The cancer drug-bubble: A bad diagnosis for shareholders and patients

The pharmaceutical industry is facing a rough couple of years: The "patent-expiration cliff" slated for 2012-2013, in which lucrative brand-name drugs will lose exclusivity and face cheaper generics. To offset the losses they're anticipating, many pharmaceuticals looking for profits have turned to oncology and creating cancer drugs.

This may sound like good news. But current incentives and market conditions may actually work to the detriment of pharmaceuticals and patients alike, as Andrew Pollack of The New York Times explains.