Generic medicines account for 62% of medicines dispensed in Europe, but impact only 4% of Europe's overall health budget. The data, which demonstrates for the first time the "overtaking" of equivalents on brands, is contained in the Report "Global Healthcare Trends and Outlook", presented Thursday by Alan Sheppard, Principal thought leadership of 
QuintilesIms, on the occasion of the joint conferences of the European and world associations of generics manufacturers - Medicines for Europe and Igba - underway in Lisbon. At the center of the meetings, in addition to international cooperation in regulatory matters, data from various studies highlighting the need for an urgent review of pharmaceutical policies to stimulate wider access to equivalents and biosimilars.
From the surveys of QuintilesIms, in particular, photography emerges of a Pharma planet that has grown by 6.5% in the last 5 years (to reach a turnover of 936 billion dollars) and will grow by 3-6% in the next 5 years to exceed a turnover of 1.4 trillion in 2021 of dollars. The protagonists will be the USA, with a +5-8%, while developing countries (China in the lead) will register an increase of 6-9% and Europe will remain almost stable around +2-3%. Furthermore, 34% of pharmaceutical expenditure sustained globally today pertains to five therapeutic areas: oncology 21%, diabetes 16%; 15% autoimmune disorders, 3% pain; 5% respiratory. In this scenario, there are two areas to be carefully monitored: that of organic products, which already today globally represent a market worth 250 billion dollars, with a share of 59% in the USA and 17% in the EU 5 (and appear destined to cross the threshold of 400 billion dollars by 2021, thanks to a pipeline of over 7 thousand drugs in development) and that of equivalents, which catalyze the 70% of the market in volumes (23% in values) in North America, the 62% (29% in values) in Europe and the 40% (18% in values) in the Japanese market.
Driving factors of the advance of the equivalents market – according to Sheppard – the ability to create greater access, the presence of ad hoc guidelines, incentives for healthcare professionals, co-payments and the trend in patent expirations: «To obtain an efficient market for equivalents» he said «there are adequate policies capable of directing supply and demand are necessary, using both the mechanisms of competition ensuring rapid access to the market, and adequate communication and cultural tools capable of raising awareness of the value of the sector".
