According to Reuters, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd will launch at least three copies of biotech medicines in India by 2015, mostly to treat cancer. The company needs to develop such high-tech drugs to remain a serious player in the global generics business, Chief Executive Arun Sawhney said on Tuesday. Ranbaxy currently sells only one biosimilar, a copycat form of Amgen Inc’s Neupogen, used to prevent infections following chemotherapy.

Enabling companies to manufacture generics versions of these drugs is a huge step in the right direction for the Biotech industry. “Instead of starting from scratch, these companies will be starting in the middle of the process,” said Dr. Rachel Sherman, FDA associate director for medical policy. And there is a huge market for these types of medications. According to Global Industry Analysts, the global market for biosimilars is forecast to reach $4.8 billion by the year 2015.

Clarkston explores this issue within its Insights paper Biopharmaceutical Generics: A Complicated Issue. Check out this paper to read more about how pharmaceutical industry can work to address the issues surrounding getting biosimilars to market.