India pharmaceutical industry up 16.9%; shows more signs of growth, BMI predicts

There is no doubt that the opportunity in the coming years will be from emerging markets, which have seen a wealth of activity from multinational drug majors. Among these, India's pharmaceutical market is booming and there is little chance of it slowing any time soon, according to a new report from Business Monitor International.

Drug sales are growing and red tape will prevent systematic price cuts, which is a nascent trend in developing countries. A rapidly increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, also appeals to foreign firms and their product portfolios of medicines targeting chronic illnesses, the report notes. However, India's intellectual property regime fails to acknowledge incremental innovation, discouraging many multinationals from launching products or making fixed capital investments, it warns.