Rising population boosts APAC's over-the-counter drugs market

In countries with high populations, patients rely on neighborhood chemists for medications.

A rising population in countries like India and China, as well as the growing preference amongst pharma companies are driving the growth of Asia Pacific’s over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, according to Market Insights Reports.

The OTC market posted strong growth, resulting from the rising demand from the consumers to self-medicate. In countries with high populations such as China and India, patients mostly rely on their neighborhood chemist to prescribe the appropriate medicines for illnesses, such as cough, cold, nasal congestion, or fever, the report noted.

In India, the frequency of certain ailments, like common colds and headaches, is also significantly high and inconsistent across states.

More consumers are also seeking over-the-counter (OTC) remedies and medicines rather consulting their physicians first. In India, consumers are found to be dependent on OTC for cough, cold, or flu medicines.

“Furthermore, many countries in South Asia-Pacific and Japan have a large number of the elderly population who are more prone to diseases. Thus, this factor is also likely to drive the OTC drugs market in the future,” the report added.