China's Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Industry Overview (2)

The raw material drug products are usually divided into three categories: bulk raw materials, specialty generic drug raw materials, and patented raw materials. The bulk raw material market has now entered its maturity stage, with relatively stable demand but fierce competition. Specialty generic drug raw materials have a higher technical barrier and profit level, while patented raw materials have higher added value due to innovation and uniqueness.
In terms of competition, the bulk raw material industry's production capacity is mainly concentrated in China, with many domestic market participants. The domestic market for specialty raw materials is mainly dominated by large raw material drug enterprises. As the R&D technology for specialty raw materials continues to improve, the number of enterprises participating in the production of specialty raw materials will increase. However, the R&D technological barriers for patented raw materials are higher, and there are fewer domestic participants.
Looking at the development trend, with the continuous development of the pharmaceutical market and people's increasing demands for drug efficacy and safety, the market share of specialty raw materials and patented raw materials will gradually increase.
In terms of regional distribution, provinces such as Jiangsu, Shandong, and Zhejiang are the main concentration areas for domestic raw material drug production enterprises. As of the end of 2022, there are a total of 1,606 chemical raw material drug production enterprises in China, with all provinces except Tibet having chemical raw material drug production enterprises. The TOP 3 provinces are Jiangsu, Shandong, and Zhejiang, with 224, 138, and 133 chemical raw material drug enterprises respectively.
In conclusion, the raw material drug market in China is evolving, with different categories of products and competition patterns. The development of innovative technologies will play a significant role in the market. The regional concentration of production enterprises will also need to be considered in the future development of the industry.