One of the most commonly observed fears of biopharmaceutical insiders and executives is the dreaded Patent Cliff. This figurative “cliff”, as described by industry experts, was supposed to be a hypothetical moment when the patents of many recognized or widely used drugs and medicine would expire leading to industry competitions creating generic drugs with the same ingredients. This was supposed to lead to the downfall of existing biopharmaceutical giants, however, this never happened (and will never happen in the foreseeable future). 


From a theoretical (and isolated) perspective, the patent cliff is an eventuality best described as “when, not if”, however practically, it can be stated with confidence that it won’t happen. This is due to the observation that successful biopharmaceutical firms establish a brand (sometimes in fear of the patent cliff) in relation to the popularity of their proprietary drugs, which usually tend to outlive the patents associated with them. It should be noted that such brands create trust between customers (including the medical community) and the product leading to an extremely loyal consumer base. Additionally, such drug manufacturing companies utilize trademarks and good marketing to maintain dominance in the market.


It can be concluded the fear of the patent cliff is what contributed to it becoming less of a reality and more of a bogeyman that biopharmaceutical executives use to scare each other.

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