’s efficacy. Efficacy enhancements and not just a pill’s new color will give them new legal grounds to protect their revenue stream….and just think! Glaxo came to FLML last year and signed a deal for their technology. And now Glaxo has entered into another deal with FLML for another Glaxo drug……do we see a line forming at FLML’s front door?
Buy! Sit back and relax! This journey will not happen overnight. But the journey should give us all some green and I ain’t talking about green pills. |
