Domestic pharma’s growth rate this past year has been remarkable, proving to be a buffer against sluggish overseas sales. While other sectoral indices are in the red, the Nifty Pharma index gained about 14.4% year to date.
However, those looking for these growth rates to sustain may need to pencil in a deceleration in the home market. Domestic sales of products in chronic and acute therapies have been robust in March, although lower compared to February.
February’s sales growth stepped up 12.1%, and that of March climbed 8.9%. Analysts say sales were driven by some early buying in March, though not to the extent seen in February.