Depending on your viewpoint, generic drugs represent either the future of the global pharmaceutical industry or an irritating drain on the revenues of R&D based companies. The sector continues to grow in importance, fuelled by the twin pressures of therapeutically significant products coming off patent and health provider demands for lower prices. Analysts in industry and commerce must have a clear understanding of the threats and opportunities in key markets worldwide.

Generics market reports from Espicom Business Intelligence are produced by a multi-lingual editorial team with over 25 years pharmaceutical market experience. And when that experience is combined with one of the best healthcare market databases around, and informed by direct access to over 1200 companies and organisations worldwide, you have unbeatable, reliable, qualified and enriched market analysis. Brazil has a wide income disparity. Wealthy urban residents have the purchasing power of those in Western countries, but a large percentage of the population cannot afford the latest, most expensive drugs.

The Government has been keen to promote the use of generic drugs since 1997, and has passed a raft of regulations to promote the prescription and dispensing of generics.

A strong local manufacturing base has developed, which specialises in copies of drugs which are patented in other markets. There is growing interest from outside companies, however, such as Apotex, Ranbaxy and Sandoz.

Relatively weak intellectual property laws promote the local industry. The government is not slow to use the threat of compulsory manufacturing when negotiating prices with branded drug manufacturers, such as in the 2005 case of Abbott's Kaletra.