Indian Pharmaceutical Market Overview

Indian Pharmaceutical market includes segments such as therapeutic area and drug type. The therapeutic segment further divided into eleven other categories such as anti-infectives, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, respiratory, pain/analgesics, anti-diabetes, vitamins/minerals, dermatological, neurological/CNS, gynecology, and others.

The global Indian pharmaceutical market in 2020 is estimated for more than US$ 55.1 Bn and expected to reach a value of US$ 103.2 Bn by 2028 with a significant CAGR of 8.2%.

The drug type segment further divided into three other categories such as generic, OTC, and patented.

Indian Pharmaceutical Market Insights

Despite the transformation seen over the past 7 decades, there are still historic changes underway in India, with the largest rural-urban migration seen this side of the millennium as over 10 million people move to towns and cities each year in search of jobs and opportunity. An increase in both the total and urban population over the past 35 years, gives a clear indication of the level to which this rural-urban migration has grown and continues to accelerate.  Despite the increase in the population overall, the rate of population growth in India is slowing. However, India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation by 2025 and grow to over 1.6 billion by 2050. This is in part influenced by the growing wealth of the Indian people, as total fertility rates (i.e. the number of children born per woman) in urban areas are far lower than those in rural areas, with a fertility rate of 2.06 in urban areas compared to 2.98 in rural areas.

India currently has one of the lowest incidence rates of cancer anywhere in the world for most forms of the disease, with death rates from cancer far lower than in the western world for many major types of cancer such as breast cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer. India is among the top 20 countries with the lowest death rate from any type of cancer in the world, with a death rate of 78 per 100,000 people compared to a global death rate from cancer of 203 per 100,000, although the rate of oral cancer is very high. Tobacco use is high in India, with many people smoking beedis (also known as bidis), which are unfiltered Indian cigarettes filled with tobacco flakes and wrapped in a tendu leaf. These cigarettes are higher in nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide than conventional cigarettes. Beedis are increasingly popular in India as they are inexpensive compared to conventional cigarettes, with many people mistakenly believing that they are less harmful due to the fact that the tobacco is wrapped in a leaf and hence seems more natural. In fact, beedis may be more harmful than other types of tobacco consumption and hence may explain the high rate of oral cancer.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing is still uncommon in India and studies to have shown that several subtypes of the virus have been linked with oral cancers, especially HPV 16, which is also heavily linked to cervical cancer. Lack of HPV screening therefore may have an effect on the high level of oral cancer in India, as well as high cervical and oesophageal cancer rates. The fact that the lower overall life expectancy means that many people die for other reasons before any cancer that they may have becomes noticeable impacts the accuracy of cancer statistics in India. Also influencing the accuracy of data is the fact that many people who die at home do not have their cause of death registered before being buried or cremated, with some reports indicating that as many as 50% of deaths are not registered properly with the state. Therefore, there may be some level of under-reporting that influences the reported rate of many types of cancer. Nevertheless, even though India maintains one of the lowest overall cancer rates in the world, up to 6.5% of annual deaths are attributable to some form of cancer and that number is set to increase over the forecast period.

Indian Pharmaceutical Market Key Players

Indian pharmaceutical market is mainly dominated by Sun Pharmaceutical Limited, Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Cipla Limited, Cadila Healthcare Limited, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Limited, Pfizer Limited, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, and others.

Indian Pharmaceutical Market Segment Regional Level Analysis

On the basis of region, the Indian pharmaceutical market is segmented into four zones namely:

• North India

• South India

• East India

• West India

• Central India

North India's pharmaceutical market is expected to be the most dominating market throughout the forecast period due to the increasing number of research institutes and healthcare centers.