Ireland Faces $26 Billion Export Headache as Drugs Stop Working
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The strength of Ireland’s drugs industry may turn into a weakness as the country drags itself out of the worst economic slump in its modern history.
Five of the world’s top-selling dozen medicines are produced in Ireland, and their sales will fall 52 percent to $13 billion by 2013 from $27 billion in 2010 as their patents expire, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on analysts’ estimates. They start with Pfizer Inc.’s cholesterol treatment Lipitor, which loses its patent protection this month.