Comprehensive bibliographic study of the framework of complex generic drugs

Recently, extensive growth in bibliometric analysis has been observed. The demand for generic drugs has markedly increased in the past three decades, and the market appears to be saturated. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies are focusing on complex generics to improve patient demand and economic growth. This article highlights current research trends in generic and complex generic drugs through bibliometric analysis.

All documents from 2013 to 2023 associated with generics and complex generics were retrieved from the Scopus database. After application of the inclusion criteria, 144,015 articles on generics and 84 articles on complex generics were chosen for inclusion. Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer software were used to represent detailed studies and data on complex generics.

Publications associated with generic and complex drug products were identified, examined, compared, and summarized, to provide insights into trends and the future research scope. The number of obtained articles clearly indicated that the number of publications on generics is becoming saturated, whereas the number of complex generic studies is markedly increasing. The top regulated and semi regulated markets are now highly focused on complex generics. Concordantly, regulated markets such as those in the United States have funded more complex generics than simple generics. According to cluster analysis, studies on simple generics frequently focused on quality of life. In contrast, the clusters of studies on complex generics indicated challenges at various stages, thus shedding light on the growth of this field.

This study provides a comprehensive bibliographic overview of the development of complex generic drugs and market growth. Researchers are currently more focused on complex generics than generics. A global revolution in pharmaceutical science can be expected if all stakeholder experts collaborate and focus on generic version of complex drugs.