A pharmaceutical product, usually intended to be interchangeable with an innovator product that is manufactured without a licence from the innovator company and marketed after the expiry date of the patent or other exclusive rights are called as Generic Drugs.

Generic drugs are copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, and side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug. The generic versions of a drug will mostly have different colours, flavours, or combinations of inactive ingredients than the original medications. Because of their low price, generic drugs are often the only medicines that the poorest can access.

Industry Overview

The generic drug industry includes marketing and sales of medication containing the same active ingredients and dosages as brand-name drugs manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry. In this industry, drugs can be prescribed under their chemical name without specifying a particular pharmaceutical brand or company.

An example of a generic drug, is one used for diabetes, is metformin. A brand name for metformin is Glucophage. A generic drug, one used for hypertension, is metoprolol, whereas a brand name for the same drug is Lopressor. Brand names are usually capitalized while generic names are not.

Generic drugs are usually sold for much lower prices than their branded equivalents. One reason for the relatively low price of generic medicines is the increase in competition among producers when drugs no longer are protected by patents. Companies earn fewer costs in creating generic drugs and are therefore able to maintain profitability at a lower price.

Generic Drugs Industry Current Trends

As per the reports given by BCC Research, the global generics market was estimated at about $225 billion in 2011 and is expecting to be $358 billion by 2016, representing more than 18% of all pharmaceuticals, and a projected compound annual growth rate i.e. CAGR of 9.7% between 2011 and 2016. The North American generic drugs industry market was estimated to be nearly $73 billion in 2011 and is expected to increase at a 7.9% compound annual growth rate to reach nearly $107 billion in 2016.

Major Generic Drugs Industry Players

Some of the largest generic drug manufacturers are Mylan in Germany, Watson Pharmaceuticals in USA, Teva Pharmaceuticals in USA, Aptopex in Canada, Dr. Reddy's in India etc.