Indian Pharma Market Growth Slows In November On Lower Volumes

The Indian pharmaceutical sector growth slowed to 2.9% in November as volumes declined.

After a strong October, the performance was muted in November due to a high base, 4.5% decline in volumes and a slower growth in price and new launches, said Krishnanath Munde, associate director at India Ratings and Research Pvt., citing data from the All Indian Origin Chemists & Distributors Ltd.

India Ratings expects the market to grow 8–9% in the current financial year.

• Volumes declined 4.5% against 5% in October.

• Prices rose 4.6% against 5.3% in October.

• New launches rose 2.8% against 3.4% in October.

The top 10 therapies contributed 87% of the Indian pharma market.

According to data from the AIOCD:

• Sales of the pain segment rose the most at 6.7%.

• This was followed by respiratory and anti-infectives, which grew 6.5% and 5.6%, respectively.

• Neuro/CNS rose 3.3%, while cardiac segment gained 3%.

• Derma reported a decline of 0.4%.

The moving annual total or the 12-month rolling sales of overall pharma products rose 6.9% in November compared with a growth of 7.3% a year earlier.

Faster Than Industry

Eris Lifesciences Ltd. reported the highest growth in November at 10.5%, followed by Cipla Ltd, which grew 8.6%. Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. reported a growth of 8.2%, 7.7% and 7.3% respectively.

Indoco Remedies Ltd., Ipca Laboratories Ltd. and Alkem Laboratories Ltd. reported a growth of 6.9%, 6.4% and 6.1% respectively. Lupin Ltd., Ajanta Pharma Ltd. and Abbott India Ltd. grew 4.1%, 4% and 3.9% respectively.