According to Cailian Press on September 23rd (Reporter Zhang Liangde, intern Yan Jiayi), the prices of the traditionally high-priced Angong Niuhuang Pill and Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets in the gift recycling market have also started to decrease in the second half of this year.

A recycling merchant in Chengdu told Cailian Press, 'The market conditions have not been good this year, and within a year, the price of Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets has dropped by nearly 100 yuan per tablet.' A recycling merchant in Beijing also stated, 'Before June this year, the price of Angong Niuhuang Pill (from Beijing Tongrentang) with a new production date could reach 600-650 yuan per pill, but in recent months, the price has dropped significantly.'

After interviewing recycling merchants in various places, it was learned that since June of this year, the prices in the second-hand market have all seen a significant decline. Currently, the price of new Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets is around 550 yuan per tablet, and the price of Angong Niuhuang Pill (from Beijing Tongrentang, double natural) is between 450-500 yuan per pill. The prices for expired or near-expiry drugs are even lower, with the price of near-expiry Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets falling to 400 yuan per tablet.

Recycling merchants believe that the decline in prices of Angong Niuhuang Pill and Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets is mainly related to the economic situation. This year, at various pharmaceutical industry conferences, drugstores have expressed experiencing different operational pressures compared to previous years.

Currently, the official price of Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets is 760 yuan per tablet, and the official price of Angong Niuhuang Pill (from Beijing Tongrentang) in the iron box packaging is 860 yuan per pill. Cailian Press reporters visited multiple physical pharmacies and experience stores in Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang, and the offline prices are consistent with the official website prices. However, the prices of some online pharmacies have started to be lower than the official prices, with some online pharmacies selling Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets and Angong Niuhuang Pill (from Beijing Tongrentang, iron box) for a tens of yuan less.

In the past few years, the strong prices in the second-hand market for Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets and Angong Niuhuang Pill have been related to continuous increases in official prices. In addition, the continuous rise in the price of natural bovine gallbladder has also been one of the important reasons for the constant price increases of these two products.

Among them, JD.com (600436.SH) has been more proactive in its pricing strategy. From 2004 to 2020, the price of Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets in the domestic market has been increased multiple times, with the retail price rising from 325 yuan per pill to 590 yuan per pill. Before the middle of 2021, the second-hand market price of Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical tablets was significantly higher than the official market price, but as the product returns to the attributes of medicine, the sales volume of the company's core products has also started to slow down, and the second-hand market price has gradually fallen below the official selling price.

However, with the rise in the price of musk, in 2023, the retail price of zhangzhou pientzehuang pharmaceutical tablets was once again increased from 590 yuan per pill to 760 yuan per pill, with a price increase of 28.8%, reaching an all-time high. However, the company's net income growth rate in 2023 was only 13.15%, far below the increase in product price, and the industry believes that there has been a decline in sales of this product.

Amara Beeswax Pills also have a similar situation. Over the past fifteen years, beijing tongrentang (600085.SH) has raised the price of its Amara Beeswax Pills three times: in 2010, the price was 350 yuan per pill, which increased to 560 yuan per pill in 2012, an increase of about 60%; in early 2020, the price rose from 560 yuan per pill to 780 yuan per pill, an increase of about 40%; in December 2021, beijing tongrentang once again raised the price of Amara Beeswax Pills by 10% to 860 yuan per pill.

However, the price increase in 2021 did not drive market sales growth. After reaching peak sales in 2021, sales of beijing tongrentang's Bezoar Beating Heart Pills and Amara Beeswax Pills series products began to decline in 2022. In that year, the company's top five products in the cardiovascular category sold 25.588 million boxes, a decrease of 3.11% year-on-year (including the Dahuoluo series), and in 2023, it dropped again to 16.8471 million boxes, a decrease of 0.94% year-on-year (only for the Amara and Bezoar Beating Heart series products). Prices and sales have significantly declined, which may also be one of the reasons for the more than fourfold increase in musk prices after 2021, while domestic Amara Beeswax Pills prices have remained stable.

This year, the price of natural musk has changed its trend of sharp increases in the past two years, and the market situation is beginning to stabilize. Financial news journalists learned from Amara Pharmaceuticals that the current price of natural musk Grade 55 is 1.65 million yuan per kilogram, with prices stable, basically the same as at the beginning of the year.

Industry experts believe that the tight supply and demand situation in the musk market may begin to ease this year. On one hand, Shangyaoju, a subsidiary of Guangshengyuan, has started mass-producing musk grown inside the body; on the other hand, China has started pilot projects to relax restrictions on the import of natural musk, which will help alleviate the tense supply situation of natural musk.