PTI

New Delhi: Gurgaon-based Ranbaxy Laboratories has for the first time in the current calender year dethroned Cipla from the top slot in Rs36,000 crore domestic drug market.

According to stockist sales audit by ORG-IMS, Ranbaxy garnered a market share of 5.43%, against Cipla’s 5.04% in April. In May Ranbaxy’s market share was at 5.22% compared with Cipla’s 5.06%.

Since the beginning of this year, Cipla has been occupying the top slot with 5.6% market share in January, 5.86% in February, 5.4% in March and April, and 5.06% in May, against Ranbaxy’s 5.03% market share in January, 5.02% in February, 5.18% in March, 5.43% in April and 5.22% in May.

While Ranbaxy and Cipla slugged it out for the top slot, GlaxoSmithKline maintained its third position for the first five months of the despite its market share declining from 4.54% in January to 4.30% in May.

Nichiolas Piramal, which was at sixth position in the first two months rose to fourth position in May with a market share of 3.67%.

As per the ORG IMS report, anti-infectives registered the highest growth at 21% for May 08 cumulative against 7% in the same period a year ago and at the same time chronic therapies also recorded a steady growth of 20% throughout the period.

“An earlier start of the transition in the season from a shorter winter to summer accompanied with the monsoons being ushered in ahead of time have led to an increasing need for Anti Infectives usage to combat the spurt in infections in many parts of the country,” it said.