 "Ban on FDC drugs hurts growth of pharma industry")
Even as the Indian pharma market clocked the lowest growth rate in two years in May this year (at 7.7 per cent) thanks to the ban on around 350 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs, the industry as such is not very hopeful of a turnaround anytime soon.
While the FDC related market declined by 14.6 per cent in May, industry insiders feel that even if companies come up with new combinations, the portfolio as such would end flat this year, or at best clock a 1 per cent growth.
Data from the AIOCD-AWACS, the market research wing of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), the association representing over 500,000 medicines sellers across India, showed that the FDC related market declined by 14.6 per cent whereas the Non FDCs market grew at 8.4 per cent.
What’s more, Indian companies degrew by -20.2 per cent in the FDC portfolio whereas the MNCs degrew by 0.9 per cent for May. The AIOCD-AWACS, however, expects future launches to offset this slowdown in growth rate.
D G Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), an umbrella body of domestic drug makers said that the slide will continue with the FDC portfolio registering zero or 1 per cent growth at best this year.
The Indian pharma market clocked a turnover of Rs 8,449 crore in May 2016.The growth rate has slipped significantly from the 11-12 per cent rate last year. “The FDC ban has easily eroded around Rs 5,000 crore from the market, and it would take a while before the market can recover,” said SV Veeramani, president, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA).
He also added that while companies are working on coming up with new combinations, it would take a while before these new FDCs are established in the market.
A senior official of Vadodara based Alembic Pharmaceuticals said that many have already started working on new combinations especially in the anti-infectives space and some companies have even started marketing these new combinations.
While the FDC related market declined by 14.6 per cent in May, industry insiders feel that even if companies come up with new combinations, the portfolio as such would end flat this year, or at best clock a 1 per cent growth.
Data from the AIOCD-AWACS, the market research wing of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), the association representing over 500,000 medicines sellers across India, showed that the FDC related market declined by 14.6 per cent whereas the Non FDCs market grew at 8.4 per cent.
What’s more, Indian companies degrew by -20.2 per cent in the FDC portfolio whereas the MNCs degrew by 0.9 per cent for May. The AIOCD-AWACS, however, expects future launches to offset this slowdown in growth rate.
D G Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), an umbrella body of domestic drug makers said that the slide will continue with the FDC portfolio registering zero or 1 per cent growth at best this year.
The Indian pharma market clocked a turnover of Rs 8,449 crore in May 2016.The growth rate has slipped significantly from the 11-12 per cent rate last year. “The FDC ban has easily eroded around Rs 5,000 crore from the market, and it would take a while before the market can recover,” said SV Veeramani, president, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA).
He also added that while companies are working on coming up with new combinations, it would take a while before these new FDCs are established in the market.
A senior official of Vadodara based Alembic Pharmaceuticals said that many have already started working on new combinations especially in the anti-infectives space and some companies have even started marketing these new combinations.