Sales
Prior to losing U.S. patent protection, simvastatin was Merck & Co.'s largest selling drug and second largest selling cholesterol lowering drug in the world; it recorded US$4.3 billion of sales in 2005.
Zocor had an original patent expiry date of January 2006 but was extended by the United States Patent Trademark Office (PTO) to expire on June 23, 2006. The PTO granted the patent extension after Merck submitted data from studies of the drug’s positive effect on children, a move typically used by drug companies to lengthen exclusivity. In the UK the patent for simvastatin had expired by 2004.
Ordinarily, Merck would have expected a sharp decrease in sales after the generic versions of simvastatin entered the market. However, Merck has slashed the price of Zocor dramatically in an effort to claim sales that would have otherwise gone to the generic versions. At least two major U.S. health insurers, UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint, are now offering Zocor to their members as generic copays.
In addition, since Merck manufactures some versions of Dr. Reddy's authorized generic simvastatin, Merck is poised to profit from Dr. Reddy's version. An 80 mg, 30-count bottle of Dr. Reddy's simvastatin obtained July 6, 2006 states it is made by Merck Sharp & Dohme (Merck & Co.'s name outside the U.S. to avoid conflicts with Merck KGaA) in the UK, just like 80 mg Zocor, and has a Merck & Co. logo on the bottom; except for omitting the "80" on one side, the tablets are visually identical to 80 mg Zocor, including "543" on the other side which is the key part of the National Drug Code for 80 mg Zocor.
Read more about this topic: Simvastatin
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