Outlook 2022: Pharma experts predict a stable future for the industry

New Delhi: Leading credit rating agency, ICRA has maintained its stable outlook on the Indian pharmaceutical industry, emanating from steady earnings outlook in addition to comfortable credit profile and strong liquidity of major industry participants, despite higher capex and R&D expenses.

“Indian pharmaceutical companies are expected to report steady revenue growth of 9-11% in FY2022 and in FY2023. The revenues in FY2022 will be supported by growth of 13-15% in the domestic market, 14-16% in the emerging markets and 9-11% in the European business even as growth under the US business is expected to remain muted due to continuing pricing pressures. Given healthy margins in H1 FY2022, full-year margins in FY2022 are expected to remain in line with FY2021 levels despite some contraction in H2 FY2022. However, Covid-19 cost savings tapering down coupled with headwinds such as pricing pressures and rising raw material costs are expected to result in margin contraction to pre-Covid levels in FY2023,” says Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice President & Sector Head, ICRA Limited.

The last two years steered the pharma industry towards innovative breakthroughs across the patient journey that helped the world recover from the pandemic.

Sharing his outlook, Gopal Agrawal, Head Market Access and Pricing, Takeda Pharma says, “As 2022 approaches, improving patient’s access to treatments shall remain a topmost priority in healthcare while addressing availability, accessibility or affordability. Therefore, it will be paramount for the industry to address the structural barriers that prevent the underprivileged from accessing quality care. The industry must also channelise its scientific efforts towards the quest of life-transforming treatments to patients in underserved communities worldwide. Diverse public-private partnerships must be embraced to amplify the reach of patient access programs and to introduce innovation in the ecosystem. The intersection of innovation and accessibility solutions will drive the future of pharma industry.”