Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
April drug sales up on low base effect, Covid-19 drug demand
NEW DELHI: Indians purchased medicines worth ₹15,662 crore in April, 51.5% more than a year ago, with the huge jump being primarily because of the depressed sales of last April and the demand surge resulting from the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The second Covid wave has boosted the sales of drugs having a direct/indirect role in treatment. Anti-infectives have shown a growth of 134% yearon-year (y-o-y) and nutritionals have shown a growth of 76%. Companies operating in Covid treatment therapy segments have gained substantially through bumper sales for the month,” said market researcher AIOCD-AWACS.
The stringent nationwide lockdown of April 2020 had caused an 11% slump in drug sales. Anti-infectives and other acute segments were the worst hit as visits to clinics and outpatient departments of hospitals shrank and elective surgeries were postponed for fear of contracting Covid-19 at healthcare facilities.
The situation continued in May 2020, with sales contracting 9%, even as the country started gradually lifting some of the restrictions that had been imposed during the lockdown.
This year, the pharmaceutical industry has been better prepared for production and distribution exigencies that were expected during the lockdown imposed to battle the second wave, AOCD-AWACS said. Also, states have been more careful with the conditions for lockdown, allowing essential services such as medicines to be distributed more freely.
“If one looks at the growth drivers, volume growth has a lion’s share in the growth of the market,” the market research firm said, indicating that an increase in pricing has not had much of an impact on sales.
The increase in volumes, especially for anti-infectives, vitamins, and minerals, can be correlated with the fact that India added 6.94 million cases in April alone, which is more than half of the 12.2 million confirmed cases it had recorded till 31 March.
A sharp surge in cases also led to an increased demand for zinc and vitamin C used to boost immunity against the disease in both healthy people and patients, as well as antibiotics such as azithromycin, which is often prescribed to covid-19 patients.