Singapore, Dec 07, 2011: The generic drugs sector’s role as the provider of affordable drugs has widely benefitted public and private health payers keen to control costs. But in the current economic climate, downward pressure on prices is impacting the generic sector, with increases in acquisition and strategic partnering now firmly part of the competitive landscape.

According to a UK based medical and pharmaceutical market analysis publisher Espicom’s report, ‘Generic Drugs: Global Collaboration Opportunities’, branded and generic companies should consider greater partnering as part of their current strategy and identifies 160 generic drugs manufacturers worldwide as key targets.

The report analyses a wide variety of generic companies located in 35 countries, from specialist players concentrating on specific therapies to broadly based providers active in many markets. The size and value of the companies is broad, too, with among the largest being Hypermarcas in Brazil and R-Pharm in Russia.

The generic sector is also being targeted strategically by the branded industry, Pfizer’s little known Greenstone subsidiary is just one of several developments in the generic area the company is undertaking, while sanofi’s ambitions for Japanese generics are realised through its joint venture with Nichi-Iko.

Ian Platts, generic drug sector analyst at Espicom and the report’s author, comments, "The SME generic drug sector is at a crossroads. The rise of biosimilars will mean most medium sized companies will have to compete on a diminishing number of non biological and aging products. It makes good strategic sense to be expanding or developing collaborative working as a means of entering new market environments or securing market share".