Prospects For European Generics

Drug companies are looking to sell generics in Europe, but the differences in the markets can drive a strategic planner crazy, comments Wendy Diller, in the US magazine In Vivo - Business & Medicine Report.

While use of generics in Europe is traditionally low compared with the USA, she says, cost containment initiatives that are encouraging use of generics are also likely to lead to price competition that could discourage new entrants.

It remains to be seen whether globalization can achieve the synergies and economies of scale needed to prosper in such an environment, or whether opportunities are limited by the vast regulatory, cultural and structural differences among countries. However, Ms Diller says that brand-name companies, rather than independents, with their greater resources and new-found familiarity with generics, appear to be taking the lead in global expansion.