|
Drugmakers Cliffhanger 制药企业 悬念 Big Pharma struggles to protect its blockbusters as they lose patent protection 大型制药企业艰难保护着专利失效的 重磅炸弹 药物 FOR some years the big drugmakers have been dreading an approaching patent cliff aslump in sales as the patents on their most popular pills expire or are struck down by legalchallenges, with few new potential blockbusters to take their place. 多年来，大型制药企业一直担心 专利悬崖 出现最畅销药品的专利到期或专利因诉讼而中止，而市场上鲜有新的 重磅炸弹 药物，这时企业的销售额将会锐减。 This week the patent on the best-selling drug in history expiredLipitor, an anti-cholesterolpill which earned Pfizer nearly $11 billion in revenues last year. 本周，史上最畅销的药物 立普妥 专利到期，这种降胆固醇药去年就为辉瑞公司赚了近110亿美元。 In all, blockbusters with a combined $170 billion in annual sales will go off-patent by 2015. 到了2015年，多种 重磅炸弹 药物的专利都将失效。 What is supposed to happen now is that lots of copycat firms rush in with generic versions of Lipitor at perhaps one-fifth of its price. | 
