India to be among top 10 pharma markets

India will be among the world's 10 leading pharmaceutical markets from 2015 because of steadily rising sales volume and the increase in illness due to stress, according to a study by the McKinsey consultancy.

Gautan Kumra, one of the authors of the study, said the Indian pharmaceutical market would see "a major transformation" over the next decade. The market is forecast to triple in value by 2015 to some $20.0 billion, compared with $6.0 billion at present. The explanation for the current growth is said to be the nature of the market, average wages levels, a large population which has grown rapidly over the past 20 years and the emergence of consumers with increased purchasing power. At the same time, the daily incidence of illness is increasing, fed by the stress of daily life.

Mr Kumra said that, in the past, acute infections were the problem but there are now more chronic conditions linked to lifestyle such as diabetes or arterial tension. India has the world's largest population of diabetics and numerous cases of cardiovascular disease, the McKinsey study found.