Generics/General
A European pharmaceutical strategy promoting generics and biosimilars
The European Commission has adopted a new Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe [1], as of 25 November 2020.
Use of generics increases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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].
