The Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) is expected to sustain an 8-10 percent in FY2024 growth rate, according to ICRA.
Despite several disruptive events over the last few years, the Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM) witnessed a CAGR of 9.7 percent between FY 2014 and FY 2023.
The healthcare sector is poised for continued momentum, bolstered by continued price increases, fresh product launches, and an expanding reach of healthcare services in semi-urban and rural regions.
The report reveals that as lifestyle diseases become more prevalent and considering the life-long treatment courses required for chronic ailments, it is projected that the growth of chronic therapies within the IPM will outpace that of acute therapies. Acute therapies accounted for 62-65 percent of the Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM), have consistently outperformed chronic therapies in growth since FY2022. However, analysts anticipate a reversal of this trend in the near future.
At present, revenues from drugs under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) constitute -17-18 percent of the IPM, with some companies deriving approximately 30 percent of revenues from the NLEM drugs. The price increase granted for drugs under the NLEM has been higher at 12.1 percent for FY2024 due to sharp WPI inflation. This is the second consecutive year of double-digit price increase allowed for NLEM drugs.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) recently released new norms for doctors that require them to only prescribe generic drugs stead of certain brands. The decision was later withdrawn. These changes support the government’s focus on driving generic prescriptions to reduce healthcare costs for patients. However, this could impact the branded generic formulations for manufacturers over the long term, according to the report.
