Pakistan Pharma Sales Hit Record Rs1.251 Trillion as Medicine Volumes Barely Grow

Pakistan’s retail pharmaceutical market reached a record Rs1.251 trillion during FY2025-26, but the number of medicine units sold increased by less than 1%, showing a wide gap between growth in industry revenues and growth in actual medicine volumes.

Industry and Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan data cited in multiple reports show that pharmaceutical sales increased 14.88% in value during the 12 months ending June 2026.

However, the total number of medicine units sold increased just 0.93% to approximately 3.80 billion, compared with around 3.765 billion units during the previous year.

The figures suggest that higher prices, changes in the mix of medicines being purchased and the introduction of higher-value products contributed substantially more to market growth than an increase in the number of medicines sold.

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Market Reaches Rs1.251 Trillion

Pakistan’s retail pharmaceutical market was valued at approximately Rs1.089 trillion in FY25.

That increased to around Rs1.251 trillion in FY26, representing annual growth of 14.88%.

The market has expanded significantly over the past several years.

Reported market values were approximately:

The reported figures imply a compound annual growth rate of about 17.55% over four years.

In dollar terms, the latest assessment values Pakistan’s pharmaceutical retail market at roughly $4.45 billion.

Medicine Volumes Increase Only 0.93%

The most important part of the data is the difference between sales value and sales volume.

While pharmaceutical sales measured in rupees increased nearly 15%, the number of medicine units sold increased by less than 1%.

Total units rose from approximately 3.765 billion to 3.80 billion during FY26.

That means market revenues grew far more quickly than the physical quantity of medicines sold.

It would therefore be misleading to conclude from the Rs1.251 trillion headline alone that Pakistanis are buying dramatically more medicine.

Instead, much of the increase in market size appears to reflect higher prices, changes in the products being purchased and increased sales of higher-value medicines.

Did Pakistanis Actually Buy Fewer Medicines?

Not in total.

The original source headline suggests that Pakistanis bought fewer medicines, but the underlying data show total unit volumes increased 0.93%.

The more accurate conclusion is that medicine consumption volumes barely grew despite a sharp increase in spending.

There is, however, a major difference between local and multinational pharmaceutical companies.

Multinational companies saw their unit volumes decline, while domestic companies recorded modest growth.

That distinction explains why some parts of the market experienced lower physical sales even though overall national volumes edged higher.

Local Pharmaceutical Companies Control Nearly 80% of the Market

Pakistani pharmaceutical manufacturers continued to dominate the market.

National companies generated approximately Rs998.54 billion in retail sales, giving them close to 80% of the market.

Their sales value increased 16.53% year-on-year.

Local companies also recorded stronger volume performance.

Their unit sales increased around 2.98% to 3.006 billion units.

This suggests that domestic manufacturers not only gained more sales revenue but also sold more medicines by volume.

Multinational Pharma Companies Lose Volume

Multinational pharmaceutical companies generated approximately Rs252.13 billion in sales, accounting for around 20% of Pakistan’s retail pharmaceutical market.

Their sales value increased by approximately 8.76%.

However, multinational medicine volumes fell by 6.16% to around 794 million units.

This means multinational companies generated more revenue despite selling fewer units.

Several factors could contribute to such a pattern, including changes in product mix and pricing.

The data alone do not establish how much of the decline resulted from affordability, substitution toward locally manufactured alternatives or individual product availability, so those causes should not be presented as proven without further evidence.

Growth in Pharma Sales Is Slowing

Although the market reached a record value, its rate of growth has moderated.

Reported pharmaceutical market value growth was:

• 22.4% in FY24
• 18.56% in FY25
• 14.88% in FY26

The industry therefore remains in double-digit nominal growth, but the pace has slowed for two consecutive years.

The April-June 2026 quarter generated approximately Rs316 billion in sales, an increase of around 15.04% from the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

Medicine volumes during the same quarter increased just 1.49%.

Again, the gap between value and volume growth remained substantial.

What Does the Gap Between Value and Volume Mean?

The figures provide an important insight into Pakistan’s medicine market.

A pharmaceutical market can grow in two fundamentally different ways.

The first is volume growth, where people purchase a larger number of medicine packs or units.

The second is value growth, where the amount of money spent increases because medicine prices rise, buyers shift toward more expensive therapies or new high-value products enter the market.

Pakistan’s FY26 data show that value growth was much stronger than volume growth.

As a rough illustration, dividing reported market value by total units gives an indicative value of around Rs329 per unit in FY26, compared with roughly Rs289 a year earlier.

This should not be interpreted as the average price of a medicine because pack sizes, formulations and product categories differ significantly. It simply illustrates mathematically how market value rose much faster than overall unit volumes.

Medicine Pricing Rules Have Changed

Changes in Pakistan’s drug-pricing framework provide important background to the market.

In 2024, the government amended the Drug Pricing Policy to deregulate prices of medicines that are not included in the National Essential Medicines List.

DRAP’s current pricing policy states that medicines on the National Essential Medicines List remain subject to regulated maximum retail prices, while drugs outside that list are exempt from the relevant pricing controls.

DRAP later launched work to assess the impact of this deregulation on medicine prices across Pakistan.

An official DRAP procurement document states that the government introduced changes in February 2024 deregulating prices of non-essential medicines and subsequently sought a national survey comparing current market prices with pre-deregulation levels.

That policy context is relevant when examining why pharmaceutical-market value can rise substantially even when volume growth remains limited.

Essential Medicines Remain Price-Regulated

The deregulation does not mean that all medicine prices in Pakistan are unrestricted.

DRAP’s amended Drug Pricing Policy states that maximum retail prices of medicines and biological products included in the National Essential Medicines List remain regulated.

Medicines outside that list are treated differently under the revised framework.

DRAP also maintains an online pharmaceutical price index where consumers and industry participants can check regulated prices for registered products.

This distinction is important because Pakistan’s pharmaceutical market contains thousands of products operating under different regulatory and pricing conditions.

Getz Pharma Remains the Largest Local Company

Among domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers, Getz Pharma recorded the highest reported retail sales.

Its sales reached approximately Rs85.27 billion, representing growth of about 19.33%.

Other major Pakistani companies included:

Several other domestic manufacturers also recorded strong growth.

Ferozsons Laboratories reportedly increased sales by 33.18% to around Rs20.98 billion, while PharmEvo reached Rs24.66 billion after 24.45% growth.

Abbott Leads Multinational Companies

Among multinational companies, Abbott remained the largest by reported retail sales at approximately Rs70.08 billion.

It was followed by:

• GSK — approximately Rs64.83 billion
• Haleon — approximately Rs38.64 billion

The figures show that multinational companies remain significant participants in Pakistan’s medicine market even though domestic manufacturers now account for most overall sales.

A Small Number of Companies Control Most Sales

Pakistan’s retail pharmaceutical market remains highly concentrated.

A total of 102 companies reportedly generated more than Rs1 billion each in annual sales.

Together, these companies controlled approximately 96.63% of the market.

The eight companies with sales above Rs40 billion accounted for approximately Rs474 billion, or nearly 38% of the total retail market.

Those companies were:

• Getz Pharma
• Abbott
• Sami Pharmaceuticals
• GSK
• Martin Dow
• Hilton Pharma
• High-Q
• OBS

Another 22 companies with annual sales exceeding Rs10 billion collectively generated approximately Rs475 billion.

Nearly 1,000 New Products Enter the Market

The pharmaceutical industry also saw a large number of product launches during FY26.

A total of 989 new products were reportedly introduced during the 12 months ending June 2026.

Domestic pharmaceutical companies accounted for 982 of those launches, while multinational firms introduced seven.

Newly launched products generated approximately Rs19.18 billion in retail sales, equal to around 1.53% of the total pharmaceutical market.

The figures highlight the dominant role domestic manufacturers now play in expanding Pakistan’s pharmaceutical product portfolio.

October 2025 Recorded the Highest Monthly Sales

The industry’s highest reported monthly retail sales occurred in October 2025, when sales reached approximately Rs110.89 billion.

Monthly pharmaceutical sales also exceeded Rs100 billion in several other months, including December 2025, March 2026, April 2026 and June 2026.

June 2026 alone generated approximately Rs107.86 billion, with local pharmaceutical companies accounting for around Rs85.67 billion and multinational firms contributing roughly Rs22.19 billion.

Why the Data Matter for Pakistani Households

The widening gap between medicine spending and medicine volumes is potentially significant for household budgets.

When market value increases much faster than physical volumes, consumers collectively spend considerably more money without a comparable increase in the number of medicines purchased.

However, the market statistics alone cannot prove how individual patients changed their behaviour.

They do not show whether specific patients skipped treatment, purchased smaller quantities, switched brands or moved from multinational medicines to domestic alternatives.

Those questions require household-level and prescription-level research.

What the FY26 data clearly establish is that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical market became substantially more valuable while the quantity of medicine sold remained almost flat.

Record Sales Do Not Automatically Mean Better Access to Medicines

A larger pharmaceutical market may indicate industry expansion, higher-value treatments and greater commercial activity.

But market value alone is not a measure of healthcare accessibility.

Access also depends on factors such as:

• Household income
• Medicine prices
• Availability of essential drugs
• Insurance and public healthcare coverage
• Geographic access to pharmacies and hospitals
• Availability of affordable generic alternatives

The FY26 numbers therefore should not be interpreted simply as evidence that Pakistanis are receiving more medical treatment.

Unit volumes increased only marginally.

Bottom Line

Pakistan’s retail pharmaceutical market reached a record Rs1.251 trillion in FY26, up 14.88% from Rs1.089 trillion a year earlier.

But medicine volumes increased only 0.93%, from around 3.765 billion to 3.80 billion units.

Domestic pharmaceutical companies strengthened their position, accounting for roughly 80% of the market and recording growth in both sales value and unit volumes.

Multinational companies, in contrast, generated higher revenue while their medicine-unit sales declined by more than 6%.

The central takeaway is therefore not that Pakistanis bought fewer medicines overall. Rather, spending on medicines rose sharply while the quantity of medicine sold remained almost unchanged, highlighting the growing importance of pricing, product mix and treatment costs in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical market.