The Indian pharmaceutical market will treble to $20 billion from $7.1 billion (2007 figure) by 2015, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3 per cent.
A report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) with Ernst and Young (E&Y) states that India could be a potential $8 billion market for multinational companies (MNCs), with patented drugs accounting for 8-10 per cent of the total market. With this growth, India would be among the top 10 global pharma markets by 2015.
The report says the product patent regime of 2005, which has enhanced the country’s patent infrastructure, will help in capturing the pharma market. The population in the highest income class is expected to grow to 25 million from 10 million by 2015, driving the affordability of high-patent drugs.
The report mentions that multinational companies are consolidating their presence in India and new entrants are increasing. Companies like BMS and Merck that had exited the Indian market have come back, while others like Daiichi and Ranbaxy are expanding.
The Ficci-E&Y report mentions that in addition, India also has a significant cost advantage in the conduct of clinical trials, including infrastructure, operational, patient recruitment, drug, manpower, data management and processing costs.
