Abstract
Generic drugs now account for more than $40bn in prescription sales worldwide. More than $80bn worth of global blockbuster drugs face US patent expiration by 2008. The battle for market share between the booming generics drug industry and the at-risk branded drug industry is raging.
As patent expiry looms, branded drugs can no longer only focus on extending product lives. They need defensive strategies to combat their generics competitors actively and retain market share. To maintain rapid growth, generic drugs makers not only need to understand the nature of these defensive strategies, but they must also be prepared to deal with them as they bring their products to market. The most important and commonly-implemented strategies are discussed in this paper and the authors suggest that branded and generic drugs companies can successfully apply or manoeuvre against these strategies to distinguish themselves within an industry where lines are blurring and competition is increasing.
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