‘India to dominate world generic market’

“…total manufacturing cost per unit in India is half compared to that of any European facility. Similarly,the R&D cost is substantially lower in India and China. This will force key pharma players to set up units here,” it said.

It further said that generics have not only reached a critical scale of USD 100-billion in size but also achieved penetration in several key markets across the globe and have garnered a significant share of the prescription volume thus indicating that generics would grab a dominant pie of the overall global pharma market in the next few years.

Currently,the global generics market is pegged at around USD 124-billion and is growing at a CAGR of 11 per cent since the last three years.

Growth in the segment has been propelled by various Government initiatives to promote the use of these products over higher-priced or branded products,it said.

The wide acceptance of generics across the globe has led to a spurt in demand and market for generics,thus opening several new markets.

The key markets for generics are the EU nations,USA and several Latin American countries,which are still under-penetrated. Several medicare and insurance companies are increasingly vouching for inclusion of generics in treatment thus leading to a spurt in demand,the report said.

Japan,bothered by an increasing cost burden from the elderly population,is also looking towards use of generics.

The paper also indicated that biosimilars,is another area that could be explored in India. Currently,biosimilars have a lower volume penetration but has also witnessed lesser price erosion.

In 2008,the total sale of off-patent biologics amounted to about USD 20-billion globally,of which Asia accounted for 34 per cent of sales. The contribution came from countries such as India,Korea and China.

However,the report also said that the Government should find solutions to tackle the problem of counterfeit products that are flooding the market. Besides,it should provide some incentive to the players as low R&D costs in a competitive environment were putting pressure on margins for the generic players.