What is the future of Generics? The evolution and road ahead

Last updated on August 31st, 2024 at 11:34 am

Future of generic pharmaceutical industry

The idea behind manufacturing, procuring, and distributing the generic drug is to ensure equal access to health care and the future sustainable production of drugs. People seek generic drugs as policymakers and other health groups promote the use of generic medicines to minimize health costs while ensuring that funds are made available for new waves of breakthrough medications.

In the 1920s, people fought against the Spanish Flu pandemic, and Aspirin became one of the most sought-after drugs. And to keep its products out of stock, the German pharmaceutical company lost its American rights of Aspirin that made its use open to the public. That was just the beginning and now the generics are readily available in the market.

If we consider the history of generics, then it is fair to note that around 40 years back, the drug manufacturers could only perform fewer tests than what is needed now to get the drug approval. The real testing was done once the product was out in the market. The therapeutic drug can be withdrawn if too many patients complain of adverse reactions. The consequence of this method was painfully evident if the Thalidomide was sedative in Europe, Canada, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, causing thousands of catastrophic congenital disabilities.

The approval of a generic drug is almost the same at the international level while slightly different in developing nations like India. The reason is that the bioequivalence trials (B.E.) are not required in this part of the globe to obtain general approval and the gold standard in the area as in the U.S.

Unlike India’s other industries like chemical, petrochemical, oil & gas and mining industries, the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most competitive with more than 10,000 firms. It testifies the importance of the market and nations and the robust cooperation of a pharmaceutical ecosystem for many years. The evolution of generics in India is nothing less the coming of the age story as the pharmaceutical sector now boasts some major domestic companies. There are already over 3,000 WHO-GMP licensed plants in India. Also, it is estimated that above 1,500 SMEs will be compliant with WHO-GMP over the next 3 to 4 years, which will help the industry grow. A couple of years back, Indian companies accounted for 35 to 40 % of the total USFDA 971 approvals.

Such progress in producing the generics means having a 100% competition rate, and that has many other small companies flourish. Now, we see more businesses entering this space and ultimately enabling cheaper medical options for buyers. The floodgates were opened in 1984 when the Competition for the Drug Price and the Patent Term Restoration Act (Hatch-Waxman Law) was adopted.

After this act, the pharmaceutical industry’s face changed forever as now the prescription of generic medications becomes mandatory for civil hospital doctors. The customers can save crores of rupees 8 to 10 billion per year. From the time when generic Aspirin first reached the stores, we have come a long way. And this is a great relief for customers concerned about the high cost of medicines.

At Medkart, we are ardent about generic drugs with a vision to make affordable medicines accessible to everyone. On the other hand, we educate people to question the system – hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical stores, and everyone in the ecosystem. The idea is to create awareness about the generics and knowledge about how branded medicines are made expensive though bearing the same content and manufactured in the same facility. Even at the transaction level, the pharmacists would typically dispense their preferred branded generic. The road ahead is all about awareness and education, where the buyer needs to be sure of the quality that generics offer.

Future of generic medicines in india

India is known as the “pharmacy of the world” due to its large production and export of generic drugs. The future of generics in India looks promising, as the demand for affordable medicines continues to rise globally. The Indian government has implemented various policies to support the growth of the generic drug industry, such as the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) which regulates the prices of essential medicines, and initiatives to promote the use of generic drugs.

However, challenges such as increasing competition, regulatory compliance, and intellectual property rights protection may impact the growth of the industry in the future. Nevertheless, India’s strong expertise in generic drug manufacturing and its large pool of skilled professionals give it a competitive advantage in the global market.

Reasons Why Generic Medicines are Not Prescribed to the Patients

Generic drug market share in india

generic drugs market share

 

Frequently searched questions related future of Generics

  • future of generic pharmaceutical industry
  • future of generics in india
  • generic drug market
  • generic pharmaceutical business model
  • generic drug market share in india
  • generic drug market size
  • generic drug marketing strategy
  • indian generic drug market
buy generics online

 

Scroll to Top