Pharmaceutical Sector Glowing With Good Health

India is positioned as a significant and rising player in the global pharmaceuticals sector. In August 2021, the Indian pharmaceutical market increased at 17.7 per cent annually, up from 13.7 per cent in July 2020. In this report, Shreya Chaware highlights the factors that will trigger further growth of this sector

- Shreya Chaware

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has a major share in the global pie of this sector. Worldwide, India stands third in terms of production by volume and 14th by value. The country is the largest provider of generic medicines globally, occupying a 20 per cent share in global supply by volume, and is a leading vaccine manufacturer globally. India also has the highest number of USFDAcompliant pharmaceutical plants outside of the USA and more than 3,000 pharmaceutical companies reside in India bearing a strong network of over 10,500 manufacturing facilities as well as a highly-skilled resource pool.

The pharmaceutical industry in India offers 60,000 generic brands across 60 therapeutic categories. Major segments include generic drugs, OTC medicines, API and bulk drugs, vaccines, contract research and manufacturing, biosimilars and biologics. India stands to be the fourth-largest Asian medical devices market after Japan, China and South Korea, and among the top 20 global medical devices markets in the world. Indian pharmaceutical companies, leveraged by their price competitiveness and good quality, have made a global footprint with 60 per cent of the world’s vaccines and 20 per cent of generic medicines coming from India.

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