Monsoon illnesses & flu surge lift drug demand

New Delhi: Monsoon illnesses and a rise in H1N1 cases are boosting demand for acute therapies and flu vaccines, with sales of anti-infective and antibacterials rising 12% month-on-month in July.

According to market research firm PharmaTrac, sales of anti-infectives rose to ₹2,359 crore in July 2026 from ₹2,107 crore in June, while those of antibacterials increased to ₹2,109 crore from ₹1,883 crore. Sales of both the segments were up 6% from July 2025.

Gastrointestinal medicine sales rose about 1.8% to ₹2,081 crore in July from ₹2,045 crore in June, reflecting a seasonal rise in waterborne and digestive illnesses, PharmaTrac data showed. "Certain therapies like antibacterials, cough and cold may have disease seasonality patterns," said Sheetal Sapale, vice president, commercial, at PharmaTrac. Anti-infective medicines include antivirals and antibacterials, or antibiotics, among others.


With H1N1 cases recording a more than sixfold increase compared to previous years and the usual monsoon fevers including dengue, typhoid, malaria and chikungunya already at seasonal highs, the demand for flu vaccines has also shot up. .

Manisha Mishra, vice president and lead, specialty pharma, at Tata 1mg, told ET that sales in August were nearly three times higher than a year earlier and more than doubled from July, leading to supply constraints in several cities.