Drug sales rise 18% to Rs 3,230 cr

NEW DELHI: Retail sales of medicine in the domestic market grew by 18.3% to Rs 3,230 crore in June as dealers and retailers increased stockpiles to prepare for monsoon-related ailments.

Consultancy firm ORG IMS said growth in the year-ago period was 13.7%, while sales rose by just 10.1% last month.

���Sales are higher during monsoon and dealers would have stockpiled mostly those medicines that are consumed to cure common diseases and ailments during the rainy season,��� Indian Drug Manufacturers��� Association (IDMA) president Daara Patel said.

Cipla held on to its top ranking for domestic sales, followed by Ranbaxy and UK-based GlaxoSmithKline. Among products, Novartis��� painkiller Voveran continued to remain the top-selling drug.