New Delhi: Sales of generic medicines have doubled under the Narendra Modi government’s flagship affordable drugs scheme, suggesting a growing preference among Indians for the cheaper variants of branded drugs.
According to government data accessed by ThePrint, the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PM-BJP) posted a revenue of Rs 200 crore in the last four months (from April to July), against Rs 100 crore in the same period last year.
The government is looking at total sales of Rs 500 crore in 2020-21, approximately 15 per cent higher than last year’s Rs 433 crore.
“We have posted an increase in sales across categories. It’s not a category-specific trend,” Sachin Singh, chief executive officer of the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI), the government arm that executes the Jan Aushadhi scheme, told ThePrint. “For us, all categories have recorded decent growth, starting from anti-infectives (antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic medicines), respiratory, gynaec, analgesics apart from cardiac and anti-diabetes.”
The growth, Singh said, “shows the impact of our continuous promotion of the scheme, lower pricing of medicines, extensive availability of drugs at our outlets and trust on our brand ambassador PM Modi and his scheme”.
Generic drugs are equally effective substitutes of branded medicines that are manufactured as cheaper alternatives once the latter have had an exclusive hold on the market for a certain period. For instance: Paracetamol is a generic name of the brand Crocin.
In 2017-18, the annual turnover of the PM-BJP stood at Rs 140 crore, which means its 2019-20 revenues represent a jump of almost 190 per cent. The months where the sales have doubled correspond with the emergence and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic across India.
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Sales down at regular pharmacies
While generic medicine sales have risen, industry data shows those of branded drugs are registering a decline.
According to data by research firm AIOCD-AWACS, in April, only cardiac, anti-diabetic and anti-malarial drugs posted growth in sales, at 5-10 per cent. All the remaining categories, including anti-infectives, gastro-intestinal, respiratory, pain and analgesics, gynecological, registered a fall in sales ranging between 4.5 per cent and 35 per cent.
A similar sales trend continued in May, where the overall sales of Indian pharma market dipped by 9 per cent. While the situation improved in June for some categories such as cardiac, anti-diabetic, neurology, dermatology and respiratory, the sales dipped again in July.
Between May and July, sales dipped by 2 per cent. The categories affected included anti-infectives, gastrointestinal, pain and analgesics, dermatology, respiratory, gyaneocology, neurology and sex-stimulants.
“Chronic products, especially cardiac and anti-diabetics, have done reasonably well. Challenge has been for medications, especially antibacterial categories, which post high regular sales… As people haven’t ventured out much (since lockdown imposed in March) and doctors were also unavailable, the sales haven’t happened,” said Hari Natarajan, managing director at Pronto Consult, a firm that specialises in doctor perception studies and pharma market insights in India and West Asia.
“However, retail sales have increased for products such as hand sanitisers, masks, Vitamin C and D, immunity boosting products,” he said.
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Modi’s push for generics
In 2017, PM Narendra Modi had hinted that his government might push for a law that prioritises generic medicines over branded drugs in doctors’ prescriptions.
“Doctors write prescriptions in such a way that poor people do not understand the handwriting, and he has to buy that medicine from private stores at high prices,” he had said.
“We will bring in a legal framework by which if a doctor writes a prescription, he has to write in it that it will be enough for patients to buy generic medicine and he need not buy any other medicine.”
A few days after Modi’s remarks, the Medical Council of India (MCI) started stressing “on putting in place a legal framework to ensure that the doctors prescribe low cost generic medicines to the patients”.
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Where are the central govt stores open in Chennai, Tamilnadu?
Very good endavour
Need to increase outlets per city
Very good initiative,cheaper medicine,good diabetic test kit,heating pad,
Needs to introduce ayurvedic medicine like triphala,isabgol etc
I have managed to save 1000 rs on medicines as I am an epileptic and I have to be on the drug for life time
Also I have dry eyes and for this also I have to be on eye drops for a life time
Thanks to Jan aushdiya pharmacies ..
Really a great startup.medicines are very cheap. I am a pharmacist.Can I start this shop in my area.pls give me a contact details.i am from Ernakulam district in kerala.
Very Good initiative taken by Modi government.This will help in getting rid of drug mafia. Finally saw a positive news for Modi government by The Print and I appreciate it.
There still no of drugs which are not patented,but their generic substitute is not available
Further supply is not available always.May be supply constrain.
Very very good venture by the Modi Govt. People are really being very benefitted as the branded drugs are very costly and it is not possible for all sorts of people to afford the costly branded drugs. Hope mor and more drugs will be manufactured under the Jan aushudhi pariyojana so that ordinary poor people can heave a sigh of relief.
Generic drugs also have brand names, and are sold at much below the MRP. The problem with the commonly used medicines for diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems etc is inconsistent availability and non-availability of the prescribed doses. Pharmacists disburse wrong medications as substitutes, when the supply is irregular. For e.g., diclofenac is given to patients when Tramadol is prescribed. Both are painkillers, but diclofenac can cause kidney damage. Innocent people believe them and consume without drs knowledge, and argue with dr that pharmacist said both are same drugs. Drs become helpless. The best thing Modi govt can do is implementation of “one nation, one drug, one price, any brand” But it’s impossible because pharmaceutical companies have strong hold, and won’t allow this to happen. Hope drs also encourage cheaper generic drugs