Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for the pharma sector. As there are a lot of such startups working on various different applications, we decided to share our insights with you. Here, we take a look at 5 promising generic drug startups.
Heat Map: 5 Top Generic Drug Startups
Using our StartUs Insights Platform, covering 1.116.000+ startups & emerging companies, we looked at innovation in the pharmaceuticals sector. For this research, we identified 157 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and technology among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & emerging companies developing generic drug solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 157 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Actrevo – Underserved Populations
Production of generic drugs involves chemically reverse engineering of branded drugs. Generic drug makers do not need to invest much in either development or marketing of their products. The time to market is also lower for generic drugs with the same constituents. These factors make generics significantly cheaper than brand name drugs and make healthcare more accessible to underserved populations.
Actrevo is a German startup that provides solutions for the pharmaceutical development of generics. While they lend technical and commercial expertise to other pharmaceutical companies, they also develop drugs to treat underserved knee ailments. Hialurom and Hialurom Hondro act as viscoelastic supplements or replacements for synovial fluid in human knee joints and find application in the symptomatic treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
TFF Pharmaceuticals – Dry Powder Drugs
Oral administration is the preferred method for drugs targetting pulmonary diseases and conditions. However, the poor solubility of most drugs significantly reduces the efficacy by the time they reach the site of action. Moreover, they may also lead to side effects. Startups explore generic alternatives that enhance the solubility and efficacy of established drugs.
TFF Pharmaceuticals is a US-based startup that offers generic drugs for the treatment of pulmonary conditions. The startup uses its patented Thin Film Freezing technology to develop dry powder drugs. Their drugs display reduced side effects and improve efficacy, in comparison to orally-administered variants. TFF VORI is inhalable voriconazole for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis and is undergoing clinical trials.
Leucadia Pharmaceuticals – Generic Injectable Drugs
Generic injectable drugs are therapeutically equivalent to branded counterparts in dosage, performance, side-effects, and strength. However, they are far cheaper than branded drugs since the research & development (R&D) costs are significantly lower for a generic drug maker. Injectables offer higher efficacy than tablets as digestive enzymes in the stomach degrade the latter.
Leucadia Pharmaceuticals is a US-based startup that develops generic injectable drugs. Their products include dihydroergotamine mesylate nasal spray for the treatment of migraines, and injections for antineoplastic, anticholinergic, sclerosing, as well as sedative agents. The startup aims to provide generic injectables for acute and specialty conditions, treating underserved conditions and communities.
Nucleis – Generic Radiopharmaceutical Drugs
Radiopharmaceutical drugs find applications in nuclear medicine as tracers for medical imaging and as therapeutic agents. The development of these drugs combines the pharma expertise and safety standards of a nuclear facility. As a consequence, they are usually unaffordable for millions of people, but generic versions of such medicine offer some hope.
Belgian startup Nucleis manufactures generic radiopharmaceutical drugs. It is an authorized manufacturer of Axumin and Vizamyl. These two drugs find application in positron emission tomography (PET) during the treatment of prostate cancer and Alzheimer’s, respectively. The startup’s innovative drugs lower the cost of diagnostics and improve therapy monitoring.
Sayre Therapeutics – Cancer Drugs
Cancer diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment is an expensive affair, particularly for patients from developing countries. The high costs of cancer drugs often result in low adherence or interrupted treatments. Generic alternatives are cheaper substitutes for branded cancer drugs and, as a result, make cancer treatment economically feasible for millions of people.
Sayre Therapeutics is an Indian startup that develops biosimilars and generic drugs for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Its portfolio includes anti-neoplastic agents, hematopoietic stem cell mobilizers, oral glutathione, and microtubule inhibitors for the management of multiple types of cancers. The startup’s drugs make cancer treatment accessible to a greater number of people than is possible by branded drugs.
What About The Other 152 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence so you can achieve your goals faster. The 5 generic drug startups showcased above are promising examples out of 157 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
