China Pharmaceutical Industry Rankings Released: The Top 10 Unchanged

The list of top 100 pharmaceutical industry enterprises of previous year would be released in the China Pharmaceutical Industry Information Annual Conference hosted by China National Pharmaceutical Industry Center, and this year is no exception. It’s reported that the "2017 Top 100 List in China’s Pharmaceutical Industry" was announced in the China Pharmaceutical Industry Information Annual Conference held recently in Shanghai. As many people have noted, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical has been the number one for four consecutive years, and the top 10 in the list this year are same as those in 2016. Let’s see the highlights that attract attention in this "top 100 list" this time.

Table I. Top 10 List

Highlight I: Yangtze River Pharmaceutical won "four straight championships" and became a pharmaceutical "ever-victorious general"

I note that Yangtze River Pharmaceutical has been the champion in this top 100 list for four consecutive years, and can be called an "ever-victorious general". Many people have analyzed the reasons for the "continuous victories" of Yangtze River Pharmaceutical, and in my opinion, at least the following two points thereof are worth the study of all pharmaceutical enterprises:

1. Steady product and market layouts

Products of Yangtze River Pharmaceutical such as dezocine, Suhuang Cough Capsules and Lanqin Oral Liquid have maintained high market shares in China. Enalapril Maleate Tablets under Yangtze River Pharmaceutical is the first in its variety that has passed the consistency evaluation conducted by China. And I recently learned that the Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride Injection under the company has also successfully passed the consistency evaluation. Those advantageous varieties are the strongest guarantee for the long-time high position of Yangtze River Pharmaceutical.

2. Attention to brand and quality

In the "2018 China Brand Evaluation Press Conference and Second China Brand Development Forum" held in Shanghai this May, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. ranked first by medical health brand strength with 940pts brand strength, showing its strong brand credibility.

 "Brand is the soul of enterprise as quality is the soul of brand", Yangtze River Pharmaceutical also emphasizes the establishment of own quality system. In the 39^th National Pharmaceutical Industry QC Group Results Release and Exchange Meeting hosted by China Quality Association for Pharmaceuticals this July, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical won again the "number one" in the total number of first prizes of QC results, which was the company’s 14^th continuous defending of such "championship", showing its evident strength.

Highlight II: The top 10 stayed unchanged

What’s interesting is that the top 10 in 2017 list are identical with those in 2016 list (including the enterprises and their respective position. See Table I). In 2015, Jiangxi Jiminkexin Group Co., Ltd. ranked among the top 10 through own development, while Weigao Group Co., Ltd. fell out the top 10. I note that Weigao Group Co., Ltd. ranked 12^th in 2017 list, which was still high, but not among the top 10.

Highlight III: "Cake" became bigger and "club" threshold became higher

If China’s pharmaceutical industry was a cake, then this cake was getting bigger; if this top 100 list was a "club", then the threshold to join this club was getting higher!

According to data, the total operating income of the 2017 top 100 pharmaceutical enterprises in China reached over RMB 750 billion, growing by 10.2%; and the total profits achieved reached RMB 152.14 billion, growing by 15%. Among those enterprises, 21 achieved operating income of over RMB 10 billion, which was more than 2016 (19 in 2016); and the minimum threshold to join the "club" increased from the RMB 2.44 billion in 2016 to RMB 2.56 billion in 2017.

Summary:

China’s pharmaceutical industry has achieved great development in recent years. Besides making the "cake" bigger, China values "innovation" more than before. For example, 9 enterprises had R&D investment accounting for more than 10% (of their income) in this top 100 list, while this figure was only 3 in 2016, and the total R&D expenditure (of the top 100 this year) exceeded RMB 30 billion. Seen from the "top 100 list in pharmaceutical industry" in recent years, the position change of high-ranking companies has been very small, which is inevitable when the industry develops to a certain stage and basically consistent with the global pharmaceutical industry trend: the high-ranking pharmaceutical giants in the world are always the several ones. However, the competition for the top 100 list is still very fierce as China’s pharmaceutical industry develops rapidly; enterprises may be forced out the "club" if they remain stagnant!

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