In the global pharmaceutical procurement system, China is becoming an increasingly impossible-to-ignore presence. On the one hand, China is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical producers, having formed large-scale and systematic supply capabilities in APIs, generic drugs, and some innovative drugs. On the other hand, more and more international purchasers are shifting their focus from "whether to choose Chinese pharmaceuticals" to "how to systematically procure Chinese pharmaceuticals."
As a service provider with long-term experience in China’s pharmaceutical wholesale and international supply connection, DengYue Medicine has clearly perceived this change in actual cooperation: purchasers are no longer only concerned about prices, but also about quality systems, performance capabilities, and long-term stability. Understanding the true capabilities and boundaries of Chinese pharmaceutical exports has become a key link in global pharmaceutical procurement decisions.
I. Overall Pattern of Chinese Pharmaceutical Exports: No Longer Just a "Low-Cost Source"
From the perspective of export structure, Chinese pharmaceuticals have formed a multi-level pattern of participating in the global market, covering active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), generic formulations, biosimilars, some innovative drugs, and technology-licensed products. This has broken the past reliance on API exports alone and achieved the diversification and upgrading of the product matrix.
More importantly, the competitiveness of Chinese pharmaceutical exports no longer solely relies on price advantages, but is gradually built on large-scale production capacity, standardized quality, normalized compliance, and stable delivery. For international purchasers, this transformation means that China is moving from a "supplementary supplier" to an "important source country that can be incorporated into long-term procurement systems." Its supply value has exceeded "low cost," making it a core participant in the global pharmaceutical supply chain with both reliability and cost-effectiveness.
II. API Exports: China’s Fundamental Position in the Global Supply Chain
In the field of APIs, China has long occupied an important share of the global market, supplying more than 40% of the world’s API demand. It is an indispensable core supply source for many multinational pharmaceutical companies and also the basic sector for Chinese pharmaceuticals to participate in the global procurement system.
For international purchasers, the core value of Chinese APIs lies in three aspects:
● First, a wide range of products and complete categories, covering common fields such as antibiotics, cardiovascular drugs, antipyretic and analgesic drugs, and anti-tumor drugs, which can meet diverse production and procurement needs;
● Second, mature large-scale production capacity. Most enterprises have GSP/GMP certification and can achieve mass and standardized production;
● Third, fast supply chain response speed, which can quickly match purchasers’ order needs and ensure production continuity.
However, it is necessary to rationally recognize that API exports mainly solve the problems of supply continuity and cost control for purchasers. Their product added value and brand differentiation are relatively limited, and the technical threshold is low.
Therefore, Chinese APIs are more suitable as part of the stable supply system for international purchasers, rather than the sole source. They can complement suppliers from other regions to reduce supply chain risks.
III. Exports of Formulations and Generic Drugs: The Most Practically Valuable Sector for Global Procurement
It is the formulation sector, especially generic drugs, that has made global purchasers re-evaluate the strength of Chinese pharmaceuticals and take the initiative to incorporate them into their procurement systems. Compared with the basic supply attribute of APIs, the export of formulations and generic drugs can better reflect the comprehensive competitiveness of Chinese pharmaceuticals and is also the core focus of current international procurement.
This can be clearly confirmed by the real export data of major domestic pharmaceutical companies:
● Huahai Pharmaceutical
As of September 2025, Huahai Pharmaceutical has obtained 105 US ANDA approvals, covering popular international procurement fields such as cardiovascular drugs, psychotropic drugs, and anti-infective drugs. Its sartan drugs such as valsartan and irbesartan account for 20%-30% of the US generic drug market. In the first half of 2025, its US formulation revenue increased by more than 30% year-on-year, and the proportion of overseas revenue is expected to reach 40% for the whole year. Its paroxetine tablets have become the first Chinese central nervous system generic drug to enter the European market, with sales expected to exceed 100 million yuan in 2025.
● Fuyuan Pharmaceutical
Fuyuan Pharmaceutical focuses on the export of external medicines and artemisinin formulations, and has built mature sales networks in the United States, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The US market accounts for one-third of its total foreign trade volume. Its core external medicine formulations have long-term stable supply to more than 20 countries around the world, and occupy an important share in the anti-malarial and external medicine procurement markets of African countries such as Nigeria.
(I) Spillover Capacity Brought by "High-Intensity Competition" in the Domestic Market
China’s domestic pharmaceutical market has long been in a pattern of high-intensity competition. Especially with the regular advancement of national centralized volume-based procurement, a natural screening mechanism has been formed for formulation manufacturers, forcing enterprises to make breakthroughs in three core dimensions:
● First, large-scale supply capacity, which can undertake large orders brought by centralized procurement and ensure stable delivery;
● Second, strict requirements on quality consistency. Generic drugs need to pass consistency evaluation, and their quality standards are in line with those of original drugs, meeting the quality threshold of mainstream global procurement;
● Third, the ultimate optimization of cost and efficiency, achieving profitability in low-price competition and forming a production model with both cost-effectiveness and quality stability.
This capability verified in the domestic market has directly spilled over to the export field—formulation products that can maintain long-term stable supply in China often have the core advantages of standardized production, controllable quality, and batch delivery. These are the key elements that international purchasers value most when choosing suppliers, and they also give Chinese generic formulations the core confidence to participate in global procurement competition.
In addition to Huahai and Fuyuan, the generic drug export data of many other domestic pharmaceutical companies can confirm this advantage: Huahai Pharmaceutical has also laid out a sartan API factory in Germany, which directly supplies the European market after passing EU certification. In the first half of 2025, its European market revenue increased by about 25% year-on-year, accounting for 15% of its overseas revenue. At the same time, it signed an anti-hypertensive drug cooperation agreement with Southeast Asian pharmaceutical companies, which is expected to contribute 200 million yuan in emerging market revenue in 2025;
As a leading domestic brand, Anke Hengyi Pharmaceutical’s amoxicillin capsules are exported to 18 countries and regions around the world, with an annual export volume stably above 80 million capsules, becoming a regular procurement product for public hospitals in many emerging market countries.
(II) Continuous Improvement in the Acceptance of Chinese Formulations in Emerging Markets
In emerging markets such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, the market share of Chinese formulations is steadily rising, and procurement demand is increasing year by year.
The formation of this trend does not solely rely on price advantages. The more core reason is that Chinese formulations can accurately match the procurement needs of emerging markets:
● First, sustainable supply capacity, which can ensure long-term stable supply and solve the pain points of drug shortages and unstable supply in emerging markets;
● Second, a product system that meets local registration requirements. Enterprises take the initiative to adapt to the registration standards of different countries and regions, reducing the access cost for purchasers;
● Third, flexible cooperation and customization capabilities, which can adjust product specifications and packaging according to purchasers’ needs and provide personalized procurement solutions.
For purchasers in these emerging markets, Chinese pharmaceuticals are becoming a practical choice with "high balance between quality and cost"—they can not only meet the accessibility needs of local people for medicines, but also control procurement costs, without worrying about the risk of supply interruption, and gradually become a core part of their long-term procurement systems.
IV. Innovative Drugs and Technology Export: A New Variable in China’s Export Structure
In recent years, China’s innovative drug industry has developed rapidly, with a significant increase in foreign licensing and cooperation. It has made breakthroughs in cutting-edge fields such as anti-tumor, immunotherapy, autoimmune diseases, and rare diseases, becoming a new variable in China’s pharmaceutical export structure and bringing new cooperation opportunities for global procurement.
This trend is supported by clear data: in 2025, the total amount of foreign licensing transactions for Chinese innovative drugs exceeded 130 billion US dollars, with more than 150 licensing transactions, a significant increase from 51.9 billion US dollars and 94 transactions in 2024, hitting a record high. Among them, transactions in the anti-tumor and immunotherapy fields accounted for more than 60%; China’s R&D pipeline of new drugs accounts for about 30% of the world’s total, ranking second globally, providing sufficient innovative reserves for global procurement.
For international purchasers, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between two types of "innovative drug exports" and accurately grasp the direction of cooperation to avoid cognitive deviations:
1. Product-based exports: Innovative drugs that have been approved for marketing in some countries and regions can enter the local market through overseas licensing, distribution, etc., and be directly incorporated into the procurement system. A typical example is BeiGene. Its core innovative drug zanubrutinib, as the first Chinese original research drug approved by the FDA and gaining mainstream market share in the United States, has been launched in 17 countries and regions including China, the United States, and Europe. It has achieved large-scale overseas supply relying on a global team of 11,000 people and has become a key choice category for some international purchasers.
2. Pipeline and technology cooperation: It mainly exists in the form of regional licensing, joint development, technology transfer, etc. Purchasers do not directly purchase finished drugs, but introduce China’s innovative pipelines and R&D technologies through cooperation to enrich their own product layout. For example, the core innovative drug of Akeso, Inc. can obtain a 500 million US dollar down payment, a maximum of 4.5 billion US dollars in milestone payments, and about 10% of sales revenue sharing after listing. This type of cooperation model has become the mainstream choice for global purchasers to introduce Chinese innovative pipelines.
The core significance of such cooperation is that China is gradually participating in the global pharmaceutical innovation system from a "pharmaceutical production and supply country," no longer only providing production capacity, but also outputting innovative achievements. However, at the actual procurement level, innovative drugs are more suitable for introduction through cooperation rather than simple commercial procurement—their R&D cycle is long, cost is high, and risk is great. Cooperation through joint development, regional licensing, and other methods can better achieve a win-win situation between purchasers and Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
V. Practical Suggestions for International Purchasers
With the increasing status of Chinese pharmaceuticals in the global procurement system, more and more international purchasers are starting to include Chinese pharmaceuticals in their procurement plans. Combining the actual capabilities and boundaries of Chinese pharmaceutical exports, the following four practical suggestions are put forward for international purchasers to help them achieve efficient and stable procurement cooperation:
First, give priority to enterprises and products with a stable export record. Such enterprises have accumulated rich export experience, are familiar with the registration standards, logistics processes, and compliance requirements of different countries and regions, which can effectively reduce the access risk, delivery risk, and compliance risk in the procurement process and ensure the smooth progress of procurement cooperation.
Second, focus on the manufacturer’s quality system and long-term supply capacity, rather than a single quotation. The core advantage of Chinese pharmaceuticals lies in "cost-effectiveness + stability." A single low price is often difficult to guarantee quality and long-term supply. Purchasers should focus on inspecting the enterprise’s GMP certification, quality control system, and production capacity reserve, and give priority to suppliers that can achieve long-term stable supply and controllable quality, rather than simply pursuing low prices.
Third, distinguish between different cooperation models for APIs, formulations, and innovative drugs. APIs are suitable as a supplement to the stable supply system, focusing on supply continuity and cost control; generic formulations can be directly incorporated into the procurement system, focusing on quality consistency and delivery capacity; innovative drugs are more suitable for cooperation through joint development, regional licensing, etc., to share innovative achievements and control R&D risks.
Fourth, incorporate Chinese pharmaceuticals into the medium and long-term supply structure, rather than as a short-term supplement. The advantages of Chinese pharmaceuticals lie in scale, stability, and sustainability. Short-term procurement is difficult to give full play to their value. It is recommended that purchasers incorporate Chinese pharmaceuticals into their medium and long-term procurement plans and establish long-term strategic cooperative relationships with Chinese pharmaceutical companies to achieve diversified layout of the supply chain and reduce the risk of a single supply source.
Conclusion
In the global pharmaceutical procurement landscape, Chinese pharmaceuticals are completing a profound transformation from a "low-cost option" to "one of the important procurement sources." This change is not driven by overnight policies, but is based on long-term accumulated production capacity, continuously improved quality systems, and high-intensity market competition. It is an inevitable result of the improvement of the comprehensive competitiveness of Chinese pharmaceuticals.
This not only tests the quality system and performance capacity of manufacturers, but also tests whether purchasers have an in-depth understanding of China’s pharmaceutical industry structure, export rules, and supply chain operation logic, and whether they can continuously manage compliance, quality, and delivery risks in a complex market environment.
For international purchasers, understanding the true structure and capacity boundaries of Chinese pharmaceutical exports, abandoning the inherent perception that "Chinese pharmaceuticals only have price advantages," and taking the initiative to incorporate Chinese pharmaceuticals into long-term procurement systems will help build a more robust, sustainable, and cost-effective procurement system in the complex and changing global supply environment.
Today, Chinese pharmaceuticals are no longer an "alternative" in global procurement, but an "important option" worthy of long-term attention and in-depth cooperation. They are steadily integrating into the global pharmaceutical procurement system, contributing Chinese wisdom and strength to the global public health cause, and also bringing more cooperation opportunities for international purchasers.
It is against this background that Chinese pharmaceutical exports are gradually evolving from a transaction model centered on a single product to a global pharmaceutical collaboration model characterized by long-term cooperation, systematic supply, and joint risk management.
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