Patent expiry of key blockbuster drugs will benefit generics manufacturers, report says
Revenues for generics to reach US$231bn in 2017
The global generic pharmaceuticals market is likely capitalise on the patent expiration of a number of key blockbuster drugs, a new Frost & Sullivan report predicts.
Frost & Sullivan’s Generic Pharmaceuticals Market – A Global Analysis, estimates that revenues will increase at an annual rate of 9.3% and reach US$231bn in 2017.
‘The patent expiry of several major blockbuster drugs worth $150bn between 2010 and 2017 will fuel the growth of the global generic pharmaceuticals market,’ says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Aiswariya Chidambaram.
The market will also shift towards less competitive, commercially attractive segments such as difficult-to-produce generics, specialist generics and biosimilars.
The report finds that leading global generic pharmaceutical manufacturers have been creating strategic alliances with branded pharmaceutical companies for marketing rights and exclusivity in producing generic versions of blockbuster drugs such as Lipitor, Cozaar and Crestor.
Market leaders such as Teva, Sandoz and Mylan are also focusing on biosimilars to gain a competitive edge that also presents huge profit margins.
However, potential obstacles include more stringent regulations and price control measures being imposed by governments, which tend to squeeze profit margins.
As competition intensifies, the report advises generic drug manufacturers to make careful choices about the product segments that they wish to compete in and when they enter those markets.
‘Large multinational generic firms need to adopt a differentiated approach by opting for products with technologically challenging formulations, products which require significant regulatory support and products with limited availability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs),’ says Chidambaram.
‘Small and medium-sized firms should focus on products with relatively higher profit margins.’
The report also forecasts that the balance in terms of healthcare expenditure and sales revenue will shift from developed to emerging markets such as India, China, Brazil, Russia, Turkey and South Korea.
