OTC Drug Market in India 2012

Over-the-counter drug market in India ranks eleventh in the global OTC market and is expected to reach the ninth position within the next five years. Since Indian patients have a huge tendency for self treatment, the Indian market is characterized by a huge demand for OTC drugs. It is a highly fragmented market with a large number of foreign and domestic players. Rising consumer confidence in OTC products, increasing number of shifts from prescription to OTC drugs, increasing focus on brand building, booming retail growth and changing demographics is helping the market to grow. The Indian Government, on its part has taken initiatives to reduce drug prices, has made certain reforms in the tax structure and has undertaken various other initiatives to promote the OTC market. The market is expected to exhibit steady growth over the next few years. 

The report begins with the introduction section which offers a brief insight into the major over-the-counter segments. It then moves to the market overview section which provides an insight into the global market and then moves on to the Indian market, highlighting the market size and growth. The top ten OTC brands in both the Indian and the global market, along with the sales figures have been provided. The report also provides individual market sizes for the different segments of the OTC market.  

An analysis of the drivers explains the factors for growth of the industry including rising consumer confidence in OTC products, increasing number of shifts from prescription to OTC drugs, booming retail growth, increasing focus on brand building, changing demographics and lower price control. The key challenges include low penetration in rural areas, preference of home remedies to OTC products, high competition and time consuming clinical trial procedures

The government initiatives section gives analyses the efforts to reduce drug prices, changes in the customs duty structure and the various other initiatives undertaken by the Government.

A brief overview of the drug market value chain and drug regulations is presented in the next section. It analyses the pharmaceutical value chain, and focuses on the different stages of clinical trial that a drug must pass through. A snapshot of different regulatory frameworks existing in the Indian pharma industry has been shown.

The competition section gives overview of pharmaceutical companies in the country operating in the OTC product industry. Thereafter, the report highlights the features of the major players operating in the market in detail. It includes elaborate profile of the major players in the market along with their financial analysis. Porters Five Forces Analysis has been incorporated for a brief but effective understanding of the market scenario. It also incorporates the recent developments in the OTC drug industry.

The report also includes a section on strategic recommendations created after a thorough analysis of the industry. The strategic recommendations section focuses on some effective strategic decisions which can be taken up by companies to increase their market shares. The OTC market is mainly concentrated in rural parts of the country. There is a huge opportunity lying in the rural market. The increasing education level, per capita disposable income will drive the OTC market. The OTC manufacturers should penetrate in the rural market as well. Companies should also focus towards diversified distribution channels. Brand creation for the OTC products and expansion into several OTC segments can also be effective strategies for the manufacturers to increase their sell figures and market shares.