VIAGRA NEWS

Source: Times of India

Date: 13-Aug-2007

NEW DELHI: We know of India as a market with low-priced substitutes of branded medicines (or generics) dominating the show. Now this trend is reflecting across the developed world with every second pill being popped is a generic one, right from one which treats a common cold to a more chronic problem such as a heart ailment.

Interestingly, generics now represent over half the volume of pharmaceutical products sold in key markets, replacing expensive branded therapies, and throwing open huge opportunities for domestic pharma companies.

Generics or lower-cost therapies have revolutionised treatments for chronic ailments such as cancer, AIDS, heart diseases to simple infections, aches and pains and include block buster drugs such as Lipitor, Omeprazole, Augmentin, Viagra, Prozac, Plavix, and AIDS drugs Efavirenz and Kaletra. "With lower-cost therapies replacing branded products in classes such as anti-infectives, lipid regulators, anti-depressants, respiratory agents, generics will assume a more central role as players seek to restrict the growth of healthcare expenditures," analysts say.

For the developed world, generic versions of lifestyle drugs, anti-depressants, cardio-vascular/heart-related medicines are relevant, while for the developing countries anti-infectives such as macrolides, cephalasporins are more popular, though the chronic segment is fast catching up.

In Africa, people suffering from AIDS have access to a more affordable treatment offered by generic substitutes of anti-retrovirals largely from Indian companies such as Cipla, at half the cost than those offered by innovator brands. Generics represent half the pharma market in volume terms, while in value terms, they constitute around 15%, but this share is expected to go up further.

Generics are becoming popular for a variety of reasons, the major one being governments around the world are trying to contain healthcare costs. Also, major drugs are expected to go off-patent over the next few years which will give a leg up to generics entering that space, while pipelines of major drug companies are drying up, encouraging generic substitution. Analysts say that an estimated $70 billion worth of branded products are expected to go off-patent over the next three-four years.

The price differential between the parent brand and generic after a couple of years varies between 25%-80% across markets such as UK, Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain. However, North American market comprising of US and Canada offer the largest generic opportunity of nearly $50 billion, which almost all major companies such as Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma and Glenmark are trying to cash in.