European Generic markets - Why do they differ so much?

Why Should You Attend:

Europe is a curious mixture of countries that are dissimilar in many ways, and the market for generics is no exception. At the one extreme is the UK where over 80% of the volume is generic; at the other is Luxembourg where the volume MS of generics is under 10%.

To put this in another perspective, it is helpful to compare Europe with the US, which is the largest and highest priced market for pharmaceuticals anywhere in the world.

The US generic sector is valued at around $64bn for a population of 327m. Europe, by contrast has a larger population of 512m, but a smaller generic market that is valued at only $16bn. On a pro-rata basis, the EU market should be worth about 1.5 times that of the US. In fact, it is only one quarter of the US market size. What is the explanation for these puzzling differences?

More specifically, why do the individual EU markets themselves within that total differ so much? Clearly population size accounts for part of it, but that alone does not explain why generic penetration rates vary to such an extent. At the one end is the UK with over 80% generic MS by volume; at the other is Luxembourg with its10% generic MS.

This webinar looks back at the factors that have shaped the different markets and examines some history to provide an explanation of their origins. It also offers some insight into methods that governments can use, and are using, to try to increase generic market share.

Learning Objectives:

Participants at this webinar will gain insight into ways to approach making an entry into this thriving marketplace & the obstacles that exist in some markets that act to slow the penetration of generics. Upon completion of this workshop, attendees should have:

• An understanding of the European generics market
• The factors and history that have shaped it
• How and why prices differ so much from country to country
• Insight into topics like internal and external reference pricing
• An overview of the barriers to entry
• An understanding of why patents, in contrast to the US experience, play no role in the EU generic regulatory process
• Enough background to determine whether entering the European generic market is an appropriate strategy for their company

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• The European pharmaceutical environment
• How countries try to control healthcare spend
• Differing approaches to generics
• Branded and unbranded generic markets
• The impact of tendering
• Major market players

Who Will Benefit:

• Strategic planners
• Marketing personnel
• Commercial managers
• Businesses Development
• Anyone looking at a possible entry into the EU generic market
• Branded pharma companies who want to understand how generic companies price their products

Peter Wittner
Senior Consultant, Interpharm Consultancy

Peter Wittner, B.Sc., is an independent consultant, speaker and trainer specialising in the commercial aspects of generics with more than 35 years’ pharmaceutical experience. Before starting his own business, Peter worked for the Indian generic leader Ranbaxy as Managing Director to help set up its UK business before he later returned to consultancy work. Before that, he had headed the European sales and marketing departments of the UK generics companies Evans Medical and H.N. Norton, which later became part of IVAX and Teva.

His company Interpharm works with new market entrants on generic strategies, assists in business development for generic companies based outside the EU that are trying to enter the market and advises companies that are seeking to enlarge their product range.

While mainly oriented to the commercial side with services such as market intelligence and pricing overviews for example, Interpharm also advises on IP and patent issues as well as the legal background to the pharmaceutical industry in Europe and the US. In addition, Peter has increasingly become involved with biosimilars and has frequently spoken on the topic and run seminars on the subject.

On the other side of the equation, Interpharm has also worked with originator companies that are concerned with defending their major brands from generic incursion.

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