Cipla becomes the largest pharmaceutical retailer in India

Cipla has emerged as the largest pharmaceutical retailer in the country. Dr Y K Hamid owned pharma major finally left behind pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy to emerge as the number one pharmaceutical retailer in the Indian market. Cipla is up 1.86% in yesterday’s trade on the NSE after it edged past Ranbaxy Laboratories to become the No 1 retail company in the domestic pharma space. This was revealed by a survey carried out by ORG. For the 12-month period ended May, it has raced ahead of Ranbaxy.

For the year ended May 2007, Cipla is the market leader with a 5.05% market share followed closely by Ranbaxy at 5.04%. Glaxo SmithKline came in a distant third with a 5% market share. For May, Cipla’s market share was 5.05% against 4.82% for Ranbaxy. It may be interesting to note that on a monthly basis, Cipla has been the market leader for the last three months.

Cipla, Ranbaxy, and GSK have been the frontrunners for the top slot for some years now. Ranbaxy has been the dominant player, leading the market since July last year. GSK briefly held the top position earlier this year but Ranbaxy regained the numero uno position in March for the 12-month period, only to be replaced by Cipla in May.

Cipla fares better when it comes to revenue from domestic market. Its revenue from domestic market is about Rs 20 million more than Ranbaxy. According to ORG figures, the market shares of majors such as Cipla, Ranbaxy, and GSK have either remained stable or have marginally gone down from around 5% over the past few years.