The Pharmaceutical Industry

INTRODUCTION

The pharmaceutical industry is that part of the healthcare area which deals with medications. It comprises different subfields pertaining to the discovering, developing, producing and marketing of medications. They deal in generic or brand medications and medical devices such as thermometers, syringes, nebulizers, and many more along with providing services such as lab testing.

The pharmaceutical industry is driven largely by profits and competition and functions just like any other industry. It has raw materials manufacturers, finished goods manufacturers, Research and Development (R&D) companies, marketing companies, and consumers. This sector, more than any other industry, is highly dependent on its R&D segment. Also, understanding

Indian Pharmaceutical industry is ranked 3rd globally in volume and 14th in value, supplying 10 % of global production. The Indian pharmaceuticals market witnessed growth at a CAGR of 5.64%, during 2011-16, with the market increasing from USD 20.95 billion in 2011 to USD 27.57 billion in 2016. Figure 1: Revenue of Indian Pharmaceutical Sector (IBEF, 2017)

India is likely to be amid the top 3 pharmaceutical markets, by 2020, as a result of incremental growth & 6th largest market globally in absolute size. The industry has a large part of its revenues coming from exports. India exports pharmaceutical products to more than 200 countries. The Indian government has come out with its policy document - 'Pharma Vision 2020', which targets to make India as a global leader in end-to-end drug manufacture.

The leading five Indian players by sales (INR Billion):

Company Name Net Sales (Rs. Cr)

Cipla

This is not only because of the low-cost manufacturing, operations and research base but due to a combination of additional factors such as process improvements in manufacturing API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient), faster recruitment process for conducting clinical trials, availability of skilled manpower and developed regulatory skills. With, extremely competitive market, low costs and only process patents till recently, Indian companies have technologically advanced expertise in process innovation. The above factors have resulted in India producing low cost good quality products, which have spurred exports of Indian products to international markets, especially to the higher regulated markets like USA and Western Europe. Of the main export varieties, formulation and API sales are the major portion.

INDIA’S EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES

Figure 3: Trade Data of Indian Pharmaceutical Sector (IBEF, 2017)

Indian pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of Indian pharmaceutical sector’s export opportunities in regulated & semi-regulated markets. In FY16, India exported pharmaceutical products worth USD16.89 billion, with the number expected to reach USD 40 billion by 2020.

Indian drugs are exported to over 200 countries in the world. With the US as the key market, India is the world’s largest provider of generic medicines; the country’s generic drugs account for 20% of global generic drug exports (in terms