When a pharmaceutical becomes a ‘generic’ it can be manufactured by companies other than the primary patent owner as long as it has similar excipients and physical properties.

However, for most topical creams and ointments this usually means being formulated with ‘off the shelf’ ointment bases with no attention to further innovation. When you consider that these excipients often represent over 99% of the product, there exists a great opportunity for innovation through reformulation.