India's generic drug prescription mandate faces execution challenges, says Fitch
generic drug names faces execution challenges, said Fitch Ratings in a report on Thursday.
The report said that a sizeable erosion in branded generics sales share will affect Indian pharma companies’ profitability, as sharply lower average prices will outweigh potential benefits from lower marketing costs. «Even so, we think the new guidelines are unlikely to trigger an immediate shift away from branded generics,» it said.
According to Fitch, the domestic pharmaceutical market is mainly a ‘branded generics’ market in which pharma companies sell off-patented drugs under their own brand names with varying prices among competitors.
«Branding and marketing activities remain important in pharma companies’ sales strategy, considering less stringent quality and testing standards than other regulated markets such as the US.
