The domestic generic drug market is expected to cross $27.9 billion from the current level of $13.1 billion registering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 16.3 per cent particularly due to >approval accorded by USFDA makers and 21 drugs patent losing patent by 2019, according to a joint study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and RNCOS.
Generics would account for 85 per cent share in the domestic >pharma market by 2020, fuelled by cheap labour, patent cliff of blockbuster drugs and prevalence of lifestyle diseases, according to a study on ‘Generic Medicines in India - Promulgating Growth & Access.’
Generic drugs account for 75 per cent of the domestic pharmaceutical market by value. Drugs for cholesterol control, pain management, anti-coagulant, respiratory, liver disorders, depression and lipid regulators are highly prevalent in the global market.
Recently, Sun Pharma got the USFDA nod to manufacture generic hydocodone bitartate with acetaminophen (APAP) tablets. It is a narcotic analgesic indicated in the treatment of relief of moderate to moderately severe pain of acute, chronic, or post-operative types, adds the study.
However, the study pointed out that, the influence of physicians in India in terms of prescribing branded medicines and the lack of drug pricing control laws have limited the consumption of unbranded generics in the domestic market. Thus, Generics majors such as Sun Pharma, Lupin, Dr, Reddy’s and others have been > targeting international markets for their revenue.
With key initiatives announced by Modi Government to include price control policies and the revision of Jan Aushadhi campaign, the market is likely to show a notable incline in the penetration of unbranded drugs, said D.S. Rawat, Secretary General, Assocham said.
The domestic pharma market was valued at $15.4 billion in 2014 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 13.3 per cent to $32.7 billion by 2020. Driven by favourable demographics including growing aging population, increasing lifestyle diseases, steep growth in disposable incomes, and increasing penetration of Indian drug players in the global market, India is likely to be among the top three pharmaceutical markets by incremental growth and sixth largest market globally in absolute size, the study observed.
The major export markets for the country’s pharmaceutical products are Americas, Europe, China, Japan, Africa, and others. The U.S. is single largest export destination. It accounts for nearly 28 per cent of Indian pharmaceutical exports, followed by the European Union (18 per cent) and Africa (17 per cent).
The pharma exports to the U.S. market are high due to the large number of approvals from the USFDA.
India has been the third-largest exporter of drugs to the U.S. market by volume and it has 370 FDA-approved manufacturing facilities outside the U.S., which is the second largest in the world.
India ranks fourth in pharmaceutical production in the world with a production output of about $31 billion in 2014. It has a 1.4 per cent share by value and 10 per cent by volume in the global pharma industry. India, one of the leaders in pharmaceutical exports, exports drugs worldwide to more than 200 countries.
