Generics/General

Use of generics increases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico

Generics/General | Posted 21/06/2021

During the last month of July 2020, the pharmacist sector affiliated with the National Association of Medicines Retailers (Asociación Nacional de Distribuidores de Medicina A.C, ANADIM) reported an average sales growth of 23% fostered by the demand of generic medicines.

COVID-19 IP waivers could lead to global pharma patent changes

Generics/General | Posted 11/06/2021

At the Nikkei Future of Asia conference in Tokyo on 20 May 2021, Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that he believes Asia should lead in opening-up patent protections to produce generic versions of life-saving medicines.

COVID-19 favipiravir treatment production opens up in Thailand

Generics/General | Posted 04/06/2021

In Thailand, the patent application for favipiravir, a drug widely used to treat COVID-19, has been rejected. This now allows local generics production of the antiviral medication and human trials of a Thai-made version of the drug are underway.

Generics in India

Generics/General | Posted 30/04/2021

India is the world’s largest generic drugs producer, yet the generics market within the country is relatively small. In a recent article [1], Sajid Sheikh and Gunjan Deshpande of the Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai, explore the current status of generics in India.

US$1.2 FDA contract for generic drug computational tool

Generics/General | Posted 16/04/2021

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Generic Drugs (ODG) has awarded a US$1.2 million contract to support the development of a computational tool that will aid generic drug research.

Opportunities for generics with Korean patent expires in 2021

Generics/General | Posted 05/03/2021

As part of ongoing action to improve the quality of generics and ensure an efficient and competitive generics market, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced that 158 patents for pharmaceutical products will expire in 2021.

AIFA updates the Transparency Lists for generics

Generics/General | Posted 26/02/2021

The Italian Medicines Agency (Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, AIFA) announced on 15 January 2021 the update of its Transparency Lists (liste di trasparenza).

New generics company to offer low-cost versions of high-cost generics

Generics/General | Posted 29/01/2021

Billionaire Marc Cuban has launched a new generics company – Marc Cuban Cost Plus – which ‘is dedicated to producing low-cost versions of high-cost generic drugs’.

Generics applications under review by EMA – January 2021

Generics/General | Posted 22/01/2021

Generic medicines in Europe can be approved either centrally via the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or nationally via the local regulatory body [1]. Approval by EMA takes place by using a centralized procedure. This leads to approval of the product in all 28 European Union (EU) Member States and in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. At a country level, if approval in a single EU Member State only is required, this can take place using the national procedure. However, as soon as a company seeks approval in two or more Member States, a decentralized procedure or mutual recognition procedure must be used [2].

Pfizer sues Aurobindo and Dr Reddy’s over Ibrance (palbociclib) generics

Generics/General | Posted 27/11/2020

US-based pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, has filed petitions in US courts against Aurobindo Pharma and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

China prioritizes drug innovation while increasing access to drugs approved abroad

Generics/General | Posted 20/11/2020

China's pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a transformation towards high-quality and innovation-focused development, which has led to an explosion of new drug and clinical trial approvals in recent years.

Brazil sees a COVID vaccine setback but treatment advancement

Generics/General | Posted 06/11/2020

In Brazil’s quest to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a volunteer death in a potential vaccine trial, but a potential treatment option has emerged. Brazil has the second number of COVID-19 deaths, with over 159,033 deaths recorded up to end of October 2020.

Reforms to health policy needed in Europe

Generics/General | Posted 23/10/2020

The President of Medicines for Europe has made four key recommendations for European Union (EU) pharmaceutical policy, while the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) says reforms to the health service could save Ireland millions of euros.

Structural reforms are required to make Japan’s healthcare system sustainable

Generics/General | Posted 09/10/2020

Japan’s healthcare system provides universal coverage and high-quality healthcare delivery. With relatively minor changes for nearly six decades, it has kept the country remarkably healthy. However, a recent study has highlighted that significant changes may be necessary to maintain long-term sustainability.

The benefits of tracking generic drug quality

Generics/General | Posted 18/09/2020

Resources such as the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Sentinel Initiative should be used to their full potential in order to monitor the quality of generic drugs, suggests a recently published research letter [1].

Generics applications under review by EMA – July 2020

Generics/General | Posted 17/07/2020

Generic medicines in Europe can be approved either centrally via the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or nationally via the local regulatory body [1]. Approval by EMA takes place by using a centralized procedure. This leads to approval of the product in all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. At a country level, if approval in a single EU Member State only is required, this can take place using the national procedure. However, as soon as a company seeks approval in two or more Member States, a decentralized procedure or mutual recognition procedure must be used [2].

HIV drug Kaletra appears on Russian black market

Generics/General | Posted 12/06/2020

There are several reports of a black market in Russia emerging for the HIV drug Kaletra, following claims that it can be used to treat COVID-19.

CMS proposes new measures to rate generic usage

Generics/General | Posted 04/05/2020

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is actively working to promote competition and lower costs for drugs, according to a statement released in February 2020, which also details new measures of generics usage to help calculate a plan’s star rating.

Science, outreach, development: US Generics Drugs Office reaches new highs in 2019

Generics/General | Posted 24/04/2020

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Generic Drugs 2019 Annual report gave updates on the number of generics approvals in 2019. These remained high at 1,014 [1-3]. The report also discussed the progress of the FDA’s Drug Competition Action Plan (DCAP) and FDA’s Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA) programme [4], and information about the achievements of the Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) in terms of research proposals, outreach activities and international development.

Improving the pathway for generics approval in the US: 2019 update

Generics/General | Posted 17/04/2020

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Generic Drugs released their 2019 annual report in February 2020. This gave updates on the number of generics approvals in 2019 which reached 1,014. It also gave information on the progress of FDA’s Drug Competition Action Plan (DCAP) and FDA’s Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA) programme in 2019.

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