Cipla: lobbying for more generics in South Africa

Generics maker Cipla is trying to cut a deal to supply South African mining firm Anglo American with HIV drugs. Employer provision of HIV medicine is gaining popularity in South Africa, and last year's court case created the opportunity for the government to license generic versions of patented drugs. However, it has so far been reluctant to use this power.

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HIV patents: no solution - yet

While the WTO has not yet made a breakthrough on the issue of patent-free HIV drugs for developing economies, something must be done to alleviate the human and economic cost of the HIV epidemic. Western pharma companies will inevitably lose out - the only question is how well their profit maintenance strategies can cushion the blow.

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Glaxo takes the flak for a global issue

Past criticism surrounding the price of its antiretroviral drugs in the developing world has led to GSK voluntarily licensing some of its best-selling drugs to companies in countries worst affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, as Brigitte de Lima explains, for all it will achieve, GSK's contribution is near negligible without a concerted global effort to address the problem.

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Generic drugs: Ivax purchase puts Teva back on top

Teva has agreed to acquire rival generics maker Ivax for $7.4 billion. If the deal goes through, Teva will become the dominant force in the generics market again, pushing Novartis' Sandoz into second place. As the gap between these top two players and the rest of the field opens up, smaller companies may struggle to keep pace and could end up being takeover targets themselves.

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Governmental cost-cutting helps generate generics growth

The generic cancer market was worth $1.3 billion in 2004 and is expected to reach $10.9 billion by 2014. This staggering level of growth is attributable to upcoming patent expiries on key products, as well as the imminent introduction of a biogenerics regulatory pathway. However, increasingly cost-conscious governments working to cut healthcare spending will remain generics firms' greatest ally.

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New advertising code of conduct established in Vioxx withdrawal fallout

Recent high-profile drug withdrawals have resulted in a new code of conduct to govern direct-to-consumer advertising. As more and more drugs are likely to come under regulatory and public scrutiny, the pharmaceutical industry will need to employ effective marketing and education strategies to ensure patient and physician confidence is retained and the impact of drug safety scares is minimized.

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Drug reps must embrace technology to avoid missing sales opportunities

In a pharmaceutical market where the days of the primary care blockbuster-selling drug appear numbered, the days of pharma sales representatives having time to visit physicians with drug samples are also waning. Reps must now embrace internet technology to ensure samples are efficiently distributed to physicians and also take on the role of educators in their dynamic relationships with physicians.

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Pulmonary arterial hypertension: market on the pulse of global growth

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Vaccines: sales show global growth

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Antihypertensives: ARBs at the heart of the market

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