India Over The Counter (OTC) Drug Market, By Product Type (Cold, Cough & Flu, Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS), Analgesics, Gastrointestinal Products, Dermatology Products, Others), By Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Topical, Others), By Dosage Form (Tablets, Capsules, Liquids & Solutions, Cream/Lotion/Ointments, Others), By Distribution Channel (Retail Pharmacy, Hospital Pharmacy, E-Pharmacy), By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2018-2028F
India Over the Counter (OTC) Drug market stood at USD4666.15 million in 2022 and is expected to grow at a steady CAGR of 7.85% during the forecast period. The over the counter (OTC) drug market is driven by growing geriatric population suffering from various diseases. Additionally, prevalence of disease among the youth due to their everyday lifestyles is a major factor that drives this market's growth. Furthermore, easy availability, affordability, and increased awareness among patients about these over the counter (OTC) drugs are the major drivers that are driving the production of newer and more efficient over the counter (OTC) drugs in India. This in turn is anticipated to positively impact the market growth.
Furthermore, over the counter (OTC) drug manufacturers are more aware of the need for accessible health solutions among people due to the unhealthy dietary habits and thus making drug more efficient, reliable and affordable. They are coming up with new formulations that are designed to cope along with the busy lifestyle treating the patient to the maximum and thereby gaining the consumer trust and reliance for the Over the Counter (OTC) drug market. The digital availability of the over the counter (OTC) drugs with the penetration of online pharmacies is a booster for the over the counter (OTC) drug market as it helps users and make things easier for him/her to and thereby boosting the over the counter (OTC) drug market.
Increasing Awareness for Self-Medication Drives Market Growth
Self-medication is the practice of taking medications, to treat self-diagnosed symptoms, without getting a Doctor’s prescription otherwise on one's own initiative or on the recommendation of another individual. Easy access, availability and awareness are nowadays the most common reason behind practicing self-medication. Self-medication is being practiced frequently ~53.57% (according to a survey by a journal of National `Library of Medicine) in India and is practiced most among the middle-class family. This self-medication trend is anticipated to drive the cough and cold, gastrointestinal, analgesics, multivitamins and dermatological segment of the Over The Counter (OTC) Drugs in the country. The most frequent usage of Over The Counter (OTC) Drugs is in Fever, Headaches, Toothache ,acne, constipation, Musculoskeletal pains and Cold, Cough & Flu. People are more relaying on this self-medication as it is time saving, often based on previous recommendation as well as the need for faster relief thus driving the market growth by increasing dependency and reach for the Over The Counter (OTC) Drug Market in India.
Rise in Disease Prevalence among the Elderly is Increasing the Market Demand
The increased disease prevalence among the growing elderly geriatric population is a measure that is expanding the Over The Counter (OTC) Drug market demand. The dependency on several Over The Counter (OTC) products like Laxatives, Cold, Cough and Flu along with mild analgesics and pain reliever ointments for the geriatric population, is a major reason for the increased demand. Nowadays, due to rising frequency of several old age health issues many Over The Counter (OTC) drugs such as pain reliever and ointments are directly related to their comfort and independency for carrying their everyday lifestyle, thus indirectly maintaining the continuous demand and thus expanding their Over The Counter (OTC) Drug market.
Increasing cases of Cough Cold & Flu, Body aches and various other Recurring Health Issues in India, have increased the demand for Over the Counter (OTC) Drug market.
During the pandemic the increased prevalence of Cold Cough, Fever, Body aches and severe other similar symptoms along with the fear of contracting the virus had led to increased demand for these Over The Counter drugs . Easily accessible drugs in pharmacies such as analgesics, antibiotics, anti-diarrheal agents, antipyretics, cough-suppressants, Vitamins & Mineral supplements (VMS) being cost efficient and having preventive effects during the pandemic were most in demand thus boosting the Over The Counter (OTC) Drug Market.
Launch of New & Updated Customer Centric products accelerates growth of Over The Counter (OTC) Drug Market.
Launching updated products of new formulations of various traditional Over The Counter (OTC) drugs such as alcohol, dye free, honey containing cough or cold oral liquids, sedative free cold and cough formulations, Raft forming oral suspensions, oral and topical analgesics, naturally extracted acne treatment creams and lotions is gaining customers faith for lesser side effects and more consumption thereby increasing the market demand. Also, the usage of various Vitamins and Minerals Supplements (VMS) in distinct formulations brings more to the health-conscious community thus gaining more traction toward the Over The Counter (OTC) Drug market.
Market Segmentation
The India Over The Counter (OTC) Drug market is segmented based on Product Type, Dosage form, Distribution channel and region distribution, top 3 states. Based on product type, the market can be categorized into Cold, Cough & Flu, Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS), Analgesics, Gastrointestinal Products, Dermatology Products and Others. By Route of Administration the market can be segmented into Oral, Parenteral, Topical and Others. Based on the Dosage form, the market can be categorized into Tablets, Capsules, Liquids & Solutions, Cream/Lotion/Ointments and Others. Based on Distribution channel, the market is divided into Retail Pharmacy, Hospital Pharmacy and E- Pharmacy.
Company Profiles
Cipla Limited, Sun Pharmaceuticals Limited, Lupin Limited, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited, Dabur India Limited, Abbott India Limited, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited, Emami Limited, Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Limited, are among the major market players in the India Over The Counter (OTC) Drug market.
Years considered for this report:
Historical Years: 2018-2021
Base Year: 2022
Estimated Year:2023E
Forecast Period: 2024F–2028F
Report Scope:
In this report, India Over The Counter (OTC) drug market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:
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