It’s that time of the year again when the spread of influenza reaches fever pitch. And with the flu season on us, can medication to treat it be far behind? Data from Pharmarack, an integrated B2B healthcare platform, reveals that sales of antiviral drug Oseltamivir, commonly known as Tamiflu, has seen healthy growth in the past three months. In December 2022, at least 227,000 units of the drug were sold, which shot up to 294,000 units in January 2023 and 395,000 units in February 2023, with a value of Rs 9.7 crore, Rs 12.8 crore and Rs 29 crore, respectively.
The uptick in sales can be linked to the rising flu cases in the country. According to the data available on the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme-Integrated Health Information Platform (IDSP-IHIP) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a total of 3,038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of influenza, including H1N1 and H3N2, had been reported till March 9, 2023, by the states.
According to the ministry, seasonal influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by viruses that circulate in all parts of the world and the cases are seen to increase during certain months globally. India witnesses two peaks of seasonal influenza every year: one from January to March and the other after the monsoon season. The cases arising from seasonal influenza are expected to decline from March end, the government has said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends Oseltamivir for influenza. The central government had also allowed its sale under Schedule H1 (prescription medicine) of the Drug and Cosmetic Act in February 2017 for wider accessibility and availability. In India, Oseltamivir has also been made available through the public health system free of cost.
Meanwhile, sales of the drug have spiked in the past few months. “A similar uptick was seen in February 2021, but that was more of the Covid-19 impact,” says Sheetal Sapale, VP of Commercial at Pharmarack, adding that the annual market has multiplied more than 3x in terms of value and volume since 2019.
Since 2020, a combination of events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the flu season have led to the spike in sales. Pharma majors Cipla, Hetero Drugs and Macleods Pharmaceuticals have been the biggest gainers in the Oseltamivir business, says data from Pharmarack. In February 2021, Cipla recorded a growth of 65 per cent in value terms for its Oseltamivir drug named Antiflu. The growth stood at 29 per cent in February 2022 and 6 per cent in February 2023. Similarly, Hetero Drugs saw growth of its drug Fluvir at 16 per cent in 2021, 18 per cent in 2022 and 15 per cent in 2023. Macleods’ Fluvia clocked growth of 200 per cent, 279 per cent and 21 per cent in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. While the pace of growth may have moderated, Oseltamivir sales still show an upward trend.
These pharma majors aren’t the only ones making the drug in India. Some other firms that manufacture it include Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, JB Pharmaceuticals, Natco Pharma, MSN Laboratories and Overseas Pharma.
Meanwhile, according to financial services firm Anand Rathi, among sales by Indian pharmaceutical companies, a strong value growth was seen in therapies such as respiratory (55 per cent) and anti-infectives (35 per cent) in the month of February alone.
As the flu season peaks, and with the recent rise in Covid-19 cases as well, the upward trend for Oseltamivir looks set to continue.
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