- Real pharmacy unit sales saw an increase of 3.63% in annual sliding.
- Analysts attribute more than two thirds of growth to an increase in prices.
- National pharmaceutical companies sell $ 2.91 billion with growth of 4.98%.
Islamabad: The retail pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan experienced a significant increase in sales, crossing the threshold of RS1.049 Billion for the 12 months ending in March 2025.
This represents a robust growth of 20.62% in terms of rupees and an even higher 23.14% when seen in US dollars.
However, a more in -depth examination of data reveals that this impressive income growth is mainly fueled by substantial price increases rather than a significant increase in the volume of drugs consumed.
According to the latest report by the T1 2025 market access tracker (MAT) from IQVIA Pakistan, unit sales of real pharmaceutical products experienced a relatively modest increase of only 3.63% in annual sliding, reaching 3.77 billion units.
This striking contrast between the arrow value and the growth of the limited volume highlights an extended disparity on the market.
Analysts attribute this year to climbing market growth, as national and multinational companies have adjusted prices in the middle of inflation and currency pressures.
The IQVIA Pakistan report also indicates that industry has increased at an annual growth rate (TCAC) of 19.09% in capacity in the past four years, while TCAC in terms of US dollars is only 4.05% – suggesting that the dynamics of the damping and redeshell.
However, the modest increase in units sold – only 5.49% over five years – raises the affordability and accessibility of drugs for medium Pakistanis.
National pharmaceutical companies dominated the market in terms of volume, selling 2.91 billion units with an annual growth of 4.98%.
Multinational companies (MNC), on the other hand, experienced a 0.72% drop in units sold, increased to 856 million, despite an increase of 19.04% of sales value. This divergence illustrates how multinationals have also benefited from growth led by prices rather than extended demand.
The October quarter-December 2024 appeared to be the most profitable in Pakistan pharmaceutical history, monthly sales reaching a summit of 96.48 billion rupees in October only. From this, national companies have contributed to 75.39 billion rupees and 21.09 billion rupees.
The industry maintained this high rate during the following quarters, although the underlying driver remained the price rather than the volume.
The concentration of companies also remains high, 87 companies each exceeding RS1 billion annual sales and collectively holding a market share of 96.52%.
The most dominant group includes 20 companies with sales over 40 billion rupees – including Getz Pharma, Sami, GSK, Abbott, Searle and Martin Dow – which represent 450 billion rupees together and a market share of 42.92%. This group alone posted a combined growth rate of 23.28% compared to the previous year.
Companies of the income level of 10 billion rupees to 40 billion rupees added another RS348 billion to the total value of the industry, with a market share of 33.18% and an average growth of 15.7%.
Companies of the 5 billion rupes segment and more contributed to 124 billion income rupees, increasing by 23.4% in annual shift, mainly motivated by solid national players such as Hilton, Obs, High-Q, Pharmevo and Ferozsons.
Among multinational players, Abbott, GSK, Haleon, Novartis and Novo Nordisk have emerged as the main contributors, with seven of the ten best multinationals reaching two -digit growth.
However, IQVIA’s absolute growth analysis confirms that a large part of the overall industry gain comes from price increases, with 68.96% of the total market growth awarded to prices. The launch of new products represented 10.44% of growth, while the volume contributed only 17.99%.
A total of 636 new products have been launched in the past year, including 623 by national companies and only 13 by multinationals. These contributed to 7.15 billion rupees of new income, which is equivalent to less than 1% of the total market.
Industry analysts warn that if income overvoltages paints an image of market growth, it also masks critical structural problems. The minimum increase in unit consumption combined with high prices dependent suggests that many patients can be immune to essential treatments.
Experts urge greater regulatory monitoring on pricing mechanisms, improving public sector supply strategies and policies that balance profitability with public health priorities.