Big Patent Expirations of 2010

While the much-talked-about patent cliff won't hit until 2011, 2010 will still see patent expirations of some of the industry's blockbuster drugs. Teva, Apotex, Mylan and a slew of other generic drugmakers will have a chance to put a dent in the sales of a number of brand meds this year--including Flomax and Aricept. Lipitor, whose basic patent expires this year, doesn't face competition until 2011 because of Pfizer's deal with Ranbaxy, the first-filer. It's still included in the following list, which has a number of top-selling drugs.

Our 2010 patent expiration list also includes drugs whose patent actually expires, but managed to get a six-month extension due to pediatric exclusivity. Report

1. Cozaar/Hyzaar - Merck
2. Lipitor - Pfizer
3. Flomax - Boehringer Ingelheim
4. Arimidex - AstraZeneca
5. Climara - Bayer HealthCare
6. Aricept - Aricept
7. Invirase - Roche
8. Hycamtin - GlaxoSmithKline
9. Protonix - Pfizer
10. Levaquin - Levaquin