See the DrugPatentWatch profile for Sutent
When does Sutent (sunitinib) lose exclusivity?
Publicly available “loss of exclusivity” dates for Sutent depend on the country and what kind of protection you mean (patents, regulatory data exclusivity, marketing exclusivity). The term is also used differently across markets, so the exact date can’t be determined from the question alone.
How do you figure out the Sutent exclusivity date for a specific country?
To get the right “loss of exclusivity” date, you typically need three inputs:
- The country (e.g., US, EU, UK, Canada, etc.).
- The exact product (strengths/forms) being tracked.
- The exclusivity type (patent expiry vs. data exclusivity vs. marketing exclusivity).
Those categories often produce different dates, and follow-on formulations can create separate exclusivity timelines.
What usually controls generic entry timing for Sutent?
Generic or biosimilar-style entry timing is generally driven by:
- Patent expiry for the active ingredient and key formulations/process claims.
- Any regulatory data and marketing exclusivity still in force.
- Product-specific regulatory barriers (for example, if a particular marketing authorization has additional exclusivity, or if there are regulatory “linking” rules).
Because Sutent is a small-molecule drug, the key gating items are usually patents and regulatory exclusivity, not biologic-style pathways.
What if you mean “patent expiry” instead of “loss of exclusivity”?
Many people use “loss of exclusivity” to mean the first date when all relevant patents have expired. If that is what you mean, the answer becomes the earliest expiration among:
- the core sunitinib patents, and
- any later “secondary” patents that could block generic approval.
To compute that date accurately, you need the patent list for the country and the specific claims tied to the marketed product.
Can exclusivity dates differ even within the same country?
Yes. Even for the same marketed medicine, dates can differ by:
- drug strength or dosage form,
- separately protected formulations or polymorphs,
- additional manufacturing/process patents, and
- whether exclusivity is tied to the original approval versus later label updates.
If you tell me the market, I can narrow it to the correct date
Reply with:
1) the country (US, EU/which country, UK, etc.), and
2) whether you mean patent expiry or regulatory/data exclusivity (or just “first generic launch date” you’ve seen quoted).
With that, the answer can be pinned to the right exclusivity timeline for that jurisdiction.
Sources
No sources were provided in your prompt, so I can’t cite specific Sutent exclusivity dates.