Generic versions of pills are generally between 30% and 80% cheaper than the brand names.
That will open the door to cut-rate generic versions, but the copycats may not emerge immediately.
After 180 days, more companies can sell the generic versions, potentially resulting in a further price drop.
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He ordered an end to all age restrictions by Monday, for Plan B and its generic versions.
One year after generic versions are introduced, it will be a virtual cipher on AstraZeneca's balance sheet.
Lilly has lost patent cases on several big sellers that will enable generic versions to launch sooner.
Already, 75% of prescriptions in the U.S. are written for medicines that are available in cheaper generic versions.
Should cheaper generic versions of the highly profitable drug reach the market, they will cause sales to plummet.
Either way, it will be possible to make cheap generic versions of the drug in less than five years.
Because the drug is off patent, the drugmaker has to deal with competition and generic versions of the drug.
Pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars in legal fights to keep generic versions of their blockbuster drugs off the market.
Generic versions of biotech drugs like the ones Genzyme sells are never going to create this kind of sudden competition.
Before the generic versions are ever given to U.S. patients, FDA regulators would have to make sure they are safe.
The agreement also bars Australia's patent agency from approving generic versions of a drug while a patent application is pending.
There were concerns that, if granted, a patent could threaten access to cheap generic versions of life-saving drugs in poorer countries.
AstraZeneca and the rise of cheap generic versions of popular medicines like Lipitor and Zocor, drug companies have fled the field.
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Therefore, development costs will be higher and there will be far fewer biosimilars developed than generic versions of small molecule drugs.
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It accuses AstraZeneca of trying to slow down generic versions of Prilosec even though it is unlikely to win any case.
The judgment would ensure that the prices of lifesaving drugs would come down as many more companies would produce generic versions.
Think of them as generic versions of biotech protein drugs, except, unlike traditional pills, these medicines are tough and complicated to make.
And they might be more lucrative than generic versions of small-molecule drugs, if the complexity of developing these larger molecules limits competition.
Krensavage says the company's profits may suffer significantly from introductions of rival generic versions of Neurontin, an antiseizure drug, and Augmentin, an antibiotic.
If all cholesterol drugs were created equal, it would be a simple matter to encourage patients to switch to the less-expensive generic versions.
The magazine's analysis also found that, in general, patients report side effects at a similar rate for brand-name drugs as for generic versions.
Small wonder that the major companies spend millions of dollars in legal fights to keep generic versions of their biggest drugs off the market.
The FTC is looking into whether Elan's only listed patent on the drug has unfairly kept cheap, copycat generic versions from reaching the market.
Billions of dollars could be lost to competitors or generic versions if a drugmaker fails to entice most patients into switching ahead of time.
The Genentech petition is just the latest front in a long battle over making cheaper generic versions of biological drugs available to the public.
If Schering switches Claritin to over-the-counter status on its own, it could prevent prescription generic versions from hitting the market and eroding Clarinex sales.
"In fact, these arrangements actually resulted in generic versions of paroxetine entering the market before GSK's patents had expired, " the company said in a statement.
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