Another Block buster bites the dust

Yet another milestone on pharma's journey away from the mega blockbuster era: Plavix (the world's second-best-selling medicine) goes off patent. And unlike Pfizer BMS plans to back off Plavix marketing immediately. Thanks to the monopoly Plavix enjoyed, USD 9 Billion on its peak and it brought in $6.6 billion in net U.S. sales last year and the drug has generated an estimated $42.8 billion for the company during its 15 years on the market.

FDA said it gave seven companies permission to sell generic Plavix or clopidogrel in the standard 75-milligram dose. According to the FDA, 75-milligram generic Plavix can now be sold by Apotex Corp., Aurobindo Pharma, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Roxanne Laboratories, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

The larger dose of 300 mg will be sold by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Gate Pharmaceuticals, Mylan and Teva.