As revenue rise among pharma companies, competition for market share heats up

Pakistan’s listed pharmaceutical companies entered 2026 with higher profits, wider margins and a visible shift in how they are using the cash released by drug price deregulation: not only to repair balance sheets, but also to fight harder for market share.

The first quarter numbers compiled by Topline Securities show that the listed pharmaceutical sector posted profit after tax of Rs10.19 billion in January-March 2026, up 17% from Rs8.68 billion in the same quarter last year. Net sales increased 7% year-on-year to Rs90.65 billion, while gross profit rose at a much faster pace of 18% to Rs38.84 billion. Gross margins reached 43%, compared with 39% in the first quarter of 2025 and 44% in the final quarter of 2025.

That gap between sales growth and gross profit growth tells one part of the story. The more revealing number is further down the income statement. Selling and distribution expenses rose 20% year-on-year to Rs17.10 billion, nearly three times the pace of revenue growth. As a share of sales, selling and distribution costs increased to almost 19% from about 17% a year earlier, indicating that pharmaceutical companies are spending more aggressively on field force expansion, brand promotion, trade channels, doctor engagement, distributor reach and product-level marketing.