Merck Sharpe and Dohme (MSD) may be set to create new opportunities for staff in generic medicine jobs as part of a new alliance with Sun Pharma.
The company is creating a new joint venture with the India-based firm that will focus on the development and commercialisation of new branded generic therapies in emerging markets.
It will utilise Sun Pharma's expertise in this field, its established manufacturing network and proprietary platform technologies, as well as MSD's global presence and clinical development capabilities.
The alliance is being created in response to the growth levels seen in emerging markets, which is primarily being driven by the branded generics sector.
Kevin Ali, emerging markets president for MSD, said: "We are complementing our innovative product portfolio with a solid foundation for addressing the diverse needs of patients, physicians and governments."
In February 2011, Datamonitor published research showing that generic and biosimilar drugs are likely to dominate the cardiovascular and metabolic treatment market by 2019.