Getting to know India's Generic Pharmaceutical Market

Worldwide the generic pharmaceutical industry is growing at an incredible rate, in India alone; this sector represents one of the fastest growing segments of the national economy. At an annual rate of nine percent the Indian Pharmaceuticals Market stands at close to $19 billion and is estimated to double over the next five years to a staggering $40 billion.

Having demonstrated its ability to play a leadership role within its own financial borders, as well as taking up an influential position worldwide, the India pharmaceutical market is now poised to join with their colleagues within the pharmaceutical originator market to help solve the world's global health problem by improving access to medicines worldwide, including within its own borders.

Femke Markus, Managing Director, of the Access to Medicine Foundation and Jocelyn Musters, Product Manager, recently travelled to India to attend the India Pharmaceutical Summit, an opportunity to meet with and engage industry and governmental representatives in the access to medicine dialogue. Invited by the newly established Department of Pharmaceuticals of the Government of India, the summit provided a platform to address key issues, identify opportunities & challenges and chart a road map for India while stimulating multi stakeholder responsibility within this important area.

For our part, the Access to Medicine Foundation is planning to include the Indian market in the 2010 Index by creating a separate list for generics companies (several of which will be Indian). Our goal is that by creating a stimulating mechanism, such as the Index, we can encourage the redistribution of profits and revenues from an ever growing industry to help those societies in need.