According to data from market research firm PharmaTrac, the loss of patents on several key drugs in the multinational pharmaceutical industry has enabled Indian pharmaceutical companies to achieve higher growth rates in the chronic and sub-chronic therapy segments. Several heart and diabetes drugs have gone off patent in recent years, such as Vildagliptin or Sacubitril-Valsartan. Several Indian companies launched generic versions of these drugs soon after. However, smaller companies are losing out.
While multinationals in the chronic segment recorded a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 percent, Indian pharmaceutical companies have registered a five-year CAGR of 9 percent. However, the top therapies for Indian and MNCs remain the same – anti-infectives, gastroenterology and pain are among the top acute therapies; while cardiac, diabetes and neurology are the main chronic therapies. Among the subchronic therapies, nutrition, gastrotherapy and gynecology form the top segments. The data also showed that smaller companies experience losses over time; the number of companies has decreased in recent years. Moreover, 45 percent of MNCs have a turnover of Rs 10 crore, while for Indian companies it is around 20 percent.
First print: December 8, 2023 | 12:11 pm IST