 "Pharmaceutical sector posts 12% growth in February")
The domestic pharmaceutical market grew at 12% y-o-y in February, broadly in line with the average of 12.9% since April 2015, primarily due to steady volumes, sustained healthy price hikes and new launches, a report said.
“The Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM) reported moderate revenue growth of 12% y-o-y in February 2016 as against 18.9% in February 2015, primarily attributable to steady volumes, sustained healthy price hikes and new launches," a report by Religare Institutional Research said here.
Therapy-wise, the anti-diabetic, cardiac, derma and gastrointestinal segments outperformed IPM growth by 4-6%. The respiratory and anti-infective segments were laggards, it said.
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According to pharmaceutical market research company AIOCD AWACS, volumes, prices and new launches contributed 3.7%, 5.4% and 3% respectively to domestic market growth.
The NLEM (National List of Essential Medicines) portfolio grew at 6.9% y-o-y, broadly in line with the average of 6.6% since April 2015, while the non-NLEM portfolio grew at 12.9%, lower than the average of 14% since April 2015.
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The anti-diabetic, cardiac, derma and gastrointestinal segments together contribute 40% of the IPM.
On the other hand, growth in the respiratory and anti-infective segments plummeted to 5.8% and 5.3% respectively, as compared to the average of 12.5% and 8.1% since April 2015, accounting for 24% market share, the report said.
Top MNCs continued to post weak growth at 5% y-o-y in February as against 17.6% in the same month last year and an average of 11.6% since April 15.
Domestic companies grew at a modest pace of 14% as against 19.4% in the same period last year, and an average of 13.3% since April 2015.
Dr Reddy's revenue growth climbed to 32.5% in February, strongly driven by an improved distribution network post-UCB consolidation.
Dr Reddy's Labs acquired select portfolio of established brands of Belgian firm UCB last year.
Glenmark Pharma and Lupin Pharma also witnessed robust growth of 19.6% and 18.6% respectively.
After posting weak numbers for three months (affected by cessation of bonus to distributors), Sun Pharma's growth normalised back to 18% in February, the report added.