Healthy Skepticism Library item: 12833

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Publication type: news

Authorised and branded generics set to rise by 2010
PM Live 2008 Feb 14
http://www.pmlive.com/index.cfm?showArticle=1&ArticleID=6480

Full text:

Many major pharma companies will enter the generics market by 2010 in an attempt to retain a competitive edge as their product patents run out, according to a study by market intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information.

Pharma companies are battling with generics companies keen to step in when patents expire. One tactic is known as branded generics, where a company markets a generic version of its own brand in the hope that the brand and company association will give its generic version an edge over the competition.

Other companies are negotiating license-to-distribute agreements with generics manufacturers instead of competing with them directly. This is also expected to become a more common place practice in the future ­ the industry expects to see a 33 per cent increase in authorised generics by 2010.

In many cases, as with Pfizer’s Greenstone, a company subsidiary springs up to fill the role of branded generics manufacturer.

According to Cutting Edge Information’s study, Combating Generics 2008: Counter Generics Strategy, Planning and Execution, the industry expects a 75 per cent increase in generic subsidiaries between now and 2010.

“Both branded generics and authorised generics are becoming more common industry practices. In fact, half of the companies in our survey plan to employ one or both of these methods by the end of 2010,” said research team leader Eric Bolesh.

Twenty-four pharma companies were profiled in the study, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, sanofi-aventis and Roche.