GSK Pharma's growth challenges to remain in near term as Covid dents sales

Even as overall pharma market was up 5% over the year-ago period, GSK's September sales were down 8%, the firm is banking on recovery led by top brands, new launches

Even as the benchmark indices and the BSE Healthcare indices have gained between 3 per cent and 5 per cent since September 15, GlaxoSm-ithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK) is down 12 per cent over this period. The near-term outlook is expected to remain muted if the drug sales in September are anything to go by.

Though the overall pharma market was up 5 per cent over the year-ago period, GSK’s sales for the month were down 8 per cent. The dip in September was led by a 12-21 per cent dip in sales of top brands in the anti-infectives and analgesics segments, such