The rumors that the essential drug policy will undergo major adjustments were finally released on the evening of November 9th when the Ministry of Industry and Information, the Ministry of Health, and the State Administration of Food and Drugs jointly issued the “Guidance Opinion on Accelerating the Structural Adjustment of the Pharmaceutical Industry” (hereinafter referred to as “Opinions”). It was finally confirmed.

"The sales volume of the top 20 essential drugs in the sales of essential drugs should reach more than 80%," which was formally written into the above-mentioned documents jointly issued by the three departments. The industry generally believes that 20 manufacturing companies account for 80% of the market share. If the program is implemented properly, its role will be tantamount to “fixed-point production”, which will inevitably push the basic pharmaceutical industry to scale and intensive development. In addition, as the "Opinions" also require that "the sales revenue of pharmaceutical companies account for more than 50% of the sales revenue of the entire industry," the concentration of the top 100 pharmaceutical companies will increase by nearly 10% under the government's boost. The pharmaceutical industry will now have a new round of mergers and reorganizations.

The basic drug supply reunification centered on the requirement that “the top 20 companies should have a market share of 80% or more.” In contrast to the previous proposal that the basic drug “fixed-point production” was different, it still returned the policy to scale. Intensified production. We believe that doing so will help ensure the quality and safety of essential drugs, and will help promote the implementation of basic electronic drug monitoring codes," said a market researcher at a large state-controlled pharmaceutical group in South China.

It is understood that the “fixed-point production” of essential medicines was already included in the discussions when the medical reform program solicited opinions, and was shelved after being opposed by some companies. Recently, due to multiple difficulties encountered in the advancement of local pharmaceutical systems, the industry has re-emerged. The call for increasing the concentration of production and supply of essential medicines and the return of the basic drug system to “fixed-point production” were once reported in the industry.

The reporter learned from the China Pharmaceutical Enterprise Management Association that the "Opinions" issued on November 9th were actually completed more than a month ago, and were released more than one month late, mainly because of the approval of the three departments and the central government. The "Opinions" basically set the tone for the upcoming "12th Five-Year Plan" for the pharmaceutical industry. The basic drug policy has been basically clear, that is, it has developed to scale and intensive.

Based on the “Opinions” to promote the merger and reorganization of essential drug manufacturers and the promotion of the production of essential drugs to the concentration of advantageous enterprises, the aforementioned researchers believe that the idea of ​​this reform has actually been reflected in the basic drug bidding in Anhui Province. The scale competition will intensify, and small enterprises that have been selected as essential drugs will only be able to retain a certain share in the 20% market for basic drugs by relying on refined and differentiated product lines.

The top 100 pharmaceutical industry concentration will increase by 10%

According to the planning of the Opinions, the cycle of structural adjustment of the pharmaceutical industry is five years. Yu Mingde, president of the China Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Management, told Southern Reporter that the above goals are based on the realization: “In fact, the integration and structural adjustment of resources between pharmaceutical companies has been ongoing. This is mainly driven by the endogenous forces of the market. The introduction of the "Guiding Opinions" will play a boosting role, and it is expected that the three ministries and commissions will surely issue follow-up safeguard measures in the hope of truly promoting the restructuring of the industry and preparing for the cultivation of strategic emerging industries." Yu Mingde That is to say.

As for the five-year plan in the “Opinions” that “the sales revenue of pharmaceutical companies in the top 100 accounted for more than 50% of the sales revenue of the entire industry”, Yu Mingde believes that the top 100 pharmaceutical companies have actually achieved the above goals, but If a strong company depends solely on the endogenous development of the company, there will be some difficulties in achieving it within five years.

“At present, the concentration of the top 100 Chinese pharmaceutical industry companies is around 40%, which means that it needs to increase by 10% in five years. The total output value of China's pharmaceutical industry is expected to reach 1.2 trillion this year, which is calculated at a growth rate of 25%. After five years, the total output value of the pharmaceutical industry in China will reach 3 trillion yuan. According to this calculation, 50% is 1.5 trillion yuan, which means that the average output value of each of the top 100 Chinese pharmaceutical industry companies will reach 15 billion yuan, and the current domestic sales revenue. The highest Harbin Pharmaceutical Group has more than 13 billion yuan," Yu Mingde pointed out.

In this regard, Li Chuyuan, general manager of GPHL, revealed to reporters that Guangyao Group has plans for mergers and reorganizations. It is hoped that the state will introduce supporting policies on the basis of the “Opinions” as soon as possible.