Seven of top 10 drug brands sold in India are from multinational companies

The top 10 corporates contribute to 43% of the domestic pharma market

Home-grown drug firms have 80 per cent of the Rs 1.36 trillion domestic pharmaceuticals market but when it comes to the top selling medicine brands in India, multinational companies (MNCs) rule.

Of the top 10 drug brands by sales, seven belong to MNCs. The top selling ones is of Danish drug major Novo Nordisk — an insulin medicine called Mixtard that had sales of Rs 539 crore in September on an MAT (moving annual turnover or past 12 months' sales) basis. Though a mature brand, its sales growth rate was 8.4 per cent in September, shows data from market researcher AIOCD AWACS.

The second-largest selling brand is also a diabetics medicine, Lantus, sold by French drugmaker Sanofi. Lantus is one of the top selling brands that Sanofi has globally, annual sale in 2018 being €3,565 million (close to $4 billion). The brand, however, faces stiff competition in the American and European Union markets and global sale declined 19 per cent in the 2018 calendar year.

In India, though, Lantus seems to be doing well, with 18.4 per cent growth in MAT value, as of September. Also, the brand has managed to scale up its rank over recent years here, despite Sanofi introducing a new insulin brand, Toujeo, in 2015. In March 2017, Lantus was the fourth largest selling brand in India.

Says an analyst who tracks MNCs: "The multinationals follow a unique marketing approach. They maintain a close monitor on first-time insulin patients and ensure physicians prescribe their brand. Insulin is a prescription brand, and no one changes it until the doctor asks them to. This helps the companies to have stickiness for their brands."

The third-largest brand by sales is also a diabetes medicine. This is Glycomet GP from Indian drugmaker USV, which clocked sales of Rs 483 crore (MAT, September), on the heels of Lantus (Rs 499 crore). In fact, the top five largest selling brands are all medicines for diabetes. Not a surprise, with this country being home to 72 million diabetics.

British drug major GlaxoSmithKline Pharma's anti-infective drug, Augmentin, is sixth in the list. The broad spectrum antibiotic had growth of 18.2 per cent by sales and contributes to a tenth of the company's turnover here.

Himalaya Drug Company's popular Liv 52 (launched in the 1950s) to treat liver disorder has been among the top selling drugs in India over the years. It, however, clocked a low single digit growth rate (4.7 per cent), inching towards annual turnover of Rs 400 crore.

Chronic therapies are the largest selling brands, as patients use these regularly. The top 10 corporates contribute to 43 per cent of the domestic pharma market.