All OECD countries see the development of generic markets as a good opportunity to increase efficiency in pharmaceutical spending, by offering cheaper products than on patent drugs for an equivalent health outcome.
However, in 2011, generics accounted for about three-quarter of the volume of pharmaceuticals covered by basic health coverage in Germany, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Denmark, while they represented less than one-quarter of the market in Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan and France.