Tuesday, May 13, 2008

OTC drugs sale on rise @ 10% : ASSOCHAM

by Jo Black

Higher medical professional charges coupled with excessive desire for self-medication and increasing faith in traditional ayurvedic medicines, India’s over the counter drug sale has grown around 10% in the last 2 years, leaving USA and China much behind, where OTC drug sale is estimated at 4% to 5% respectively.

The above findings are arrived at ASSOCHAM on Latest OTC Drug Sale Pattern, highlighting that the share of sale of OTC traditional drugs in India has gone up to 30% as against of cold and cough medicines, 12% of vitamins and about 7% of Analgesics.

Releasing the Chamber’s findings, its President, Mr. Venugopal N. Dhoot said that the maximum number of OTC drugs sold by qualified chemists and pharmacists are from the branded company like Pfizer Inc., the share of which is estimated at about 8%, followed by Sanofi-Aventis 7%, Johnson & Johnson 5.5% and remaining percentage is sold off through other.

Mr. Dhoot said that main reasons as to why OTC drugs, which fall under the category of Scheduled H of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and can be sold without prescriptions from qualified doctors are increasing because most of common masses avoid consulting private medical practitioners because of their high professional fees and that’s why resort to self prescription.

Secondly, the faith of most of the masses is increasingly reviving in traditional ayurvedic medicines which are easily available with druggists, pharmacists and even special retailers including super markets and hyper markets. Thirdly, OTC drugs advertisements often appear in electronics and print because it is legally permitted which easily influence a large number of people to go in for them for maintaining their interiors and exteriors in terms of vitamins in take, added the ASSOCHAM Chief.

About 2 years ago, India’s OTC drugs market was close to around 6% as against less than 2% of US and around 3% of China. The OTC drugs in India are quite common because the population of pharmists and chemists have exceeded over 8.5 lakhs. The OTC drugs sale would further get enhanced as their sales are now being permitted through various post offices and groceries stores and retail outlets.

Currently, OTC drugs are sold off in larger percentage of over 37 in urban areas and their penetration in the rural market is around 10% which will go up mani fold as OTC drugs availability would grow in countryside at much faster speed.

The Chamber is of the view that the key players that will emerge for further intensifying drug sales, marketing will include FMCG firms, advertisement and media firms, nurses, NGOs and pharmists to communicate about their effectiveness to rural masses in future.

In India, the awakening levels of modern medicines has gone up to 35% which use to be less than 20% around 2000 and this amounts to increased sale of OTC drugs. As far as the number of qualified doctors are concerned, these include about 650,000, 20% of which serve the rural masses by most of the times, recommending to their patients intake of OTC drugs because of non-availability of much more effective drugs which generally are in paucity in the countryside.

 

 

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