Suzhou Time-Chem Technologies Co.,Ltd

On 17th October, 2008, State Food and Drug Administration carried out the license systems on 9 exported medicines officially for the first time, among which the raw material medicines occupied the most parts, including atorvastatin, gentamicin, sildenafil and sodium heparin which were involved in the Sino-American trade negotiation.For further understanding the situation of Chinese Chemical Pharmaceuticals Industry, we talk more about antibiotics here. Antibiotics are the major export product in Chinese pharmaceuticals industry, including Penicillin-G, gentamicin, tetracycline tablets, doxycycline, oxytetracycline and fluoroquinolone antibiotics. The old products, such as tetracycline tablets, oxytetracycline, gentamicin (doxycycline 6-a) and oxytetracycline, had produced few or stopped producing in the foreign countries. Therefore, there is a steady overseas market for the raw material medicines.

In 2008, the export volumes of the Penicillin-G totaled 12 thousand tons, holding the line compared with 2007, but the average export price was increased. In 2009, with the influences of the grain price growth, the production costs were increased. Therefore, the major international manufacturers of semi-compound Penicillin-G will probably accelerate the import volumes of Chinese Penicillin-G.

According to the statistics, the accumulative export volumes of various tetracycline raw material medicines were 14 thousand tons in 2008 in China, exceeding the Penicillin-G in volume and standing the largest export raw material medicine variety in China. With the gradual discovery of the new uses of the tetracycline and the derivatives in the international pharmaceuticals field, the tetracycline antibiotics will not come to an end with the spring-up of the cefa-antibiotics just like what people predict. Conversely, the tetracycline and the derivatives will take certain place tightly in the international pharmaceuticals market (the tetracycline antibiotics are also can be used as the additives of the animal feed stuffs, there is large demands in the international market). It is predicted that the tetracycline will be one of the major export raw material medicine varieties in the next several years, with the export volumes exceeding ten thousand tons.

Cephalosporin is the leading antibiotics in the international pharmaceuticals market. At present, the best-sellers conclude 20 varieties, 80% of which can be produced in China. In 2008, China totally exported about 500 tons, in which ceftriaxone sodium accounted for 40%. A new export characteristic of Chinese cephalosporin is the export growth of the cefaclor. From the part of the cost performance ratio, cefaclor is the commendable common antibiotics in the clinical experiments, meanwhile, the domestic producing technologies have been mature and many technology indicators have few differences with the international advanced level. In consideration of the work force and cost advantages, many overseas manufacturers set up the cephalosporin production bases in China and produced the export cephalosporin raw material products.  (…To be continued)                             

The chemical pharmaceuticals industry is the largest sub-sector of Chinese pharmaceuticals industry. In 2008, the sales revenues of Chinese chemical raw material medicines were 26.5 billion USD and the sales revenues of the chemical preparation industry were 3.34 billion USD, with the average growth rate all exceeding 20%. In 2008, China produced 2.2853 million tons chemical raw material medicines accumulatively, YOY up by 0.85% with the growthrate down by 15.05% compared with the same period of last year.

Because of the rigid demands for the pharmaceuticals, the influences of the international financial crisis on the pharmaceuticals industry were limited. In 2008, the export amounts of Chinese raw material medicines totaled 18 billion USD. From the aspect of the export volumes of the raw material medicines, the previous leading mass raw material medicines have been the major export variety in the international market so far. Because of the price advantage of the raw material medicines in the international market, it is predicted that the exports of Chinese raw material medicines will hold the line in 2009 to 2010.