Innovation in the generics industry

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Innovation in the generics industry

Generics/Research | Posted 10/05/2013 0 Post your comment

The decrease in innovation in the originator pharmaceutical industry is leading to an increase in innovation in the generics pharmaceutical industry, according to new research [1].

Innovation comes in many forms, including incremental innovation, re-innovation and radical innovation. In the generics industry incremental and re-innovation tend to be used as a more cost-effective and quicker way to provide innovative products.

Authors Barei et al. used a qualitative method, using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, to examine re-innovation in the management systems, business models and product portfolios of generics companies.

Re-innovative products are created through applying new platforms, new components, or new configurations with breakthrough technologies to previous products or manufacturing processes. The new re-innovated medicines focus on improving health outcomes for patients.

Examples of re-innovated generics discussed by the authors included Abraxane and SUBACAP. Abraxane is a super generic form of Taxol (paclitaxel), which uses albumin to deliver the chemotherapy treatment, not Cremophor, and so avoids hypersensitivity and claims a greater tumour response rate than Taxol. SUBACAP is an improved version of the conventional itraconazole formulation used to treat fungal infections. It provides reduced inter- and intra-patient variability and therefore a more predictable clinical response enabling a reduction in the quantity of active drug required to deliver therapeutic blood levels.

Another example of re-innovation given by the authors was the use of a novel technology platform to produce a super generic product by the application of nanoparticle technology to improve the delivery of poorly soluble compounds. This re-innovation has led to the development of a tablet dosage form of high blood pressure treatment candesartan cilexetil in a nanoparticle form, which reduces the dosage required, reduces toxicity, improves bioavailability and enhances solubility.

Generics firms are no longer simply producing generics. They are integrating re-innovation design into their product portfolios in order to provide more personalized, cost-effective products to meet healthcare systems’, policymakers’ and patients’ demand for high quality accessible treatments. By meeting these demands generics firms thus hope to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors by changing the market into quality-focussed rather than price-focussed competition.

Conflict of interest
The authors of the research article declared that they had no conflicts of interest that were directly relevant to the content of their manuscript. The research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Reference

1. Barei F, Le Pen C, Simoens S. The generic pharmaceutical industry: moving beyond incremental innovation towards re-innovation. Generics and Biosimilars Initiative Journal (GaBI Journal). 2013;2(1);13-9. doi:10.5639/gabij.2013.0201.011

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