With failing immune system and excess stress, people are more prone to diseases than ever before. This has made the market of pharmaceuticals grow by leaps and bounds. Doctors are busy scribbling on their pad for various ailments and drugs are swiftly flying off the shelf. As the branded drugs continue to be out of bounds for people who are suffering from chronic ailments, pharmaceutical companies are tapping this market with generic drugs. Generics are not just cheaper but have the same effects as the brand equivalents.

In the race to outdo the brand equivalents, generic Viagra has performed the best. One of the reasons that have made generic Viagra so effective is the fact that it treats an ailment (erectile dysfunction) that is not a threat to life. Under rare circumstances, even if generic Viagra fails to perform, the man will not lose his life. The demand of generic Viagra continues to increase with pharmaceutical companies rolling it out at a relentless pace.

Besides Generic Viagra, there are a few other drugs that have performed quite well in the pharmaceutical market.

• Azithromycin- one of the most effective and strong antibiotics of its time, Zithromax received a blow in its sale as its patent expired leading to a rush of generics in the market.  The patent of Zithromax expired on in November 2005 with its generic Azithromycin, being launched almost immediately. But the time it was 2008, the sale of this drug had reached $429 million.

• Budeprion- this is a generic version of Wellbutrin XL, a product of Biovail. The drug was launched in 2006 and by the year 2008, it had done a business of $ 521 million.

• Omeprazole- one of the fastest selling generics that made a record sale within a year, Omeprazole is a generic version of Prilosec, a product of AstraZeneca. This cancer drug was launched in 2008 and within the same year, it made a sale of $1.1 billion.

• Risperidone- this anti psychotic drug is a cheaper version of Riperdal, a product of Janssen. The drug is prescribed to people who are suffering from schizophrenia and mania along with bipolar disorder.  The drug was introduced in the market in 2008 and within a year it raked in $610 million.

With increased sale of generic drugs, sale of branded drugs declined for the first time. It is estimated that the sale of these drugs will hit $ 30 billion by 2012. While people are enjoying the benefits of cheaper health service, pharmaceutical companies that have patented these drugs are not too happy with the developments.

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