The optimization of epidemic prevention measures has made ibuprofen a "new favorite" in the market.

In terms of efficacy, ibuprofen has the dual effects of cooling and inhibiting pulmonary inflammation. In the 1990s, the drug entered China and gradually differentiated into two types: API and preparation. In the past 30 years, China has been the largest producer of ibuprofen raw materials, and the market scale of the preparation is about 3 billion yuan.

Corresponding to specific enterprises, the first echelon of APIs are Xinhua Pharmaceutical and Hendi Pharmaceutical. The annual output of the two enterprises has basically remained stable, although there may be a decline in the first half of this year, but both have plans to expand production.

In terms of preparations, the largest variety of capsules has attracted much attention. With the deepening of collection, capsules, tablets, injection and so on have been invited for bidding. On the one hand, the price of the preparation is reduced; on the other hand, there is a huge retail market outside the collection. The suspension which has not yet been collected has become the second largest variety of ibuprofen preparation.

The output of APIs may decline in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year.

The competition of ibuprofen API is essentially a production capacity competition.

According to the statistics of Huajin Securities, the major global producers of ibuprofen raw materials are Xinhua Pharmaceutical, Hendi Pharmaceutical and BASF, with an annual production capacity of 8000 tons, 3500 tons and 3000 tons respectively. Previously, Xinhua Pharmaceutical said on the interactive platform that its actual market share of ibuprofen was close to 40%.

However, before this round of hot sales of ibuprofen, the related revenues of the two companies declined instead.

Although the revenue of ibuprofen products was not specifically disclosed, both companies declined in terms of their antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and other categories. In the first half of this year, Xinhua Pharmaceuticals earned 1.497 billion yuan in antipyretic and analgesic raw materials, down 2.33 percent from the same period last year. In the same period, Hendi Pharmaceutical disclosed that revenue from anti-inflammatory drugs belonging to ibuprofen was 187 million yuan, down 20.93% from the same period last year.

In fact, the downward trend in income began to emerge in 2021. During the reporting period, revenue from related categories of Hendi Pharmaceutical fell 16.17% from a year earlier, while Xinhua Pharmaceutical rose slightly by 6.83% from a year earlier.

The reason may be related to the market price shock of ibuprofen. According to Wande data, the price of ibuprofen has been in the range of 165-190 yuan / kg since the outbreak in 2020.

In the context of small price fluctuations, production capacity determines corporate income. In this regard, the strategies of the two companies are different.

In 2021, Xinhua Pharmaceutical's production of chemical APIs increased by 9.09% compared with the same period last year, and Hendi Pharmaceutical disclosed that the production of ibuprofen APIs fell 14.49% from the same period last year. Compared with revenue, Xinhua Pharmaceuticals rose slightly, while Hendi Pharmaceutical declined year-on-year.

In the first half of this year, the market price of ibuprofen fell slightly, ranging from 170 to 175 yuan / kg. Combined with the decline in revenue in the categories to which the two companies belong, the production of ibuprofen APIs is more likely to decline compared with the same period last year.

Therefore, if ibuprofen prices still maintain a small range volatility, capacity is still a more decisive factor. At present, Xinhua Pharmaceutical and Hendi Pharmaceutical both have plans to expand production, with an annual production capacity of 10000 tons and 5000 tons respectively in the future.

At the same time, the proportion of API income of the two enterprises is also different. In 2021, the proportion of Xinhua Pharmaceutical and Hendi Pharmaceutical was 40.08% and 85.94% respectively, and the year-on-year change in revenue was 9.23% and 8.82%, respectively.

During the collection of preparations

When ibuprofen API enters the downstream, the enterprise will produce all kinds of finished preparations, including capsules, tablets, injection and so on. Mine.com data show that the domestic market scale of ibuprofen preparation is about 3 billion yuan in 2021.

The sales volume of the preparation is related to collection to a certain extent. Since the national volume procurement was carried out, the related types of ibuprofen preparations have been involved. Inside, after the capsule collection was implemented, Huabei Pharmaceutical had a power outage.

In 2021, the State Pharmaceutical Joint Purchasing Office announced that North China Pharmaceuticals actively abandoned the qualification of Shandong Province because it was unable to supply ibuprofen sustained-release capsules that won the bid in Shandong Province. As a result, Huabei Pharmaceutical was included in the "violation list" and was disqualified from drug collection declaration from August of the same year to May of the following year.

As soon as the supply outage came out, the market speculated on the loss of North China Pharmaceutical. In response, the North China Pharmaceutical announcement disclosed details that its junior high school price was 8.04 yuan per box (30 tablets), with a quantity of 79.75 million tablets in 3 years, including 25.11 million tablets in Shandong Province. As of August 2021, it had supplied 15.85 million tablets and 3.65 million tablets to Shandong Province.

Based on this calculation, the loss of Huabei Pharmaceutical in Shandong amounts to 5.7513 million yuan. The vacancy of non-payment will be filled by Rundu shares according to the announcement of Shandong Public Resources Trading Center.

In terms of tablet types, the winning results of this year's collection show that Xinhua Pharmaceutical, Renfu Pharmaceutical, CSPC Pharmaceutical, Qingdao Huanghai Pharmaceutical and Anhui Global Pharmaceutical have all won the bid, with a price range of 0.15-0.20 yuan / mg.

The injection varieties, which were approved to be put on the market in China in 2018, have also been collected this year. Four enterprises including Sihuan Pharmaceutical, Beit Pharmaceutical, Hangzhou Minsheng Pharmaceutical and Yuandong Biology won the bid with a price range of 13-29 yuan per branch. This kind of drug can reach the blood directly, improve the absorption rate and have low side effects. Among them, Yuandong Bio has the highest market share, selling 1.3831 million units in 2021.

Retail market outside collection

The market size of about 3 billion yuan is by no means limited to collection.

In fact, the scene of collecting and buying drugs often takes place in the hospital. For the public, the purchase procedure is relatively complex, but the price is cheap. Take North China Pharmaceutical as an example, the collection price of 30 ibuprofen sustained-release capsules per box is 8.04 yuan, while products of the same specification on online platforms such as JD.com and Meituan sell for around 12 yuan.

And the most convenient way is to buy through retail channels. Mine.com data show that the market scale of capsule varieties in ibuprofen preparations is the highest, more than 1.2 billion yuan. On the one hand, the capsule is divided into ordinary type and slow-release type, and the latter lasts longer; on the other hand, there is a retail market to be reckoned with.

JD Health shows that Renhe Pharmaceutical, Shanxi Yunpeng Pharmaceutical and Jilin Lisheng Pharmaceutical all have ibuprofen capsule products on sale. Take Renhe Pharmaceutical as an example, the price of each box of ibuprofen sustained-release capsules is more than 20 yuan. In 2021, Renhe Pharmaceutical's drug sales and production (including boxes and bottles) were 1.16 billion and 610 million respectively, up 30.23% and 13.71% respectively over the same period last year; in the same period, drug revenue was 4.84 billion yuan, up 14.97% from the same period last year.

The second largest preparation of ibuprofen is suspension, which is mainly suitable for children and is often used to reduce fever in this kind of population.

According to the data of Minenet, the domestic market scale of ibuprofen suspension exceeded 800 million yuan in 2021. Among them, public hospitals, public grass-roots medical terminals and retail pharmacies exceeded 200 million yuan, 200 million yuan and 400 million yuan respectively. So far, the market share of similar products of foreign-funded Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical is as high as 46.37%, while that of Hengrui Pharmaceutical is 11.53%.

In addition, China Resources Sanjiu, Dori Pharmaceuticals and other similar products have been approved on the market. According to the plan, the products of China Resources 39th are scheduled to go on sale this month. (produced by thinking Finance)