Research firm pegs Indian pharma market's growth at 2.3% in January — oncology, derma segments see growth

Anti-infectives and respiratory medicines segment slipped 7.1 and 5.1 percent, respectively, from last year, while pain/analgesics medicines dropped 1.8 percent. Meanwhile, the vitamins/supplements segment showed only a 0.3 percent growth.

Dermatology medicines, which saw an increase of 10.5 percent, was the only segment that delivered a decent growth; and oncology drugs continued to see growth as well at 11.8 percent from January 2022. The cardiac segment saw a 6.3 percent increase as well, and so did the ophthal/otologicals segment, which grew healthy at 17.6 percent, however it contributes just 2 percent to the overall market.

The AIOCD AWACS said Indian pharma companies' growth numbers for January were extremely weak and only Torrent was among the listed players that showed a double-digit growth. However, the research company was not sure if this was because of its Curatio acquisition.

Meanwhile, the other pharma companies showed either negative or mid-single digit growth. "We do not expect the reported numbers to remain so weak, but the current market expectations are unlikely to be met," AIOCD AWACS said.

The market research company also believes that the high expectation build up that occurred during the "hyper-growth phase" of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be washed out entirely from Street estimates. "While we have seen some downgrades after the last 2-3 quarterly results, there is more room for downside. Alkem Labs, Torrent Pharma, Ipca Labs and Eris Life Sciences would be the most vulnerable given the higher contribution from domestic business," it added.