Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group tops all Chinese drug makers in exports
By Wen Jian, Asia-Manufacturing
Tuesday, 05 February 2008
As one of the giants in China’s pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (CSPC), is rapidly developing as a dark horse amongst the Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers seeking overseas expansion, driven by the strong growth momentum of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) benefiting from demand changes both in and outside of China and from China’s export drawback policy.
In 2007, CSPC recorded exports of US$300 million, topping all Chinese makers of pharmaceuticals.
CSPC had expanded production aminophylline, theophylline, caffeine and sorbitol, among others, and had manufactured penicillin, 6-APA and Amoxicillin at full capacity over the past years, enabling the company to successfully grab a large piece of the market in APIs during 2007. CSPC is currently ranked first worldwide in terms of annual capacity for its
flagship API products such as vitamin C, penicillin, 7-ACA and Amoxicillin. At the same time, the group is increasing exports of high-end API products through technical upgrades. In 2007, for example, new technologies were applied to the process of 7-ACA prepared using the enzymic method.
Furthermore, the company’s VC-based products have marched into the medicinal field, VC derivatives are under market promotions now, and both VC-Na99 and VC-Ca97 particles have been granted production licenses.
Following the transfer of the patent of Butylphthalide Soft Capsule, an innovative drug of CSPC, to a renowned US-based pharmaceutical R&D company, CSPC also licensed the drug to a Korean pharmaceutical company in 2007 for marketing in the South Korean market, while keeping its competitive advantage in exports of APIs, further providing opportunities for the group to expand
its high-end preparation market into the international arena.
Plans call for the CSPC industrial park project under construction currently to become the CSPC’s manufacturing base for high-end preparations and biopharmaceutical products, in a move to optimize product structure and provide strong support for improving competitiveness of the group. In addition, CSPC has been notably successful in obtaining international certifications, with all of the company’s main API plants having secured approvals for operation and 80 preparation products having been registered in as many as 16 countries including Russia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. With world-class management and operations, CSPC has caught the attention of and is receiving orders from customers around the world.
Currently, CSPC markets its products in over 60 countries and regions worldwide, with more than 20 individual products each recording annual sales of more than RMB100 million.
