Scarce rains hit pharma companies’ seasonal drug sales

MUMBAI: Scanty rainfall in the country over the last couple of weeks is not making only policy-makers and farmers a worried lot. It has also led to a slackening in June sales of anti-infective and respiratory medicines — therapies which traditionally show a strong double-digit growth during the monsoon season.
Sales of respiratory drugs slowed down to 6%, while that of anti-infective medicines to 10.3% in a market that grew at a healthy rate of nearly 17% in June, data culled from market research firm AIOCD Awacs said.
This also seemed to have a trickle-down effect on sales of pain-killers as well during the month, as the category reported a growth of nearly 12%. Analgesics and pain-killers normally report 16-17% growth during the June-July period. Sales of these therapies witnessed slow growth possibly due to fewer illnesses and infections during the month in the wake of poor rains, industry watchers pointed out.
Against this, chronic therapies continued to report high growth with anti-diabetic (32.7%) and cardiac (21%) drugs. The vitamins and minerals market has grown at a little over 21% for the month. The other fast- growing segments were hormones (24%), derma (21.9%) and anti-malarials (20.8%).
Says Ganesh Nayak, executive director and COO, Zydus Cadila: “Delay in arrival of monsoons has impacted the anti-infectives segment. But with its arrival now, it will also give a positive push to the industry.”