Generic Pharmaceuticals Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the generic pharmaceuticals market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global generic pharmaceuticals market reached a value of nearly $425.1 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $425.1 billion in 2023 to $616.9 billion in 2028 at a rate of 7.7%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2028 and reach $916.2 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the increased number of surgical procedures, patent expiration of drugs and preference for affordable medicines. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period include low healthcare access in developing countries and limited market access due to patent protections on branded drugs.

Going forward, the rising healthcare expenditure globally, rising incidence of chronic diseases, favorable government initiatives, increasing generic drug approvals and increasing healthcare access in emerging markets will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the generic pharmaceuticals market in the future include a lack of awareness and education among healthcare providers and patients.

The generic pharmaceuticals market is segmented by type into biosimilars and generics. The generic market was the largest segment of the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by type, accounting for 90.4% or $384.1 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the biosimilar segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by product type, at a CAGR of 8.8% during 2023-2028.

The generic pharmaceuticals market is segmented by therapy into oncology drugs, central nervous system drugs, anti-infective drugs, respiratory diseases drugs, cardiovascular drugs, metabolic disorders drugs, musculoskeletal disorders drugs and others. The other therapies market was the largest segment of the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by therapy, accounting for 22.6% or $96.3 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the metabolic disorder segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by therapy, at a CAGR of 10% during 2023-2028.

The generic pharmaceuticals market is segmented by distribution channel into hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies and online pharmacies. The hospital pharmacies market was the largest segment of the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for 49.7% or $211.4 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the online pharmacies segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 11.4% during 2023-2028.

The generic pharmaceuticals market is segmented by drug delivery into oral, injectables, dermal/topical and other drug delivery. The oral market was the largest segment of the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by drug delivery, accounting for 59.3% or $252.2 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the injectables segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by drug delivery, at a CAGR of 8.6% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the generic pharmaceuticals market, accounting for 44.4% or $188.8 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the generic pharmaceuticals market will be Asia-Pacific and Africa, where growth will be at CAGRs of 9.87% and 9.50% respectively. These will be followed by the Middle East and South America, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 9.20% and 8.44% respectively.

The global generic pharmaceuticals market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of small players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 10.31% of the total market in 2023. The market fragmentation can be attributed to the presence of small players in different geographies. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. was the largest competitor with a 2.05% share of the market, followed by Sandoz Group AG with 1.75%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. with 1.39%, Viatris Inc. with 1.31%, Abbott Laboratories with 1.19%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories with 0.72%, Cipla Limited with 0.58%, Fresenius Kabi AG with 0.51%, Zydus Lifesciences Limited with 0.43% and Stada Arzneimittel AG with 0.38%.

The top opportunities in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by type will arise in the generics segment, which will gain $170.6 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by drug delivery will arise in the oral segment, which will gain $113.1 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by therapy will arise in the other therapies segment, which will gain $46.4 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the generic pharmaceuticals market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the hospital pharmacies segment, which will gain $92.7 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The generic pharmaceuticals market size will gain the most in the USA at $57.7 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the generic pharmaceuticals market include launch of new generic medications to improve patient access, introducing innovative ready-to-use injectable formulations to improve patient convenience in chemotherapy regimens, increasingly forming strategic partnerships and collaborations and strategically launching oral solutions to enhance competitiveness.

Player-adopted strategies in the generic pharmaceuticals market include focus on expanding operations by new drug developments and strengthening market position through strategic partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the generic pharmaceuticals companies to focus on expanding generic medication offerings, focus on innovative ready-to-use injectable formulations, focus on launching oral solutions for enhanced patient access, focus on biosimilars, focus on injectables segment, focus on metabolic disorders drugs segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on expanding distribution channels, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on hospital pharmacies.