Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

If SNY brings forward a [Lovenox] authorized generic, under what brand name will it be commercialized? (I'm assuming it can't be under the SNY brand.)

Authorized generics do not have their own brand name; rather, they are referred to by their chemical name (e.g. enoxaparin in the case of a Lovenox generic).

If there is no such thing as an unbranded generic, then why even bother to use the term branded generic, unless it is solely used to distinguish it from authorized generic?

You’re getting all tied up in knots! Let’s back up.

The US market (and certain European markets such as the UK and Netherlands) do have unbranded generics. There are hundreds of them, including NVS/MNTA’s enoxaparin (which is substitutable for branded Lovenox). The only difference between an authorized generic and an ordinary unbranded generic is that an authorized generic is licensed (i.e. “authorized”) by the owner of the corresponding branded drug rather than by the FDA.

Branded generics are an entirely different animal: they are branded drugs that must be actively marketed and are not protected by a patent or by statutory marketing exclusivity. Branded generics are the hottest thing going in the pharma industry these days; they cannot lose patent protection because, by definition, they never had it. Branded generics can be big-selling drugs by virtue of the vendor’s reputation for quality, which is a very big deal in many countries.

Two good reads on the growing importance of branded generics can be found in #msg-50473238 and #msg-39315651.