Indian pharmaceutical market: a way towards leadership in generics

India, as a country of 1.4 billion people, plays a dominant role in the global pharmaceutical industry. It is the largest international supplier of generic drugs (cheaper drugs but similar to brand-name drugs). The aim of this study is to analyze development prospects for the Indian pharmaceutical market to identify the barriers or drivers that are forecasted to support or slow-down the future market growth and identify infl of India on development of the global pharmaceutical market. India has a well-developed domestic pharmaceutical industry with a strong network of 3.000 companies and approximately 10.500 manufacturing units. This study discloses historical overview and explains how the Indian pharmaceutical industry was set-up from 1970s till the present day. Eff transformation of the Indian economic structure allowed Indian pharmaceutical industry to fi its niche in the global pharmaceutical market. Indian economy is well prepared for growth of the pharmaceutical industry, since it has a wide and diversifi economy, growing population and evolving healthcare sector. Analysis of the portfolio, fi strategies and other main aspects of the key players in the Indian pharmaceutical market shows that many major companies (e.g. Aurobindo Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s) are actively fostering partnerships with international pharmaceutical companies (like Pfi or Sanofi and this perfectly illustrates the trend of building alliances and partnership in the market. The analysis of the market by geography shows that 47% of Indian medicines are supplied to the US and Europe, which confi not only the low cost of goods of Indian products but also their good quality. Moreover, there is a trend of increasing export of Indian pharmaceutical products to the BRICS countries, including supplies to Russia and South Africa. Conducted SWOT analysis reveals weak points and barriers for the future market development, such as product quality, increasing competition from other global markets, diffi in logistics inside the country. This study emphasizes the key drivers for the future market development, specifi support from the State, increasing digitalization, scale-eff of the industry and growing demand for the pharmaceutical medicines, and all these factors will support the Indian market to get a leading position in the global pharmaceutical industry.