Indian pharma firms supplied 47% of all generic prescriptions in US in 2022

Indian pharmaceutical companies are a critical player in supplying affordable generic medicines to the US market, with 47 per cent of all generic prescriptions being supplied by Indian companies in 2022, according to a recent report by the IQVIA Institute.

According to the report, Indian companies are a clear leader in the supply of affordable generics to the US market, followed by the United States (30 per cent), Middle East (11 per cent) and Europe (5 per cent).

Indian pharmaceutical companies also accounted for a lower but important share of biosimilar production, manufacturing 15 per cent of biosimilar volume used by US patients in 2022.

Out of the top 10 therapy areas by prescription volume in the US, Indian companies supplied more than half of the prescriptions for five categories: mental health (62 per cent), hypertension (60 per cent), lipid regulators (58 per cent), anti-ulcerants (56 per cent) and nervous system disorders (55 per cent).

“Indian companies have the lowest representation in diabetes medicines (at 21 per cent), which also have a lower share of generic medicines compared to the other top therapy areas,” the report added.

The report also credits generics supplied by Indian companies with improving the management of health conditions and bringing savings and sustainability to the overall US health system.

“Indian companies provide nearly half of generic medicines paid for through Medicare and commercial insurance, providing affordability to employers and federal programmes,” the report added.

The report states that medicines from Indian companies provided $219 billion in savings to the US healthcare system in 2022, and a total of $1.3 trillion in savings between 2013 and 2022.

Generics from Indian companies are expected to generate an additional $1.3 trillion in savings over the next five years.

The report also flags insufficient de-risking of the manufacturing supply chain for key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) that can threaten the prospects of both Indian and US systems.

Citing the IQVIA report, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) had recently urged for a strong India-USA pharmaceutical trade partnership to reduce reliance on foreign sources for both nation's pharmaceutical supply chains and achieve affordable medicine resilience.

Speaking on the need for an affordable medicine partnership between the two countries, Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General of the IPA, said that while Indian companies play an important role in providing affordable medicines to the United States, 70 per cent of our API components come from China.

“India and the US need to come together in the field of pharmaceuticals and become an aggregator of supplies in this sector,” he added.

Generic and Biosimilar volume % share in US by company headquarters, 2022

Generics

Country/ Region	% share
India	47
United States	30
Middle East	11
Europe	5
Canada	3
China	2
All Others	2

Source: IQVIA National Prescription Audit, IQVIA National Sales Perspective, Dec 2022; IQVIA Institute, Feb 2024

Biosimilars

Country/ Region	% share
United States	56
Korea	18
India	15
Europe	11
All Others	0

Source: IQVIA National Prescription Audit, IQVIA National Sales Perspective, Dec 2022; IQVIA Institute, Feb 2024