[Ip-health] Drug Firms Apply Brand to Generics

[Joana Ramos]

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February 16, 2010
Drug Firms Apply Brand to Generics

By NATASHA SINGER
NY Times

Some prestigious brand-name pharmaceutical companies that once looked
askance at the high-volume, low-cost business of generic drugs are now
becoming major purveyors of generic medicines.

Just don=92t call them no-name drugs.

Giants like Sanofi-Aventis and GlaxoSmithKline are not looking to enter
the commodity generics market in the United States, where chain
pharmacies often determine which generics they offer based on the lowest
available price =97 and where consumers often view generic makers as
interchangeable.

Instead, the big drug makers are pursuing a growing consumer base in
emerging markets like Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America where many
people pay out of pocket for their medicines but often cannot afford
expensive brand-name drugs.

And, in some emerging markets, where the fear of counterfeit drugs or
low-quality medicines runs high, consumers who can afford it are willing
to pay a premium for generics from well-known makers, industry analysts
said. These products are known as company-branded generics, or branded
generics. They carry the name of a trusted local or foreign drug maker
stamped on the package, seen as a sign of authenticity and quality
control.................



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Joana Ramos, MSW
Cancer Resources & Advocacy
Seattle WA USA
+1-206-229-2420
http://ramoslink.info/
www.bmtbasics.org
http://healthwatched.org

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