Our Thoughts On API China 2019 In Hangzhou
API China 2019 in Hangzhou has been going on for almost a month, but we haven’t been able to share our thoughts on it until today.
Below are several of our thoughts about API China 2019 in Hangzhou. I hope they can be helpful to you, our dear customers.
1. More APIs Are Imported From Other Countries
More and more imported APIs and basic chemical solvents have been introduced, mainly from India and Europe.
Chinese trading companies or Foreign exhibitors introduce those imported APIs.
API importers can note which APIs are from which country so they can try to locate their suppliers for specific APIs.
We saw a big billboard advertising all the imported APIs from one Shanghai trading company.
The number of imported APIs exceeds 80, a sign that China is becoming increasingly open, and we are introducing and adopting more foreign APIs to meet the needs of the Chinese market.
We can also see that more and more imported APIs are under registration by the Chinese FDA.
2. More Indian Suppliers Are Exhibiting
It is common to see Indian exhibitors in CPHI Shanghai every June.
There are International exhibition halls for foreign countries interested in showcasing and promoting their strong APIs.
However, it is a whole different thing to see Indian exhibitors at API China, as it mainly targets Chinese end-users.
Without the apparent advantage of prices, they will not bother to put on a show here.
It proves that Chinese manufacturers are not competitive with certain APIs, but their Indian competitors are happy to take over these market shares.
Take imatinib, for example: Imatinib mesylate raw material from India is already an older API with better pricing and documentation support than that from China, not to mention the prices of finished medicines.
Many Chinese patients have been buying imatinib tablets from Indian distributors for years.
There was even a movie about a lawsuit against a medicine smuggler from China, which resulted in the smuggler’s capture and imprisonment.
Only one CEP holder of imatinib API is from China: Qilu TianHe Pharma. However, six are from India, which outnumbers China by five.
CEP holders for Imatinib from India are as follows:
1. Hetero Labs. 2. Shipla Medicare. 3. Laurus Labs. 4. Natco Pharma. 5. Cipla Limited. 6. MSN Laboratories
3. API Prices are getting higher every year.
We inquired about several APIs at this fair, and the prices of low-cost APIs, such as paracetamol, metronidazole, aspirin, and salicylic acid, had almost doubled compared to 2017.
The price rise is mainly due to rising environmental and labor costs.
Basic raw material prices continue to rise due to the shutdown of small factories lacking proper environmental protection equipment.
Increasing demand for upstream raw materials continues to push API prices higher.
India will capture more market share in the API market, where China is not competitive.
4. No new molecules, only Conventional APIs with cGMP
API China is not a good choice for chemical importers who wish to explore new API suppliers in China.
Throughout the fair, all you can see are those conventional APIs with Chinese GMP Certificates, which shows that China is competitive.
For example, certain antibiotics (Vancomycin HCl, Spectinomycin Hydrochloride, Bacitracin, Bacitracin Zinc, Polymyxin B Sulfate, Amoxicillin, Tacrolimus, Teicoplanin), plant extracts (Rutin, Paclitaxel, Docetaxel, Irinotecan HCl), Steroids (Hydrocortisone, Spironolactone, Dexamethasone series, Progesterone Series, etc).
India is competitive in producing many chemically synthesized APIs, such as Pregabalin, Olopatadine HCl, phenytoin sodium, dorzolamide HCl, and Nebivolol. The list goes on.
Do not be surprised when importers find the offers of certain APIs from Chinese suppliers very high, or when few Chinese suppliers can supply them.
Try your luck in India!
For APIs where China is not competitive, Chinese manufacturers either stop producing them or maintain minimal production capacity to meet the needs of domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers.
CPHI Shanghai, which takes place every June, is the fair in China to attend if you want to explore new molecules. Here, you can see the latest molecules and conventional APIs with Chinese GMP and DMF.
