WELLESLEY, Massachusetts, February 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new technical market research report, Global Markets for Generic Drugs, from BCC Research (http://www.bccresearch.com), the global generic drugs market was valued at nearly $270 billion in 2012 and is estimated at nearly $301 billion for 2013. BCC Research projects the market to grow to $518.5 billion by 2018, and register a five-year compound annual growth rate of 11.5% from 2013 to 2018.

Today, the pharmaceutical industry faces challenges and changes more radical than any in the last half-century. The worldwide economic recession has profoundly impacted an industry normally resilient to the usual ups and downs of commercial life marketplace. Apart from the sometimes painful process of cutting costs and restructuring, the industry has had to confront the reality of a fundamentally changing trading environment resulting from an increasingly cost-conscious market.

Factors coming together to create an opportunity for an up-to date market analysis include an increase in the demand for generics due to pressure to control healthcare costs. At the same time fierce price competition in this area has put some companies in difficult positions due to declining profit margins. The primary result has been a wave of M&A activity, and the rise of "supergenerics" that offer added value as well as low prices. However, not all traditional companies are positioned to exploit this trend.

Another major growth driver for the generics sector is the fact that several blockbuster pharmaceutical brands are coming off-patent and are therefore open to generic competition -- a phenomenon widely known as the "patent cliff." But the originator companies are deploying formidable strategies to protect their franchise, including marketing their own branded generics. In addition, with first-generation biopharmaceutical products reaching the end of their patent lives, a whole new market field -- biogenerics, or biosimilars -- is opening up for those generics companies capable of (or prepared to buy into) the technological expertise required.

This technical market research report from BCC Research provides a detailed market, technology, and industry analyses to help readers quantify and qualify the market for prescription generic drugs. Important trends are identified and sales forecasts by product categories and major country markets are provided through 2018. These forecasts are based on industry sources and a considered assessment of the regulatory environment, healthcare policies, demographics, and other factors that directly affect the generic drug market. The wider economic environment is also taken into account.

In addition, this report examines strategies employed by companies specializing in generics to meet the challenges of this highly competitive market, while also summarizing strategies employed by "originator" companies to forestall generic competition.

This report is designed to satisfy the information needs of a wide variety of individuals involved in the generics marketplace, including company senior management executives seeking to base their strategic decisions on the best available information on market forces and trends. It is also aimed at managers and executives in marketing, research, planning, and sales departments who need readable, comprehensive, and up-to-date background on the marketplace in which they are operating.

Contact: Steven Cumming
Additional Releases: http://www.bccresearch.com/pressroom
Tel: +1-978-870-3345
Fax: +1-781-489-7308
Email: steven.cumming@bccresearch.com

SOURCE BCC Research LLC