Exclusivity: Close to the edge

During this year the beginning of the end of the so-called patent cliff for small molecules will come, as the number of blockbuster drug patent expiries starts to tail off. Two of the biggest selling drugs in the US—Abilify (aripiprazole) and Lantus (insulin glargine)—are among those that will lose patent protection there this year, compared with three that slipped off the cliff last year, according to IMS Health figures.