India’s medicine market: Pharma sector grows 8% in August; industry projected to reach $130 billion by 2030

India’s pharmaceutical market grew 8.1% in August as compared with the same month last year, according to data from IQVIA quoted in an HDFC Securities report. The growth follows a 7.1% rise in July and is close to the 8% pace seen through FY25.

However, unit sales in August slipped 0.8%.The steady performance was led by chronic treatments such as cardiac, anti-diabetic and central nervous system (CNS) medicines, while respiratory and cancer drugs also recorded strong demand. In contrast, acute therapies, including anti-infectives and gastrointestinal drugs, grew more slowly.Chronic therapies rose 12% in August, while acute therapies were up 6%.

Both cardiac and anti-diabetic drugs grew 11%, helped by strong sales of GLP-1 molecules. CNS drugs gained 8%. Among acute categories, anti-infectives rose 6%, gastrointestinal medicines inched up 2%, and vitamins, minerals and nutrients (VMN) increased 7%.Respiratory drugs saw one of the biggest jumps, up 19%, while oncology surged 23%. Pain management medicines rose 6%.A standout trend was the sharp rise in GLP-1 therapies, with sales jumping 97% month-on-month, making them a major driver of anti-diabetic growth.

HDFC Securities said it expects the IPM to expand 8–9% in FY26, supported by faster growth in chronic categories, recovery in acute therapies, and new product launches.A separate government release cited by ANI described India’s pharmaceutical sector as a global leader. It is the world’s third-largest producer by volume and fourteenth by value, supplying over half of global vaccine demand and almost 40% of US generics.

The industry is projected to reach $130 billion by 2030 and $450 billion by 2047."The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is driving investments into 55 projects to make high-end drugs such as cancer and diabetes medicines in India, while the Strengthening of Pharmaceuticals Industry (SPI) scheme that focuses on raising the quality, competitiveness, and resilience of smaller pharma companies, is funding R&D and modernizing labs, enabling Indian companies to compete globally," the release said.