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Pharmaceutical Industry

OVERVIEW	CURRENT DEVELOPMENT	MAJOR PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
FOCUS OF THE INDUSTRY IN THE FUTURE	CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

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OVERVIEW

China, a nation with a long history in the collection, processing and use of Medicines, is in the midst of giving a boost to its pharmaceutical industry. This is a drive towards making the pharmaceutical industry a new source of economic growth, as well as to meet increasing demand from its huge population.

In 2006, the production and sale of China's pharmaceutical industry saw rapid growth. The sale of the industry in 2006 was RMB 526.8 billion, up 19.4% form 2005.

The industrial output of Chengdu's medical and pharmaceutical industry topped the major cities in Central and Western China.

Table 13.1. Industry Profile of Pharmaceutical Sector in China and Chengdu (2006)

Chengdu was accorded the honor of “the storage of Chinese herbs” since ancient times. As one of pillars of Chengdu’s economy, the medical and pharmaceutical industry has been growing rapidly. In 2006, the industrial output totaled RMB 12.53 billion in Chengdu. In the same year, Chengdu’s pharmaceutical sales reached RMB 10.16 billion.

Figure 13.1 Indicators of Chengdu’s Pharmaceutical Industry

(Unit: RMB billion)

In November of 2005, Chengdu was listed as one of the national medical products export bases by Ministry of Commerce. In 2005, Chengdu’s export and import of medicine and other medical products totaled US$139 million, up 12.45% year on year. Exports accounted for US$75 million, up 20.65% from 2004, while imports reached US$64 million in 2005, 5.94% higher than 2004.

Table 13.2 Exports of Chengdu’s Medical Products (Unit: RMB million)

In January 2007, Chengdu’s export of Traditional Chinese medicine hit US$4.15 million, up 33.03% year on year. Among all the items, patented Traditional Chinese medicine and processed Traditional Chinese medicine materials saw the fastest growth, surging 283.34%

and 95.4% respectively.

Figure 13.2 Traditional Chinese Medicine Exports in Six National Medical

Products Export bases (January 2007) (Unit: US$ million)