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Indian Pharma Industry

Classification of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

The Indian pharmaceutical industry can be classified into organized and unorganized sectors. Accounting for over 70% of total sales, the organized sector has about 250 manufacturing and formulation units. On the basis of management control, the organized sector can be further

classified into MNCs and Indian companies.

On the basis of the product manufactured, the pharmaceutical industry can be classified into:

Bulk drugs: They are the key ingredients that form the basic raw material for the manufacture of formulations.
Formulation: Particular mixture of a bulk drug or a combination of different bulk drugs.

Formulations constitute nearly 81% and bulk drugs account for the remaining 19%. Indian pharmaceutical industry has about 2400 licensed manufacturers and more than 100,000 drugs.

On the basis of formulations, the pharmaceutical industry can further be classified into:

Prescription medicines: Also known as ethical formulations. They can be dispensed only on the prescription from a qualified medical practitioner.
Over-the-counter medicines: Also known as OTC formulations. They can be dispensed even in the absence of prescription, e.g. analgesics, cough drug, etc.

On the basis of formulations patent, pharmaceutical industry can be classified as

Branded formulations: They are ethical formulations prepared using a bulk drug under product patent and are marketed by a single pharmaceutical company.
Generics: They are formulations that do not contain any patented bulk drug and can be manufactured by more than one company.