Foreign drug companies are rapidly increasing their share of the Indian market. Since December 2008, the number of top 10 drug firms in India controlled by foreign companies has increased from one to four. Daiichi Sankyo acquired Ranbaxy Laboratories, Sanofi-Aventis purchased Shantha Biotechnics, and Abbott Laboratories plans to acquire Piramal Healthcare. Tarun Shah of MP Advisors expects at least two more acquisitions in the next 18 months. The mergers of Merck with Schering Plough and Pfizer with Wyeth have given each company larger stakes in the Indian market. According to MP Advisors, among multinationals, Abbott holds the number 1 position in the market with 7% share, followed by Daiichi Sankyo at number 3, GlaxoSmithKline at number 4, Pfizer at number 8, Sanofi-Aventis at number 15 and Merck at number 16. Foreign companies control 23% of the top 16’s market share, according to IMS, which accounts for 56% of the $13 billion Indian pharmaceutical market.

Source: Livemint.com