Indian Pharma Market Reports Double-Digit Growth In December
The market grew at 10.4% year-on-year in December 2022, with price being the key driver.
After the lows of October, India's pharmaceutical market grew by more than 10% for the second straight month in December.
Industry sales rose 10.4% year-on-year in December against a 5.3% year-on-year increase in December 2021 and 17.3% growth in November this year, according to data from the All Indian Origin Chemists and Distributors.
“The Indian pharmaceuticals market continued to deliver a healthy growth in December 2022, driven by robust performance in five out of ten therapies, which comprise 86% of the pharma market," said Krishnanath Munde, associate director at India Ratings.
"Price has been the key growth driver of the overall market performance in December 2022," Munde said.
Key Highlights
Volumes grew by 1.4% year over year versus a decline of 1.5% last year.
New product launches registered 2.2% growth, compared to 1.4% year-on-year.
Prices increased by 6.8% year-on-year. That compares to 5.4% last year.
India Ratings expects the overall market to grow in the 9–10% range during the remaining three months of this fiscal. This is in line with the industry's 9.1% average year-on-year growth in the first nine months of FY2023.
Commenting on the overall near- to mid-term outlook, India Ratings expects the Indian pharma market to grow in the range of 10%–13% year-on-year, Munde told BQ Prime.
Therapy-Wise Growth
As per AIOCD data:
Sales of respiratory products rose the most by 19%, followed by 15% growth in the anti-infectives segment.
Vitamins, gynaecological products, and the pain segment reported year-on-year growth of 12%, 11%, and 10%, respectively.
Dermatological and neurological/CNS segments grew 8% over the year-ago period, while cardiac and gastroenterology segments grew 7%.
The anti-diabetic segment reported the lowest growth at 4% year-on-year.
MAT Performance
According to AIOCD, the moving annual total—or 12-month rolling sales—of overall pharma products rose 8% in December.
Company Performance
The performance of some key listed pharmaceutical companies based on AIOCD data-
'Higher-Than-Market' Growth
FDC Ltd. reported the highest year-on-year growth of 24% in December, followed by Alkem Laboratories Ltd.'s 17% and Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd.'s 16% year-on-year growth.
Cipla Ltd., Eris Lifesciences Ltd., and Abbott India Ltd. grew 14%, 13%, and 12%, respectively, over a year ago.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., too, outperformed the market with 11% year-on-year growth.
'In-Line With Market' Growth
Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., GSK Pharmaceuticals Ltd., and Indoco Remedies Ltd. reported 10% growth in line with market performance.
'Lower-Than-Market' Growth
Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. reported a growth of 9%.
While Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Ajanta Pharma Ltd. reported growth of 6% and 5%, respectively, Lupin Ltd. and Sanofi India Ltd. reported low single-digit growth of 2% and 1%, respectively.
Pfizer Ltd. underperformed, reporting no growth over last year, while Ipca Laboratories Ltd. reported a 3% decline in its growth.