India’s pharmaceutical market may be growing at a healthy pace on paper, but a closer look at the numbers is raising concerns among chemists and druggists.
While the market recorded 10.4% value growth on a moving annual total (MAT) basis and 10.7% growth in August 2026, volume growth remained around 1%, suggesting that much of the expansion is being driven by prices and product mix rather than a significant rise in the number of medicines sold.
The figures, from the August Pharmatrac monthly performance report, have prompted the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) to call for a more balanced approach to pharmaceutical growth, with the interests of patients, manufacturers, distributors and more than 12.4 lakh licensed chemists taken into account.
AIOCD president J S Shinde and general secretary Rajiv Singhal said the industry’s growth must not come at the cost of the traditional pharmacy network, which continues to play a crucial role in ensuring medicines reach patients, particularly outside major urban centres.
The divergence between value and volume growth is significant. A market can post higher revenues even when the number of units sold rises only marginally if prices increase or consumers shift towards higher-priced products.
For chemists, however, this can translate into pressure on inventory movement and working capital, particularly when expensive medicines occupy shelf space for longer periods.
“The AIOCD has therefore sought sustainable trade margins, faster inventory turnover and reasonable credit terms for retailers,” said Singhal. It also stressed that the traditional brick-and-mortar pharmacy chain should remain an integral part of India’s medicine supply system as the market evolves.
The trade body has also flagged declining volumes in some essential acute-care segments. Anti-infectives and respiratory medicines, in particular, have seen persistent pressure, raising questions about whether lower consumption reflects changing prescribing patterns, disease trends or other factors.
In a statement here, the association said such changes warrant attention from regulators, drug manufacturers and healthcare professionals, especially when they involve medicines used for common and potentially serious illnesses.
At the other end of the spectrum, some newer therapeutic categories are expanding rapidly. The Pharmatrac data point to strong growth in anti-obesity and metabolic-care medicines, particularly those based on GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Drugs such as tirzepatide and semaglutide are gaining market share, reflecting a broader shift in prescribing and patient demand towards newer metabolic therapies.
The contrast highlights the changing character of India’s pharmaceutical market: while established acute-care categories face volume pressures, newer and often higher-value therapies are rapidly gaining ground.
Cardiac and anti-diabetic medicines also continued to contribute strongly to overall market expansion. Among companies, Sun Pharma, Cipla and Abbott maintained robust revenue trajectories, while brands such as Mounjaro, Augmentin and Glycomet GP remained among notable performers.
For AIOCD, as per the statement, the bigger issue is not whether the pharmaceutical market is growing, but how that growth is distributed across the supply chain.
Rapid expansion of high-value medicines, new product launches and changing treatment patterns can alter the economics of retail pharmacies. Higher-value products may increase turnover in rupee terms but can also require greater working capital and carry higher inventory risks.
The organisation has consequently argued that commercial strategies should account for the financial viability of local pharmacies rather than focus exclusively on topline market growth.
The concern comes at a time when India’s medicine distribution system is undergoing significant change, with traditional pharmacies operating alongside online platforms, organised chains and increasingly specialised healthcare delivery models.
With the pharmaceutical market expanding rapidly in value but barely moving in volume, the latest data therefore present a more nuanced picture of growth — one where higher revenues do not necessarily mean more medicines reaching more patients.
The challenge for the industry, AIOCD maintained in the statement, will be to ensure that the next phase of growth strengthens rather than strains the entire medicine-delivery ecosystem.
