Originally Published in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, March 2012.

What is the crashing noise so many pharmaceutical companies are hearing these days? Some say it is the sound of key products going over the “patent cliff.”

The press has focused recently on the number of blockbuster drugs that are coming off or have come off patent. The news has been big as the list is an impressive one – Plavix®, Lipitor®, Seroquel®, Actos®, Enbrel®, Singulair®, Levaquin®, Zyprexa®, Concerta® and Protonix®, just to name a few.With billions of dollars of revenue at stake, pharmaceutical companies have been considering for years how best to protect and build their businesses in light of this monumental change in the pharma landscape. It has become clear that looking abroad may be one of the best answers.