Teva Pharmaceutical: Generic Market Access to Global Healthcare Industry

The present paper represents a qualitative case study on the pharmaceutical company Teva, including an in-depth exploration of the company within the specific context of pharmaceutical industry. Being a qualitative case study in the business discipline, the company details regarding the shareholders, the stock price fluctuations in recent decades in comparison with other competitors will be presented. The objective of this article is to provide a thorough description of Teva, a global leader in the pharmaceutical industry, by assessing the evolution of the company considering the changes at the corporate level and in the market, like the appearances of new competitors. The results will contribute in providing an insight in how future pharma companies can avoid certain pitfalls and how they should reply to the market competition and different other changes on the market.

The effect of generic market entry on antibiotic prescriptions in the United States

When patented, brand-name antibiotics lose market exclusivity, generics typically enter the market at lower prices, which may increase consumption of the drug. To examine the effect of generic market entry on antibiotic consumption in the United States, we conducted an interrupted time series analysis of the change in the number of prescriptions per month for antibiotics for which at least one generic entered the US market between 2000 and 2012. Data were acquired from the IQVIA Xponent database. Thirteen antibiotics were analyzed. Here, we show that one year after generic entry, the number of prescriptions increased for five antibiotics (5 to 406%)—aztreonam, cefpodoxime, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin—and decreased for one drug: cefdinir. These changes were sustained two years after. Cefprozil, cefuroxime axetil and clarithromycin had significant increases in trend, but no significant level changes. No consistent pattern for antibiotic use following generic entry in the United States was observed.

How the United Kingdom Controls Pharmaceutical Prices and Spending: Learning From Its Experience

To control costs and improve access, nations can adopt strategies employed in the United Kingdom to control pharmaceutical prices and spending. Current policy evolved from a system created in 1957 that allowed manufacturers to set launch prices, capped manufacturers’ rates of return, and later cut list prices. These policies did not effectively control spending and had limited effects on purchase prices. The United Kingdom currently controls pharmaceutical spending in 4 ways. (a) Since 1999, it has typically paid no more than is cost-effective. (b) Since 2017, for medicines that will have a significant budget impact, National Health Service England seeks discounts from cost-effective prices or seeks to limit access for 2 years to patients with the greatest need. (c) Since 2014, statutes and a voluntary scheme have required branded manufacturers to pay the government rebates to recoup the difference between the global pharmaceutical budget and actual spending. (d) For hospitals, generics and some patented drugs are procured through competitive bidding; community pharmacies are reimbursed through a system that provides an incentive to beat average generic market prices. These policies controlled the growth of spending, with the largest effects following budget controls in 2014. Changes since 2008 have reduced savings, first by paying more than is cost-effective for cancer drugs and then by applying higher cost-effectiveness thresholds for some drugs used to treat cancer and certain other drugs.

Does NICE influence the adoption and uptake of generics in the UK?

The aim of this paper is to examine generic competition in the UK, with a special focus on the role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on generic market entry and diffusion. In the UK, where no direct price regulation on pharmaceuticals exists, HTA has a leading role for recommending the use of medicines providing a non-regulatory aspect that may influence the dynamics in the generic market. The paper focuses on the role of Technology Appraisals issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). We follow a two-step approach. First, we examine the probability of generic entry. Second, conditional on generic entry, we examine the determinants of generic market share. We use data from IQVIA British Pharmaceutical Index (BPI) for the primary care market for 60 products that lost patent between 2003 and 2012. Our results suggest that market size remains one of the main drivers of generic entry. After controlling for market size, intermolecular substitution and difficulty of manufacturing increase the likelihood of generic entry. After generic entry, our estimates suggest that generic market share is highly state dependent. Our findings also suggest that while NICE recommendations do influence generic uptake, there is only marginal evidence they affect generic entry.

The Complexity of Pharmaceutical Prices: An Economic Analysis

This article examines the complexity of pharmaceutical pricing. Specifically, list prices are often considerably higher than net prices. PBMs have considerable market power to obtain substantial discounts (rebates) from pharmaceutical companies which encourages higher list prices. In general the generic market work well. At issue is how much of the discounts are passed on to other stakeholders. High prices during market exclusivity or patent protection encourages R&D. Pharmaceuticals spend a large percentage of revenues on R&D, earn large profits which are somewhat overstated and take substantial risk. Many firms never make a profit. Drugs provide great value and increase the quality of life of patients. Since subscribers often change insurance companies, insurers have a shorter time horizon than pharmaceutical firms, which could lead to coverage issues. Policies to mitigate high drug prices include changes to PBM rebate practices, stricter patent approvals and reduction of barriers for generics and biosimilars.

Generic Drugs in the Pharmaceutical Market

Over the past three decades, marketing has increased its interest in studying the role of generic products in the pharmaceutical sector, one that has only recently incorporated the concept of “generic” products, compared to others such as the mass market. Since the emergence of generic products as one of national brands' main competitors, these have shown significant growth in both their market share, as well as in new product categories. Initially, the concept of generic products was limited to categories of packaged foods and later extended to categories such as medicine. Pharmaceutical market presents an opportunity to analyze the expansion of the “generic” concept, in a strongly regulated framework. In Europe, different policies have resulted in a varying development of generic market shares. Today, the sustainability of health system is a matter of increasing concern to European governments. Generic drugs offer an opportunity to contain pharmaceutical expenditures, since generic price are lower than their original brand equivalent. Developing this market is the main objective.