Reports

India supplies 20% of generic drugs worldwide

Home/Reports | Posted 01/03/2013

Every fifth tablet, capsule and injectable generic drug being used in the world is manufactured in India, according to India’s Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Inequality in Europe over access to biologicals for arthritis

Home/Reports | Posted 15/02/2013

Data from a study presented at the European League Against Rheumatism’s Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR Congress 2012, demonstrates the vast inequalities in access to biologicals for the treatments of rheumatoid arthritis across 46 European countries [1, 2].

Prescribing in Scotland increases but drug costs drop

Home/Reports | Posted 08/02/2013

Spending on medicine in Scotland was 11% less in 2011–2012 compared to spending in 2004–2005. This is despite the volume of prescriptions increasing by 33% during that time, according to a new report by Audit Scotland.

Pay-for-delay on the increase in the US

Home/Reports | Posted 24/01/2013

During 2012 the number of potentially anticompetitive patent dispute settlements between brand-name and generics companies in the US increased significantly compared with 2011 according to a new report released on 17 January 2013 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Patients persuade doctors to prescribe brand-name rather than generic drugs

Home/Reports | Posted 18/01/2013

Doctors are persuaded by patients to prescribe brand-name drugs when generic drugs are available. That is according to results of a survey carried out by researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital and published in JAMA Internal Medicine [1].

EU health spending in 2010 decreases for first time since 1975

Home/Reports | Posted 14/12/2012

Health spending fell across the EU in 2010, governments affected by continuing austerity measures tried to save money by reducing spending on health, according to Health at a Glance: Europe 2012, a new joint report by the OECD and the European Commission.

Generic drug prices decrease, brand-name prices increase

Home/Reports | Posted 07/12/2012

Over the last year brand-name drugmakers have raised prices by 13.3%, more than six times the consumer inflation rate. Generic drug prices, on the contrary; actually decreased by 21.9% during the same period.

Biosimilar policies in the UK

Home/Reports | Posted 30/11/2012

The UK was placed in 10th position in the global pharmaceutical markets in 2011 [1]. The UK also had some of the lowest prices for medicines in Europe [2]. Cost pressures and a well-developed generics market mean that the UK is likely to be a fast-adopter of biosimilars. However, relatively low usage of biologicals reduces the UK’s attractiveness as a biosimilars market [3].

Biosimilar policies in Spain

Home/Reports | Posted 16/11/2012

Spain is Europe’s fifth largest pharmaceutical market [1], however, in 2009, biosimilars accounted for less than 5% of the total biologicals market [2].

Future biosimilar targets

Home/Reports | Posted 26/10/2012

It seems biological medicines are set to play a major part in the pharmaceutical industry’s future and they already play a major part in its current growth [1]. At the moment, biologicals account for 10–15% of the pharmaceutical market. More than one-fifth of new medicines launched on the world market each year are now biotechnology-derived.

Generic medicine switches confuse patients and reduce adherence

Home/Reports | Posted 19/10/2012

Switching between generic medicines without explaining the reason to the patient can undermine trust in pharmacists, the Aston Medication Adherence Study (AMAS) has found [1].

EMA report shows generics applications down but biosimilars up

Home/Reports | Posted 19/10/2012

EMA’s mid-year report for 2012 has shown that the number of generics applications is much lower than the agency has predicted, while for biosimilars it is the opposite.

Stakeholders are key allies for biosimilar producers

Home/Reports | Posted 12/10/2012

Many different drug developers could potentially contribute to the biosimilars market, which is projected to expand rapidly, achieving sales of between US$1.9–2.6 billion by 2015. It is vital, however, to take into account the requirements of different stakeholders in order to develop appropriate strategies for success, as highlighted in a recent IMS Health report [1].

Australian patients ‘very positive’ about generics

Home/Reports | Posted 05/10/2012

A new survey shows 75% of Australians believe that the government should offer a price discount to consumers who choose generics.

ABPI concerned about medicines misconceptions

Home/Reports | Posted 21/09/2012

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) represents innovative research-based biopharmaceutical companies in the UK. In a new survey commissioned by the association issues of misunderstandings by the British public have been highlighted regarding the cost and value of medicines in the UK.

2020 outlook for biosimilars: opportunities and hurdles

Home/Reports | Posted 14/09/2012

Many different factors will influence the future growth of the biosimilars market in different world regions, both in terms of access to biosimilars and uptake. Producers will need to re-evaluate their own capacity to enter the biosimilars market and develop both in-house strategies and external alliances in order to gain most from potential value of biosimilars.

Growing economies, growing markets: a bright future for biosimilars

Home/Reports | Posted 07/09/2012

The biosimilars market, currently small and focused on a few disease areas and countries, is likely to grow considerably over the coming years, particularly in the US and emerging economies such as Brazil and South Korea. An analysis by IMS Health indicates that while this situation is potentially highly lucrative, careful planning and negotiation by producers will be required to make the most of the burgeoning markets [1].

Positioning of biosimilars: commodity versus differentiated

Home/Reports | Posted 24/08/2012

How to market a new biosimilar is a key question, especially when taking into consideration the costs that are associated with developing a biosimilar. Whether the biosimilar will be a bulk (commodity) product or a differentiated product can have significant impact on the uptake of the biosimilar.

Generics reduce England’s drug spending

Home/Reports | Posted 17/08/2012

According to a new report from the National Health Service in England, published on 31 July 2012, despite a 3.8% increase in the number of prescriptions dispensed in 2011 compared to 2010, spending on pharmaceuticals has decreased by 0.3%.

European uptake of biosimilars