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Indian Pharma Market Sustains Growth In July Despite A High Base

Revenue of India's pharma industry rose 14.1% over a year earlier in July 2022, India Ratings says citing AIOCD data.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>(Photo: Unsplash)</p></div>
(Photo: Unsplash)

India's pharmaceutical industry saw sales rise for the second consecutive month, supported by growth across therapies.

Industry revenue rose 14.1% over a year earlier in July 2022, India Ratings and Research Pvt. said, citing data released by the All Indian Origin Chemists and Distributors. That compares with 14.2% year-on-year rise in July 2021, and a 16.6% rise in June 2022.

"The average growth of the Indian pharma industry has historically been in the range of 8-10% over the last 10-15 years," Krishnanath Munde, associate director at India Ratings, told BQ Prime. "Despite the higher base impact of July last year, the market continued to deliver robust performance on account of growth across therapies—both volume and value growth."

Key July 2022 Highlights

  • Volumes increased 6.4% year-on-year.

  • New product launches registered 1.5% growth.

  • Prices increased by 6.3%.

According to Munde, while the Indian pharma market will continue to report robust growth numbers in Q2, it will moderate from Q3 onwards. "The market may grow in mid-to-high single digits in Q3 and Q4."

Therapy-Wise Growth

  • Overall, the acute therapy segment grew 13.4% year-on-year against 21% growth in July 2021. Its market share for the month stood at 46%.

  • Chronic therapy, which comprises medicines for long-term ailments such as cardiac ailments and diabetes; and the sub-chronic segment saw growth of around 14% and 15.8%, respectively. That compares to 7% and 12% growth in July a year ago. Their market share was around 32% and 21%, respectively.

Despite lower incidence of Covid-19 infections, Covid-related drugs grew at 10.4% year-on-year, while non-Covid-19 drugs reported growth of 16.3% in July, Munde said.

India Ratings, citing AIOCD data, said sales of gynecological products rose the most by 24%. That was followed by 22.3% growth in the respiratory segment, and 16.9% and 16.7% rise in pain and dermatological segments, respectively.

  • Neurological/CNS segments, gastro, cardiac, anti-diabetic, and respiratory segments reported growth ranging from 13% to 15% over the year-ago period.

  • Even vitamins, the sales of which had surged during Covid-19, reported 10.7% growth.

  • Sales of anti-infectives saw the lowest growth at 4.8%.

MAT Performance

The moving annual total—or 12-month rolling sales—of overall pharmaceutical products rose 6.7% in July, according to India Ratings.

Company Performance

India Ratings, citing AIOCD data, said that among the listed pharmaceutical peers:

  • Natco Pharma Ltd. registered the highest year-on-year growth of around 28.6% in July, followed by AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. and JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in the 21-22% range.

  • Eris Lifesciences Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Indoco Remedies Ltd., Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. and Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. reported growth in the range of 18-19%.

  • Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. saw its sales rise for the second consecutive month, reporting a year-on-year growth of 15.9%. It was followed by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd., FDC Ltd., Alkem Laboratories Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Abbott India Ltd. reporting a 'higher-than-market' growth.

  • While Ajanta Pharma Ltd. and Ipca Laboratories Ltd. reported double-digit growth lower than the industry average, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. registered single-digit revenue growth of 8.5%, followed by Lupin Ltd. at 6.2%.

  • Sanofi India Ltd., Novartis India Ltd. and Pfizer Ltd. reported year-on-year growth lower than 2%.