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Drug sales growth slows amid high inflation
AHSAN HABIB
Sales growth of drugs slowed down in fiscal year 2023-24 ending last June, which could be an effect of high inflationary pressure prevailing in the country over the last two years.
Meanwhile, prices of drug products of several companies have increased.
The Bangladesh pharmaceutical market recorded a moderate sales growth of 7.2 percent in the fiscal year.
It was an exceptional 15.3 percent in the preceding fiscal year.
Last fiscal year’s growth rate is lower than the average of 9 percent recorded by the industry in the past four years.
The market sales amounted to Tk 32,870 crore in the year ending on June 30 this year, according to IQVIA, a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry.
It was Tk 30,660 crore in the preceding fiscal year.
Sales growth of drugs dropped mainly due to a reduction in the purchasing capacity of people amid high inflation for more than two years, said Jubayer Alam, company secretary at Renata PLC.
Inflation rose to 11.38 percent in November, the highest in four months, owing to the soaring prices of food, especially the staple rice and vegetables, according to the state-run Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
It has remained over 9 percent since March 2023.
Due to ongoing inflationary pressure, real income reductions have pushed at least 78 lakh people into poverty, according to a study of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID).
This includes 38 lakh people who have become extremely poor.
Besides, around 1 crore more are at risk of slipping below the poverty line due to continued inflationary pressures, the private research firm said.
If people, especially lower middle income and financially insolvent people, do not feel an extreme need for medicine, they avoid going to pharmacies, said Alam.
They prioritise other basic needs, such as food, over medication, he said.
Among the different drug groups, antibiotics witnessed a 10.16 percent growth. It was 11.20 percent in the previous fiscal year.
Rising awareness of self-care has driven the growth of certain medicines that currently require prescriptions but have the potential to become over-the-counter drugs.
These include antihistamines and expectorants, which saw sales growths of 16.23 percent and 12.92 percent respectively.
A few therapeutic class drugs like proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), calcium and vitamins saw minimum growths of 5.72 percent, 6.63 percent and 4.89 percent respectively.
PPIs represent a class of drugs most prominently known for their use in acid-related disorders.
The pharmaceutical sector usually grows at a handsome rate every year, but the growth might not be high, especially when the country’s GDP growth rate is projected to fall, said MA Razzaque, chairman of the RAPID.
On the other hand, there is persistent inflationary pressure, for which people’s purchasing power has dropped, he said.
So, there is a possibility that people reduced their consumption of drugs. It is true that prices of drugs rose, so people are facing difficulties to afford medicine, he added.