Generic medicines contain the same active ingredients as originator pharmaceuticals and act in the same way on patients. Equivalent generic medicines may contain different non-active ingredients (such as colourings, starches, sugars, etc) and they may differ in size, colour or shape, but none of these have any impact on the therapeutic effect, ie, the way they work in the patient's body. In some cases, the active ingredient in generics and originators may also differ in salts and esters. And just as when originators modify the non-active ingredients, salts or esters in their products, these differences must not affect the therapeutic equivalence between the different products.

In the EU, all medicines, originator or generic, have to be authorised before they may be produced and distributed to patients. The medicines agency of each EU Member States, or the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in London, does this by assessing the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine. To receive market approval, a generic medicine must be "bioequivalent" to the originator product—ie, it must work in essentially the same way in the patient's body. Generic medicines are subject to the same European procedures as originator products and are carefully scrutinised by the competent authority.

Yes. Generic medicines must comply with exactly the same standards of quality, safety and efficacy as all medicinal products. They are produced in inspected plants under what is known as "GMP" or "Good Manufacturing Practice". And, just like originator products, once a generic medicine is sold on the market, it must be monitored by the manufacturer in case any adverse reactions are reported.

Yes, Yes, and the savings are significant. Generic medicines cost 20% to 90% less than the original price of their band-name equivalents. In addition, competition from rival generic products forces originators to reduce their own prices after — or sometimes before — patent expiry.

When we use generic medicines, our national healthcare systems save considerable sums of money—many billions of Euros. This frees up money to pay for other, more expensive treatments and services that patients need, including funding the research into new treatments and medicines. Generic competition also acts as an important stimulus for originator companies to focus on new research to create new patented medicines.

Generic medicines can be made available to patients in the EU only after the relevant patents on the originator product have expired.

As in other industries the standard patent is 20 years. But, uniquely for pharmaceuticals and plant technologies, this can be extend by up to a further 5 years by gaining a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC).

Generic medicines can be made available to patients in the EU only after the relevant patents on the originator product have expired.

As in other industries the standard patent is 20 years. But, uniquely for pharmaceuticals and plant technologies, this can be extend by up to a further 5 years by gaining a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC).

Yes. Pharmaceutical products are covered by a number of patents, sometimes by as many as 30 to 40 patents or more. In addition, a patent on a new use ("indication"), formulation, salt or ester can block the registration or marketing of a generic medicine for treatments where the base patent has already expired. This is a strategy known as "evergreening" which aims to prevent or delay competition from generic medicines by extending market protection through patents on minor changes to the original product.

The registration of a generic medicine usually takes 1 to 2 years, but can sometimes take longer. Moreover, access to the market in many EU Member States is delayed for generic medicines—as for originator products—by having to wait for pricing and reimbursement status. Generic medicines manufacturers also spend considerable time and money on developing their products which are not, as sometimes alleged, mere "copies" of the originator product. It can take several years to bring a generic medicine to the market following the original commercial decision to do so.