In evaluating generic entry opportunities many factors must be considered. DrugPatentWatch has comprehensive resources to aid in evaluating patent and regulatory constraints, and those are described in further detail in other articles. The focus of this article is on the use of drug price intelligence to assess the competitive situation.
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Branded vs Generic Prices can Indicate Generic Competition
A quick and simple way to gauge brand strength and generic competition is to look at our regularly-updated list of Branded vs. Generic Drug Prices. This list sorts all the drugs for which we have pricing on the relative prices of branded and generic versions of drugs.
Drugs with small branded vs. generic prices may represent strong generic entry opportunities. It is worth examining the number of generic suppliers and investigating why generic competition has not driven prices down.
When branded vs generic drugs show broad price differences (read: the generic versions are selling at a strong discount to branded drugs) one should exercise caution before electing to enter those markets. The large price difference may indicate extensive generic competition and the presence of many suppliers.
Are Prices Increasing or Decreasing?
Trends in drug prices can also inform market entry decisions. For branded drugs the trends can help predict generic entry (many branded drugs show price increases in advance of generic entry) and they can also help you evaluate the commercial potential of a therapeutic class.
For generic drugs the price trends can help with portfolio management and opportunity-ranking. In the example shown prices for dexamathasone demonstrate an upwards trend. This may indicate a good opportunity for market entry,
By contrast, azetazolamide prices demonstrate a declining trend, which suggests increasing competition or decreasing market demand — both of which would reduce the commercial attractiveness of launching a competitor branded or generic drug.
Use Drug Price Ranges to Set Your Launch Prices and Revenue Projections
After ranking your portfolio candidates it is important to also find prices which buyers will find competitive. The average prices posted above can be complemented by our price range data. By integrating our federal pricing, which is a strong indicator of the best available pricing available for each drug (by law the US federal government must receive the best available prices for drugs) you can bracket the upper- and lower-ranges of prrices in preparation for market entry.
Conclusion
Our comprehensive drug pricing information, combining average prices paid by pharmacies with federal government pricing, can help you find, evaluate, and rank market entry opportunities for branded and generic drugs alike. For more information see our complete list of data modules and flat-rate subscription pricing.
