Who will save artemisinin industry?
□ Our reporter Fang Jianchun
Recently, domestic manufacturers of artemisinin raw materials have suffered heavy losses. According to the data provided by Zhejiang Pharmaceutical and Health Products Import and Export Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Zhejiang Medical Insurance), since June last year, the price of artemisinin raw materials has dropped from 4,200 yuan/kg to below 2,400 yuan/kg cost price, and the whole industry is facing the situation of upside down purchase price and cost. Some small and medium-sized enterprises are overwhelmed and have begun to withdraw from the market.
Ding Jianchao, artemisinin salesman of Zhejiang Medical Insurance, expressed the hope that all sectors of society would pay attention to the current predicament of artemisinin industry, boost industry confidence, establish an industrial coordination organization mechanism as soon as possible, and stabilize the global position of China enterprises in the industrial chain.
The price of artemisinin plummeted all the way.
Artemisinin is the only drug with independent intellectual property rights in China, which has been widely recognized internationally and certified in the high-end market, and has made indelible contributions to the cause of human antimalarial drugs. However, it is such a drug that is highly respected all over the world. However, in the domestic industrial development, it has gone through a road that started from the passion for dreams, once flourished, and now its management is bleak. In the field of preparations, only one artesunate injection (produced by Guilin Nanyao, a subsidiary of Fosun Pharma) has entered the World Health Organization (WHO) procurement catalogue. Most artemisinin companies only play the role of global raw material suppliers and are at the lowest end of the industrial chain.
In fact, it is not the first time that the artemisinin industry has encountered a crisis. In 2006, due to the large-scale expansion of wormwood, international orders were lower than expected. In the following two years, artemisinin industry fell to the bottom, production enterprises withdrew one after another, farmers lost their enthusiasm for planting, and the planting area dropped sharply. In 2009, due to the sluggish industry and the shortage of raw materials, the price of artemisinin rose all the way, reaching more than 3,000 yuan/kg, and in 2065 it was as high as 5,000 yuan/kg, 438+065,438+0.
Ding Jianchao said that the high prices for two consecutive years since 2009 stimulated the expansion of wormwood seeds and raw materials last year. Last year, the supply of artemisinin raw materials reached about 230 tons, while the global order was about 180 ~ 200 tons, and the market would have at least 30 tons.
Global orders for artemisinin mainly come from two channels. One is the raw materials needed by Novartis Switzerland to enter the WHO procurement catalogue, and the order quantity is about 50 tons; Another channel is Indian pharmaceutical companies, and the annual order volume is about 120 tons. The rest of the raw materials are purchased by pharmaceutical companies that supply private markets in Africa.
The person in charge of Novartis Artemisinin Project of CITIC Group said that there is no organization and coordination in China's artemisinin industry and no industry self-discipline. The price cycle has affected the development of the industry and greatly hurt the sustainable development of the industry. At present, artemisinin enterprises in China have completely lost their international status at the preparation level and only become raw material suppliers. This is a huge contrast with the high starting point of this product with independent intellectual property rights.
As we all know, Novartis's ACT is a preparation independently developed by Chinese scientific research institutions in the 1970s, and then transferred to Novartis. According to the original agreement, the original research institute of ACT still charges Novartis a certain fee every year. Novartis bought artemether, the raw material of ACT, from Kunming Pharmaceutical Company.
Misjudgment caused by asymmetric information
It is generally believed in the industry that the sharp drop of artemisinin price is not only caused by the expansion of planting and output, but also the intentional manipulation of international buyers, among which India is the main force of manipulation.
It is understood that WHO has always advocated reducing the purchase price of artemisinin drugs. At present, the public market price of Novartis ACT has dropped to 1 USD/person. In recent years, with the advantages of generic drugs, many Indian artemisinin preparations have entered the WHO procurement catalogue, and gradually become the largest buyers of artemisinin raw materials in China. However, after the surplus of artemisinin raw materials in China last year, Indian order prices were broken, and malicious inquiry and price reduction were everywhere. Domestic enterprises are eager to sell, which leads to the price of artemisinin plummeting all the way, even below the cost.
The above-mentioned CITIC Group people believe that India's default in price reduction is only the appearance of this wave of price decline. After 2009, information asymmetry and domestic enterprises' market expectation are the main reasons. He pointed out that in 20 10, the global procurement of artemisinin preparations has undergone major changes-in addition to the open market procurement supported by the WHO Bill Gates Fund, another procurement mechanism AMFM was established with the support of the Global Fund. The purchasing mechanism is mainly oriented to the private market, and efforts are made to reduce the purchasing price of the private market, and the per capita price of the private market is reduced to $65,438 +0 by means of enterprise subsidies. The purchasing mechanism detonated the demand of the private market, so the purchasing volume of artemisinin preparations in 20 10 and 20 1 1 increased greatly, and the demand for raw materials also increased greatly. However, domestic enterprises have neglected a very important point, that is, the mechanism was explicitly put forward for trial for three years from the beginning of its establishment. 20 1 1, the main person in charge of the mechanism was exposed to corruption, and there were problems in raising funds. The leading idea of AMFM 2065 438+02 is to stabilize the market, that is to say, the orders led by this mechanism will no longer grow wildly.
Lin Ting, general manager of Bidi Zhengtian, the largest supplier of artemisinin raw materials in China, said that last year, there was no serious surplus in terms of the total amount of raw materials and the number of orders in the domestic market, mainly because the international orders did not meet expectations, and the enterprises had a selling mentality, and India contributed a lot. In addition, in the past two years, farmers have generally planted high-content wormwood seeds, and the extraction rate has increased by 34% compared with the original wild wormwood, which is also one of the reasons for the reduction of raw material prices.
It is reported that during the wormwood harvest season in July and August last year, even domestic raw material enterprises went to Vietnam to grab grass. The seriousness of misjudgment caused by asymmetric market information can be seen.
The real danger is coming.
Recently, the International Artemisinin Industry Conference just concluded in Kenya, and Lin Ting attended the conference as the representative of China. She said that at present, the artemisinin industry in China is at the turning point of development, either towards standardization and self-discipline, or towards disorderly self-extinction. In fact, the international market pays special attention to the artemisinin industry in China. They hope that the artemisinin industry in China will develop in a standardized and orderly way, and the price and output will remain relatively stable.
In fact, the real danger is coming to the artemisinin industry in China. Semi-synthetic artemisinin funded by WHO was successfully developed by Sanofi. Although the cost of semi-synthetic artemisinin is still relatively high at present, once the technology is mature and large-scale industrialization is successful, it will definitely have a huge impact on artemisinin raw materials extracted from plants, and will also get rid of the constraints of raw material supply affected by planting.
"After three years, at most five years, semi-synthetic artemisinin will definitely compete with artemisinin extracted from plants, which is the biggest challenge facing China's artemisinin industry." A related person from CITIC Group said.
Ding Jianchao said that artemisinin enterprises in China have reached an important moment of choice, and it is urgent to choose standardized development and move forward hand in hand. "In fact, after the trough in 2006, the concentration of the industry has been greatly improved. At present, there are only 13 raw material manufacturers in China, and the market share of the top 4-6 companies accounts for 80%. As long as these enterprises unite and standardize their development, it is entirely possible to maintain their international status in raw materials. Even if the semi-synthetic artemisinin technology is mature, it will not completely replace artemisinin extracted from plants. If enterprises continue to compete viciously and kill each other, then the artemisinin industry is really hopeless. "
It is reported that the Ministry of Commerce wanted to set up an artemisinin industry organization, but it has not been implemented for various reasons. A person from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products said that in the past, it has repeatedly come forward to coordinate the price of artemisinin and called for self-discipline, but the results have been minimal. This also makes the chamber of commerce feel a headache.
Are there finished eggs under the nest? When artemisinin preparations in China lost the opportunity to enter the international market, raw material orders could only be controlled by people; When international giants are eyeing the market share of raw materials, only self-improvement, self-discipline and standardization can save themselves.
Ding Jianchao is slightly gratified that recently, major artemisinin companies in China have taken measures to save the market, the selling situation has decreased, and their mentality has stabilized. The price of artemisinin rose from $330/kg to around $360.
Reporter's note:
It has been tracking artemisinin industry reports for more than 6 years. These six years have witnessed the development of artemisinin industry in China from peak to trough. Every time I write, my mood is good and bad.
Periodic price fluctuation is a prominent feature of China's API industry, and its harm is self-evident. Its essence is disorderly development and lack of industry self-discipline. Judging from the varieties of artemisinin, China can be said to have the best weather, geographical location and human relations, but the industry is still in trouble because of disorderly development and chronic diseases.
At that time, many high-spirited people with lofty ideals had left, and even more old people who had devoted their lives to artemisinin research were saddened. Why is artemisinin, the original research drug that has made great contributions to the cause of human antimalarial drugs, struggling to develop in China and basically becoming a raw material supplier for Novartis and Indian enterprises? Artemisinin has left us too much to think about.
Some people say that artemisinin is a small variety and it is reasonable to cause concern. In fact, in the face of human diseases, different drugs have equal status, and their value cannot be measured by money. Yesterday, artemisinin was the representative of China pharmaceutical industry. Today, it should not be left out. Artemisinin should not always be the raw material for going abroad, and China should occupy a place in the international market of Artemisia annua preparations.
I hereby call on enterprises to boost their confidence and abandon short-sightedness; Call on all competent departments to attach importance to Artemisia annua, supplemented by policy guidance, and bring the industry into the track of healthy development.