Introduction
India has become a powerhouse supplying affordable and quality drugs to the entire world and therefore dubbed the ‘Pharmacy of the World’. Even to the year 2024, exports of pharmaceuticals from India still recorded progressive increases. This blog goes deeper into the specifics, the data and the figures of India’s pharmaceutical exports in 2024.
History and Account of India’s Pharmaceutical Export
India’s pharma sector is well known for its solidity and it is offering a wide number of products. It is the largest supplier of generic medicines in the globe, these drugs are effective in the treatment of various health complications at an affordable price. It is evident that the country pharmaceutical export is flourishing due to various factors such as the manufacturing capacity, adherence to high quality and assessable regulatory conditions.
Key Pharmaceutical Products Exported (Courtesy: IBEF)
- Generic Medicines
India is the largest supplier of generic medicines in the world, and the contribution of the country is large. Conventional drugs formed a considerably large market for the country’s pharmaceutical export since they were cheaper and effective. Majority of drugs exported include: anti-infective, anti-diabetics, cardiovascular drugs, etc.
- Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)
APIs are regarded as the working components incorporated in a drug product that is responsible for the corresponding pharmacological result. The Indian APIs industry is strong and caters to exporting API requirements of many countries for manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Few exported APIs include: Antibiotics, hormones, vitamins nutraceuticals.
- Vaccines
India is a global exporter of vaccines, which include DPT, BCG, measles among others. Accounting for approximately 60% of global demand for vaccines the country continues to be a fundamental link in global immunization. India has been an active manufacturer of vaccines for diseases like Hepatitis, polio and influenza among others.
- Biologics and Biosimilars
Biologics and Biosimilars are complex and innovative products of bio- pharmaceutical industry originated from living organisms. India has come a long way ahead in exporting these products, which are used to cure multi-faceted diseases such as cancer and auto immune diseases.
- Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicines
Another large group of exports is OTC medicines, which are available without a prescription. Some of these are analgesic, antipyretics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and nutritional supplements. India's exports in this category include: Paracetamol, Cold cough syrups, digestive enzymes others.
Export Statistics and Trends
- Export Value
India’s pharmaceutical exports were significantly increased as compared from the previous years, which indicates that India has shown a sign of improvement in its pharmaceutical industry despite the difficult year.
- Top Export Destinations
The United States was the highest importer of the Indian pharmaceutical products with the export at about USD 7.54 billion. The other significant markets were, Belgium USD 714. 92 million, South Africa USD 657 million, United Kingdom USD 647. 68 million and Brazil USD 642. 67 million.
- Product Categories
Coming to the types of exports, drug formulations and biologicals dominated the others and formed about 75% of total exports of Indian pharmaceuticals. This category will encompass finished dosage forms as well as complex biologic products which are administered in different therapeutic areas.
- Growth Drivers
There are several reasons that contributed to the rise of pharmaceutical exports such as the rising importance of generic drugs, global immunization programs, and India’s successful effort to keep an uninterrupted supply chain during the COVID-19 crisis.
Challenges and Opportunities
- Regulatory Compliance
The Indian pharmaceutical exporters face a challenge of meeting the compliance of international regulatory requirements. However, the fact that there are numerous manufacturing plants in India that are approved from the US FDA but situated outside USA underlines this willingness of the country towards quality.
- Market Diversification
Again the US market still holds a largest share but the opportunity of diversification has significantly increased for Indian Pharma exporters. These are noticeable opportunities that have been found in emerging markets in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
- Innovation and RD
Increase in expenditure on research and development is considered essential for continuously fueling the growth of the pharmaceutical exports. Lately there has been a paradigm shift in biologics and biosimilar also innovation in newer drug delivery systems are found and these may be explored by the Indian exporters.
Conclusion
India’s position in the global health care supply chain can be well understood with the help of the pharmaceutical exports in the year 2024. From low cost generic medicine to high end biologics, India is unceasingly fulfilling the needs of the global population. The issues with regulation in the Indian pharma industry are well understood and the industry is gearing up to invest in innovation to tackle the problems to grow and expand its reach in the global marketplace.
