Indian Pharma Market- A Scenario

Pharmaceutical logistics are involved in the planning and execution of the complete pharmaceutical supply chain functions. While the food industry has been dealing with cold storage for a long time, the pharma industry is relatively warming up to the temperature controlled supply chain.

The international cold chain for vaccine delivery maintained by WHO, UNICEF and other NGO’s cost more than US $300 million every year to function, yet the efficiency rate stands at only about 50%. More than two million children under five years die each year from vaccine preventable infectious diseases.

The current pharma supply chain is a complex scenario in India with the presence of more than 50,000 retail chain supplies across the country. Due to poor transport facilities, the cost of medicines is much higher compared to USA and Europe.

About one-third of the revenue generated by pharma companies has been spent on transportation alone. The market value of vaccine market in India is around USD 180.5 Million, which is growing at a healthy pace of around 25%-30% annually.

Under the 12^th Five Year Plan (2012-2017),the Department of Pharmaceutical has asked for the assistance of around INR 50 Crore (USD 9.2 Million) for setting up the cold chain facilities across India. The Government of India is one of the driving forces in developing the cold-chain industry and supports private participation through various subsidy schemes and grants. Investment in cold-chain in India was also opened under the automatic route for 100% FDI participation. The Indian government and its Planning Commission spelt out clear intention, that cold-chain must be supported. Amongst the core identified development areas are the base infrastructure, environment friendly technologies, standards and protocols, enabling policies and specialized skills.