Pharma sector bets on high turnover despite lockdown

AMARAVATI: In an interesting development, Indian pharma industry (IPM), which ended 2019 with 1.48 lakh crore turnover at 9.5 % growth, is likely to continue high volume sales despite the lockdown.A study by Hindu College of Management, Guntur, found that the pharma industry is not losing anything due to the lockdown.People suffering from cardiac, diabetes, hypertension, kidney, thyroid and gastritis ailments have purchased two months’ medicines in advance due to uncertainty over Covid-19 lockdown.“Although, the pharmacies attached to the hospitals have not reported sales due to the lockdown, the pharma firms had motivated doctors to encourage patients to purchase drugs outside their hospitals,” said SVS Lakshminarayana, former CEO of a pharmaceutical firm.The study found that market leaders had tried their best to be in touch with the patients through different platforms including social media, toll-free call centres to see that they do not miss a single dose of drug. “USV (I) Ltd, one of the leaders in cardiac and diabetic segment, launched a helpline and provided information about the availability of their stocks at the nearest retailer. They also opened separate windows to reach out to the retailers and supplied stocks in time,” said Dr SV Ramana, principal of Hindu College of Management, who led the team that conducted the study.Ramana said that Dr.Reddy’s, the leader in gastro-entreology, has developed a helpline for medical retailers to solve availability problem. IPCA, a major manufacturer and exporter of chloroquine phosphate, too has reached out to its retailers via app.