Domestic pharma sales grow 7.7% in February

New Delhi: After a recovery in January, drug sales to retailer rose by a modest 7.7 per cent in February, according to a data compiled by market research firm AIOCD AWACS.

This was probably due to a high base given the strong performance last year and higher substitution of branded drugs with their unbranded equivalents.

While 59 out of the top 150 companies managed to grow faster than the industry average, 51 companies reported year-on-year decline in sales during the month.

Among the listed companies, Zydus Cadila topped the list recording 25.3 per cent growth in February. Other companies that managed to grow faster than the industry include Sun Pharma (14.8 per cent), JB Chemicals (13.7 per cent), IPCA Labs (13 per cent), Lupin (11.6 per cent), Glenmark (10.3 per cent) and Cipla (9 per cent).

Even as AstraZeneca (26.8 per cent decline) continued to witness decline for over a year now, Claris topped the losers’ list reporting a 55.9 per cent year-on-year decline in sales. Other listed companies such as Orchid Pharma (26.2 per cent decline), Ind Swift (14.4 per cent), Panacea (8.1 per cent) and Indoco Remedies (2.4 per cent) also figure in the losers’ list.

Anti-infective drugs which account for almost 18 per cent of the market grew at a tardy 5.1 per cent during the month.

Drugs used to treat chronic diseases such as cardio-vascular disorders and diabetes grew by a slow 8.2 per cent and 9.5 per cent, respectively.

This is lower than the healthy double digit growth witnessed in the last few months. But, drugs catering to therapies such as gynaecology (10.8 per cent) and Ophthalmology (10.7 per cent) grew faster than the market.