The domestic pharma industry continued to clock double-digit growth of 13.5% during the April-June quarter of the financial year. This is marginally up against the growth registered in the corresponding quarter of the previous year during which the comparable growth stood at 12.6%, according to pharma research agency, Aiocd Awacs.

The healthy growth in the domestic formulations business has mainly come on the back of new product launches and entry of pharma firms into unexplored and underexplored non-metro and rural markets. Monthly sequential growth in June stood at 12.6%, a few shades lower than the growth in May, which stood at slightly over 14%.

For the 12 months ending June, the domestic pharma market has grown by 14.9% to touch R 55,986 crore.

?Growth in the quarter has resulted from a mix of various factors. Of the total growth, around 8 to 9% can be attributed to addition in volumes, 4 to 5% can be accounted for by new product launches and rise in product prices would have contributed the balance 1%.

While growth in volumes has been fairly steady over time, it is the new product launches which is mainly responsible for the additional growth in the market,? said CLSA pharma analyst Hemant Bakhru.

Analysts at KR Choksey estimate that the domestic formulations business will show robust growth of 15% to 16% year-on-year, mainly driven by new product launches and aggressive venturing into relatively new frontiers of growth in tier II & III cities as well as rural market.

?The first quarter growth stood at 13.5%, higher than last year Q1 growth of 12.6%.

Moreover, going by the previous experience, the key driving months for the year is the second quarter. For instance, September in the year 2010 had peaked with 21.5% growth. Once we put all these facts into perspective ? this financial year does not seem bad at all,? said Ameesh Masurekar, director, Aiocd Awacs.

Among the 10 leading drug firms, top gainers for the month of June were Sun Pharma (23.6%), Zydus Cadila (20.4%) and Mankind Pharma (21.8%). These firms along with Torrent Pharma and Ranbaxy Labs have also been the top performers in the quarter. ?Also, Macleod Pharma continues its trailblazing performance at 33.9% and Sanofi has grown by a robust 20.7%. Ranbaxy also has been showing a sustained and healthy growth rate,? Masurekar added. Bakhru also said that companies such as Zydus Cadila, Torrent Pharma and to some extent Ranbaxy, which have been aggressive in marketing and launched new products, have emerged as top performers in the first quarter (in terms of sales).