Price growth drove India's pharmaceutical sales in 2022, shows data

Data shows that in calendar year 2022, price driven growth rate has been 6 per cent; growth from new products has been 1.7 percent, while volume growth has been zero

In Calendar 2022 (CY22), the Indian pharmaceutical (pharma) market expansion came from pricing, while volume growth remained muted, reveals data from market intelligence firm AIOCD Pharmasofttech AWACS (AIOCD-AWACS). 

Overall, the domestic pharma market grew 7.7 per cent in CY22.  

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals’ (GSK Pharma’s) marquee antibiotic brand Augmentin emerged as the highest-selling drug in the country in CY22, with 27 per cent growth during the year.

Data shows that in CY22, the price-driven growth rate has been 6 per cent, growth from new products 1.7 per cent, while volume growth has been zero. 

Segments like gastroenterology (7.6 per cent), respiratory (7.1 per cent), and pain and analgesics (7.1 per cent) have seen maximum price growth.

Cardiac drugs, drugs for neurological ailments, vitamins, and urology drugs have also seen strong growth.

In anti-diabetes therapy, new product introductions contributed well to growth. The older brands pulled down the growth of this market, observes AIOCD-AWACS.

On the other hand, therapy areas like anti-infectives, respiratory, antineoplastics, hormones, and ophthalmology have seen relatively robust volume growth, it adds.

Sheetal Sapale, president (marketing), AIOCD-AWACS, says key diabetic drugs like dapagliflozin and sitagliptin going off-patent have driven the new introduction growth of the anti-diabetic market.

She adds that “amongst the new molecules and combinations launched, it is the dapagliflozin combinations with sitagliptin and vildagliptin and molnupiravir molecule that have managed to generate decent revenue”.

Top pharma players like Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (11 per cent), Abbott India (8 per cent), Mankind Pharma (17 per cent), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (15 per cent), Intas Pharmaceuticals (18 per cent), and Zydus Lifesciences (9 per cent) have done well during the year.

Among top drug brands, Augmentin from GSK Pharma was the highest-selling drug that not only saw a 27 per cent growth in value, but also a 22 per cent growth in volume. This is interesting because the anti-infective category has seen a 10 per cent volume decline on the whole.

Augmentin is commonly used in adults and children to treat infections of the urinary tract, respiratory tract, ear, sinuses, and skin.

Bhushan Akshikar, managing director, GSK Pharma, says the biotechnology company’s hallmark of quality and trust with health care practitioners helped Augmentin catapult to the No. 1 spot in CY22.

USV’s anti-diabetic drug Glycomet-GP, Abbott’s Mixtard (anti-diabetic), Mankind’s Manforce (condoms), Sanofi’s Lantus (long-acting insulin), Himalaya’s Liv.52 are among the other top-selling brands.

Interestingly, pain and analgesics brand Dolo from Micro Labs, which was embroiled in controversy during the year due to alleged freebies doled out to doctors, has seen a decline in both value and volume growth. With sales of Rs 401 crore, the brand saw a 7.9 per cent decline in value and a 12.6 per cent dip in volume.

Pharma trends
 

• Volume growth in 2022 was zero
• Augmentin is the highest-selling brand
• Dolo saw value and volume growth decline