The pharmaceutical industry in India is the third largest industry in terms of its volume and is known to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the Indian economy, estimated to grow at 20 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the years to come. The market size of the pharmaceutical industry in India is valued at US$20 billion, presently. With the wide pool of scientists and engineers working towards up gradation and innovation of the sector, the growth prospects of the industry look promising in the days to come.

On the surface and on the international level, the industry is highly regulated. Sustained by the amazing success achieved by consumer durables industry in the online space, pharma is the next big sector in India to target consumers online. The growth in the industry has created a great opportunity for the online model for this business. India has now seen pharma players taking the e-commerce route with an intention to offer solution to numerous problems plaguing the retail pharmacy industry. Online pharmacies today are the need of the hour. Research says although 68 percent of people personally visit the physical medical stores, they seem to be unsatisfied with the services at the counter. Consumers believe (perhaps rightly) that the medicines they receive from online pharmacies are comparable to medicines sold in the brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

In our current edition, we have featured ’10 Most Promising Online Pharmacies. These online pharmacies are known to offer better pricing than offline stores, with increased access, lower transaction and product costs, convenience and greater anonymity for consumers. Their accessibility to people with limited mobility and to people in remote areas also cannot be overlooked. We also recommend to read our Cover Story on E-Spin Nanotech, a 2011 founded company that has emerged as a leading high-tech enterprise for manufacturing high quality and cost-effective multi-functional nanofibers to address the unmet basic needs of the society.