desflurane - Profile

What are the generic drug sources for desflurane and what is the scope of patent protection?

Desflurane is the generic ingredient in two branded drugs marketed by Shanghai Hengrui and Baxter Hlthcare, and is included in two NDAs. Additional information is available in the individual branded drug profile pages.

Summary for desflurane

US Patents:	0
Tradenames:	2
Applicants:	2
NDAs:	2

Paragraph IV (Patent) Challenges for DESFLURANE

Tradename	Dosage	Ingredient	Strength	NDA	ANDAs Submitted	Submissiondate
SUPRANE	Inhalation	desflurane	99.9%	020118	1	2008-09-11

US Patents and Regulatory Information for desflurane

Applicant	Tradename	Generic Name	Dosage	NDA	Approval Date	TE	Type	RLD	RS	Patent No.	Patent Expiration	Product	Substance	Delist Req.	Exclusivity Expiration
Shanghai Hengrui	DESFLURANE	desflurane	LIQUID;INHALATION	208234-001	Feb 26, 2018	AN	RX	No	No
Baxter Hlthcare	SUPRANE	desflurane	LIQUID;INHALATION	020118-001	Sep 18, 1992	AN	RX	Yes	Yes

Desflurane (Inhalation Anesthetic): Investment Scenario and Fundamentals Analysis

Last updated: April 25, 2026

What is desflurane and why does it matter to investors?

Desflurane is a halogenated inhaled general anesthetic used to induce and maintain anesthesia during surgical procedures. In investable terms, it sits in a category where (1) procurement and tender dynamics shape demand, (2) lifecycle is driven by patent and exclusivity terms for branded originators plus generic entry, and (3) utilization is linked to elective surgery volumes and case mix.

Core positioning

• Route: Inhalation, delivered via anesthesia machines in operating rooms.
• Clinical role: Maintenance and induction of general anesthesia in adults (and pediatric use per label where approved).
• Economic driver: Sustained usage in OR settings with institutional purchasing and switching costs that typically keep “brand” shares relatively sticky after generic entry, but not immune.

Revenue model (how money is made)

• Hospital/health-system procurement: pricing negotiated through tenders, group purchasing organizations, and contract renewals.
• Supply and service: stable delivery and local distribution network impact conversion at the account level more than marginal differentiation.

What does the IP and lifecycle landscape look like?

A full, investment-grade scenario for desflurane depends on the patent calendar by jurisdiction, including the status of composition of matter, method-of-use, and device-related patents if any. Under the present constraints, the complete patent-by-jurisdiction dataset and date-accurate status cannot be produced from the information available in this prompt. No complete, accurate IP timeline can be issued here.

Where is the market and what fundamentals drive demand?

Even without company-specific filings, desflurane demand follows a stable set of fundamentals typical for inhaled anesthetics.

Demand drivers

• Elective surgery volume: procedural throughput directly drives anesthetic use.
• Case mix: faster turnover and day-surgery utilization can increase OR anesthetic cycles.
• Institutional formulary decisions: hospitals often rationalize inhaled anesthetic inventories to a small set based on cost and operational compatibility.

Utilization and substitution dynamics

Desflurane competes primarily with other inhaled anesthetics and, depending on setting, with total intravenous anesthesia:

• Inhaled competitors: isoflurane, sevoflurane, and sometimes higher use of low-flow strategies to manage cost and environmental considerations.
• Substitution risk: if reimbursement and procurement shift toward lower cost alternatives, share can erode even when clinical performance is acceptable.

Operational constraints

• Inventory and waste: anesthetics are high-turnover but require strict handling and delivery logistics.
• Machine compatibility: substitution across agents is not purely chemical; it depends on OR workflows and anesthesia machine configurations.

How do pricing and tendering typically behave for desflurane?

For investment purposes, the key is not list price but net price after contracting. Inhaled anesthetics often show:

• Contracting-based pricing: annual or multi-year contracts with renegotiation tied to competitor quotes.
• Rapid erosion after generic entry: when supply is broad and procurement is competitive, generics can take share quickly.
• Brand stickiness with ceiling effects: branded originators may retain share where switching creates operational friction or where institutional inertia persists.

What are the key competitive benchmarks?

A fundamentals view requires benchmarking against substitutes using a consistent frame: net cost per case (or per minute), availability, and institutional switching.

Competitive factors

• Net acquisition cost (contracted)
• OR workflow compatibility (formulary adoption speed)
• Clinical protocol adherence (standardization and training)
• Supply reliability (stock-out risk)

Investment scenario: three plausible pathways

Without verified dosing, pricing, and patent calendar by region, the only defensible way to model investment is through scenario structure rather than point estimates. The scenarios below map to real-world outcomes investors use for inhalation anesthetics.

Scenario A: Branded resilience with managed substitution

Mechanism

• Contract renewals keep desflurane on formulary.
• Generic pressure is present but constrained by tender design, supply, and switching friction.

What it implies for investors

• Revenue stays supported by institutional loyalty and OR standardization.
• Margin compression occurs but less steep than in full-market replacement.

Risks

• Aggressive procurement re-bundling toward cheaper alternatives.
• Environmental or policy shifts that favor specific anesthetics in formularies.

Scenario B: Generic normalization with price erosion

Mechanism

• Generic entry expands and contracts shift to lowest net price per case.
• Hospitals adopt multi-source purchasing and reduce branded exposure.

What it implies for investors

• Flat-to-declining revenue with margin squeeze.
• Winning strategy becomes supply scale, procurement competitiveness, and distribution reach.

Risks

• Working capital and channel inventory management.
• Intensifying competition from other inhaled agents and IV anesthesia protocols.

Scenario C: Policy or clinical pathway shift changes utilization mix

Mechanism

• Sustainability or cost containment policies push clinicians toward other agents or lower-cost inhaled strategies.
• Audit-based stewardship influences agent choice and utilization.

What it implies for investors

• Volume shifts rather than pure price effects.
• Winners reallocate capacity to favored agents or secure longer-term supply contracts.

Risks

• Demand volatility tied to elective surgery cycles.
• Regulatory or reimbursement shifts that disadvantage desflurane’s contracted position.

What metrics should be used to underwrite desflurane exposure?

For an investment diligence deck, the following are the controllable, measurable inputs.

Commercial diligence checklist (quantifiable)

• Net price per unit by contract cohort (not list).
• Share by hospital segment (academic, community, ambulatory mix).
• Product portfolio mix within the anesthetics basket (how many agents the account buys).
• Contract duration and renegotiation cadence (renewal timing creates step-changes).
• Supply continuity (fill rate and backorder frequency impact contract retention).

Financial diligence checklist (trend-based)

• Gross margin trend through generic penetration phases.
• COGS volatility due to supply scale and manufacturing footprint changes.
• SG&A efficiency in distribution-heavy models.

Clinical and demand diligence checklist

• Elective surgery volume proxies (procedure counts, utilization indices).
• Case mix shift (day surgery and fast-track perioperative protocols).
• Standardization policies in large IDNs (integrated delivery networks).

Where does risk sit across the value chain?

Patent/exclusivity risk

• If branded exclusivity is limited or invalidated, generic normalization accelerates price erosion.
• If exclusivity persists in key jurisdictions, branded revenues can hold longer.

Supply and procurement risk

• Allocation constraints during manufacturing disruptions quickly create share loss and reputational damage at the account level.

Competition risk

• Substitution among inhaled agents can compress margins even without generic entry.

Regulatory/policy risk

• Environmental handling rules, procurement sustainability requirements, or anesthetic stewardship programs can shift utilization.

What could create upside?

• Long-term formulary placements in large IDNs with multi-year contracting.
• Manufacturing scale and cost position that allows competitive net pricing without margin collapse.
• Portfolio bundling where desflurane wins as part of a broader anesthesia supply contract.

What could create downside?

• Tender wins by generic entrants with aggressive net pricing.
• Switching to other inhaled agents driven by stewardship, cost controls, or clinical protocol changes.
• Manufacturing supply constraints that trigger contract churn.

Key Takeaways

• Desflurane’s investability is driven by OR utilization and institutional tendering, not by incremental clinical differentiation.
• The most material inflection points typically occur at generic entry and contract renewal cycles.
• Underwriting should focus on net price, contract structure, share by IDN segment, and margin behavior through competitive transitions.
• Without a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction patent status timeline, an exact exclusivity-based valuation cannot be stated in this response.

FAQs

1) What is desflurane used for?
It is an inhaled anesthetic used to induce and maintain general anesthesia in surgical settings.

2) What most strongly affects desflurane revenue?
Institutional procurement outcomes and elective surgery volumes, with additional sensitivity to formulary switching among inhaled anesthetics.

3) How does generic competition typically impact inhaled anesthetic markets?
It generally drives net price erosion and share shifts toward the lowest-cost net contracted options, with branded stickiness persisting only where switching is operationally constrained.

4) What metrics matter most for underwriting?
Net price per unit, gross margin trend, contracted share by hospital segment, contract duration, and supply reliability (fill rate).

5) What risks are most relevant for an investment thesis?
Patent/exclusivity calendar changes, aggressive tender competition, substitution to other anesthetics, and supply chain disruptions.

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References

[1] Wikipedia. “Desflurane.”
[2] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Labeling for desflurane-containing products.”
[3] European Medicines Agency (EMA). “Desflurane product information and EPAR materials.”