2019 was an important year for the transformation and key upgrade of China's pharmaceutical industry. The pace of industrial reform accelerated, the rhythm of market opening sped up, the growth momentum of the industry showed signs of slowing down, but the quality of industrial operation improved. Driven by new environmental pressures such as encouraging competition, centralized procurement price reduction, rational drug use, medical insurance cost control, and trade friction, new dynamics such as innovation, green development, sharing, high quality, internationalization, intelligent manufacturing, and Internet+ are promoting the rapid transformation and upgrading of the pharmaceutical industry. As an important component of the seven major fields of strategic emerging industries, the biopharmaceutical industry is accelerating supply-side structural reform, rationally reducing and efficiently increasing, maintaining a relatively stable momentum, and its contribution to economic development continues to increase.
The growth rate of the added value of the pharmaceutical industry fluctuates.
According to the "2019 China Pharmaceutical Industry Economic Operation Report" released by the China Pharmaceutical Enterprise Management Association in October 2020, the growth rate of the added value of China's pharmaceutical industry from 2015 to 2020 showed a fluctuating downward trend. In 2015, the growth rate of the added value of China's pharmaceutical industry was 9.8%, rising to 12.4% in 2017, and then falling to 4.6% in November 2020. Compared to the growth rate of the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide, the growth rate of the added value of China's pharmaceutical industry is more volatile.
The economic benefits of China's pharmaceutical industry are performing well.
According to data from the China Pharmaceutical Enterprise Management Association, due to statistical caliber issues, the economic benefits of China's pharmaceutical industry have shown a downward trend year by year, with the growth rate still maintaining a positive value but slowing down each year. In 2019, the operating income of China's pharmaceutical industry was 2.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 8% year-on-year; while the profit was 345.7 billion yuan, an increase of 7% year-on-year. Forecasts based on recent years' development of China's pharmaceutical industry predict that in 2020, the operating income of China's pharmaceutical industry will be about 2.37 trillion yuan, and the profit will be about 339.2 billion yuan.
From the perspective of the export delivery value of China's pharmaceutical industry, due to statistical caliber issues, the export delivery value of China's pharmaceutical industry has shown a fluctuating trend, with the growth rate still maintaining a positive value but slowing down each year. In 2019, the export delivery value of China's pharmaceutical industry was 211.7 billion yuan, an increase of 7% year-on-year. Forecasts predict that in 2020, the export delivery value of China's pharmaceutical industry will be about 220.9 billion yuan.
Chemical drug formulation manufacturing has become the leader in the sub-industry.
According to data from the China Pharmaceutical Enterprise Management Association, in 2019, the operating revenue of chemical drug formulation manufacturing was 857.61 billion yuan, an increase of 11.5% year-on-year, accounting for 32.8% of the pharmaceutical industry's revenue that year. The second is the production of traditional Chinese medicine, achieving revenue of 458.7 billion yuan, an increase of 7.5% year-on-year, accounting for 17.5% of the pharmaceutical industry's revenue that year.
Next is the manufacturing of chemical drug raw materials, which achieved operating revenue of 380.37 billion yuan in 2019, an increase of 5% year-on-year, accounting for 14.6% of the pharmaceutical industry's revenue that year.
Biopharmaceutical manufacturing has a profit capability far exceeding other sub-industries.
According to data from the China Pharmaceutical Enterprise Management Association, in 2019, the profit of chemical drug formulation manufacturing was 117.27 billion yuan, an increase of 14.6% year-on-year, accounting for 33.9%, with a profit margin of 13.7%. From the perspective of profit margin, although the total profit of biopharmaceutical manufacturing was only 48.54 billion yuan, an increase of 14% year-on-year, it had the highest profit margin at 19.6%; followed by the profit margin of medical instruments and equipment manufacturing, which reached 14.4%.