Pharma fights the VAT virus, grows 9% in '05.

Economic Times (New Delhi, India), February, 2006

Byline: Jeetha D'Silva

Feb. 27--MUMBAI, India -- Despite the VAT blues faced by the domestic pharma sector in the early part of '05, the market grew 8.6 percent during the year to cross Rs 23,000 crore.

Half of the top ten companies registered growth rates higher than the industry average, according to the industry audit by research agency ORG-IMS.

One of the reasons that contributed to the growth was the long monsoon, said Shailesh Gadre, MD of ORG-IMS. "This resulted in a growth of the acute therapeutic segments like cough, cold and anti-infectives," said Mr ...