patent cliff
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of patent cliff
First recorded in 2005–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The pharmaceutical giant faces a major patent cliff starting this year as key protections for blockbuster drugs like Eliquis begin to expire.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
As Citi’s Davis puts it, “This will be the biggest patent cliff of all time.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 18, 2025
But no company has a patent cliff quite like Merck’s.
From Barron's • Nov. 14, 2025
It also has promising drugs like newly launched flu-drug Xofluza but the patent cliff for its HIV treatments will create an earnings gap that will be hard to completely offset.
From Reuters • Jul. 16, 2019
Forester: That’s making the franchise of Amgen worth more because they’re not having as large of an impact at the patent cliff.
From Forbes • Sep. 4, 2014
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
