Indian pharma markets contract in October, says study

Mumbai: The Indian Pharma Market (IPM), which has  faced uncertainty since the victory of US president-elect Donald Trump, had  already  contracted in October with the overall growth rate of 5.9 per cent, the lowest in the past three years and far below the monthly average growth of over 10 per cent in the past two quarters.

There has clearly been a slowdown in the sector after a strong growth in July and August 2016 when buoyancy in demand was triggered by monsoon- related ailments, according to Emkay Global research.

The research attributes the slowdown partially to a high base effect as October 2015 saw a growth of over 20  per cent, though the earlier months of August and September 2016 also saw high growth despite a higher base of the corresponding period of last year.

Amit Goel, founder and CEO, Just Relief Wellness Private Limited — an online pharma  company sees a better future going forward for all pharma online companies due to demonetisation.

Mr Goel says “The online pharma space has done well these past few days considering that we offer not only one stop services at home but also because the consumer has access to cashless payments.

“So we offer the convenience of both time and money transactions, add to this basket, the fact that our consumers can also avail heavy discounts on our portal and mobile apps.

“I feel this is what has increased traffic to e-pharmacy businesses. Our business has seen a positive impact  over the last ten days.”  

Mr Goel welcomes demonetisation as the cash crunch has driven people online.

It maybe mentioned that medical care has been one of the worst hit for the people and this was also highlighted by the patriarch of India Inc Ratan Tata who said that there is a medical emergency among others  and asked the government to take up this matter.