Identifying factors affecting the product life cycle of generic medicines

This study investigated a generic antibiotic PLCs and the factors affecting them in the competitive pharmaceutical market of Iran to improve PLC management of such drugs. To study the antibiotic’s PLC, we used data from 2002-2017, then analyzed the PLC curves and the factors affecting them in two sections: all PLC curves and the PLC curves with one sales peak. Using a generalized linear model combined with a machine learning approach, we identified the sales patterns and the impact of the product-related and the competition-related factors on the PLC curves, peak height, and the time to reach peak sales. The results showed that 16% of the antibiotics had linear, 11.87% binomial, 13.03% one-peak, and 59% oscillating sales patterns. The most crucial factors with an impact on the PLC shape were the quality, microbial spectrum, dosage forms, number of competitors, and entry arrangement. This is the first study that has attempted to investigate the factors that have influenced PLC patterns of generic pharmaceutical products. The results of this study can give more insights regarding the generic pharmaceutical markets as one of the less-studied markets in many countries.
Source: Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research