Ahmedabad: Revenues of major Gujarat-based pharmaceutical companies from the US market have remained under pressure for the third consecutive quarter in 2021. Increased competition and subsequent price erosion of existing products negatively affected their market sales during the quarter ending in September.
Vadodara-based Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited (APL) revenue from the US market decreased 40% to Rs 348 million in the September quarter from Rs 582 million during the corresponding quarter of the prior fiscal year.
US Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited's revenue decreased 13% to Rs 284 crore in the quarter ended September 30 from Rs 327 crore in the same quarter last year.
Another major Ahmedabad pharmacist, Cadila Healthcare Limited, the flagship of the Zydus Cadila Group, posted a 12% drop in revenue in the US, the world's largest pharmaceutical market, to Rs 1,498 crore during the quarter. of September. The company had made revenue of Rs 1,709 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.
These companies had also reported lower sales in the US market in the previous two quarters. These companies attributed the increased competition and difficult pricing scenario to low sales in the US market.
According to Alembic Pharma's investor presentation, increased competition in the US market led to price erosion for some large products during the first six months of the current financial year.
"Sales (from the US market) were lower due to the erosion of prices in the base business and the lack of new approvals pending reinspection of the facilities," said Torrent Pharma when announcing its financial result for the quarter.
According to industry players, competition in the US market has intensified with the approval of more and more generic products. New players are aggressively pricing their products, which is putting pressure on existing players to lower the prices of their already approved products.
Pharmaceutical firms, however, posted healthy growth in the domestic market, helping them offset lower revenues in the United States.
Alembic Pharma's business revenue in India increased 23% to Rs 509 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Torrent Pharma market revenue in India increased 13% to Rs 1,087 crore and Cadila Healthcare sales (human formulations and consumer wellness) increased 12% to Rs 1,591 crore during the quarter under review.
