How the pharma growth story fizzled out

Pharma exports now seem to be losing their importance due to poor growth

Pharmaceutical exports were supposed to be the next big thing for India, after the global success of its information technology (IT) industry. But, it seems pharma exports are past their prime, even as the industry is still in its infancy. In FY17, IT services exports, at $160 billion, were nearly 10 times those of drugs and pharma and equivalent to nearly 60 per cent of the country’s merchandise (goods) exports. In FY17 IT services exports were up 3.5 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), while total merchandise exports were up 5.3 per cent.

In the last financial year, India’s pharma exports, including bulk