As Peter noted in his WSJ op-ed about “patent burning](https://www.wsj.com/articles/lets-throw-a-patent-burning-party-1538329275),” drug companies should celebrate when their drugs go off patent, even if they might feel more like mourning than celebrating. Occasionally, a company does celebrate this milestone.
Take another look at the chart that shows atorvastatin as America’s most-prescribed medicine (below). A bit further down the list is lisinopril, a blood pressure medicine developed and marketed by the drug company Merck and its partner AstraZeneca until it went generic in 2002. In 2016, lisinopril was the most-prescribed drug in the U.S., ahead of atorvastatin. And at the time, Merck celebrated that a drug its scientists invented was so valuable to so many people as a generic. It’s a little late, but at RAU our stance is that it’s never too late for a party.
Intriguingly, Keytruda, a Merck cancer drug, has now surpassed Humira as the world’s best selling medicine. Will Merck celebrate that drug’s genericization when it comes? Only time will tell. We hope so!
