By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Pfizer and Hospira: It’s Not About Generics
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Pfizer and Hospira: It’s Not About Generics
BusinessTechnology

Pfizer and Hospira: It’s Not About Generics

DavidEWilliams
Last updated: February 11, 2015 9:00 am
DavidEWilliams
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE
Did somebody say generic?

Did somebody say generic?

Did somebody say generic?

Did somebody say generic?

Leading newspapers, including the Wall St. Journal and New York Times, misunderstand the strategy behind Pfizer’s proposed purchase of Hospira. Here’s what the Journal had to say:

Pfizer Inc. said Thursday it would buy smaller rival Hospira Inc. in a $16 billion deal that would transform the New York pharmaceutical company into a leading player in the emerging market for lower-priced knockoffs of costly biotech drugs. …[B]ig drug companies like Pfizer are now borrowing from the playbooks of generic makers and developing copycat versions of each other’s biotech drugs.

Actually, no. What Pfizer is really doing is returning to the strategy that led to its Lipitor heyday: making “me-too” versions of existing drugs and differentiating them through marketing backed up by clinical research. This is not about intensive competition on pricing.

Generic drugs are considered equivalent to the brand name product. Pharmacists can and do substitute generic drugs for the branded original and for one another at will. A patient who receives a prescription for an off-patent drug like ZOCOR will find that the pharmacy automatically substitutes generic simvastatin from any one of the many manufacturers. When the patient goes back to refill the prescription they are likely to get simvastatin from a totally different manufacturer. Undifferentiated markets like this are driven by price competition, and prices are typically 90 to 99% less than the original.

Copies of biotech drugs –which are just starting to become available– are very different. They can not be substituted interchangeably by pharmacists because they differ at least subtly from the original product. An unsophisticated marketer might try to compete purely on price, offering a discount from the price of the original. That may happen –but we’re probably only talking about a 10-25% discount, not 90-99%.

A clever marketer like Pfizer is likely to take a much different approach. Lipitor wasn’t the first statin in the market. It wasn’t the second, third or fourth either. When it launched in 1997 there were already three blockbuster statins on the market. Payers liked the idea of having multiple parties with similar products to negotiate with, and they tried with a certain amount of success to generate competition based on price.

Yet Pfizer came in with an aggressive campaign to differentiate its product from the others and ended up being the biggest seller by far. To me the difference between the various biosimilar versions of a product is akin to the difference among the various statins.

Products that come later to market don’t have to compete on price if they can differentiate in some other way. I’d be shocked if Pfizer isn’t thinking this way about the Hospira deal.

photo credit: Sorry… what exactly is in this can again? via photopin (license)

TAGGED:Pfizer
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

medical nonadherence
BusinessHealth Reform

Medication Non-Adherence: A $290 Billion Unnecessary Expenditure

April 13, 2015
LASIK Eye Surgery
Eye CareHealthTechnology

What Is LASIK Eye Surgery?

May 12, 2022
DiagnosticsHealth careMedical DevicesMedical EducationMedical InnovationsTechnology

Here’s How Augmented Reality For Healthcare Can Create Major Benefits

December 19, 2018
Understanding the Importance of Reliable Medical Monitors
Medical Devices

Life-Saving Technology: Understanding the Importance of Reliable Medical Monitors

June 3, 2024
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?