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Sun fastest growing firm: IMS Health

Shweta Rajpal Kohli

Mumbai-based Sun Pharma has been ranked the fastest growing company among the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the last financial year, according to figures released by IMS Health Data.

According to IMS Health Data for April 2001-March 2002, Sun Pharma recorded a growth rate of 18.4 per cent as against the industry growth of 7.7 per cent.

The retail-chemist audit conducted by ORG-Marg for the same period also ranked Sun Pharma as the fastest growing company with a growth rate of 20 per cent.

The company's market share of new products as well as contribution of new products to company sales was also the highest, as per ORG-Marg figures.

"There are two reasons for our leadership position in growth rates: lasting customer relationship and a history of aggressive product introduction," a Sun Pharma official said.

He added: "Most speciality product prescriptions are written for chronic ailments that are treated over long periods. This is why the company has been ranked among the fastest growing in the pharma industry even at a large turnover size."

Sun Pharma has a portfolio of 306 products in various therapeutical segments such as psychiatry, neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology and orthopedics.

The company unveiled 37 new products last year which accounted for 5.67 per cent of the total new products launched.

Cipla, which posted a growth rate of 17.2 per cent according to ORG-Marg and 12.5 per cent according to IMS, introduced 104 new products last year, but its new products accounted for a market share of 5.54 per cent.

The contribution of the new products launched by Sun Pharma to its sales was 4.1 per cent, the highest among the leading pharma companies.

The new products of Cipla contributed only 2.21 per cent to sales. Ranbaxy introduced 66 new drugs accounting for 5.65 per cent of the new products introduced last year.

As per IMS data, Zydus Cadila posted a growth rate of 16.1 per cent, followed by Aventis Pharma at 13.1 per cent and Cipla at 12.5 per cent. Leading players such as GlaxoSmithKline and Nicholas Piramal recorded growth rates below the industry average.

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