Top pharmaceutical firms see 10.7% revenue growth in 2019
The top 100 Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises recorded 10.7 percent annual growth in combined operating revenue last year, reaching 929.6 billion yuan (US$132.8 billion), according to industry data.
They made up as much as 36 percent of the total pharmaceutical market in China, which posted 8 percent revenue growth in 2019, down 4.7 percentage points from a year earlier.
The annual ranking by the China National Pharmaceutical Industry Information Center shows dominant players are becoming even stronger and as many as 27 companies recorded yearly revenue beyond 10 billion yuan, up from only 16 in 2015.
The top 10 players contribute 11.8 percent of the total revenue of the pharma industry, showing great progress in industry upgrading and restructuring.
Five out of the seven new entrants are domestic players as they managed to raise market share with more accessible price.
Research efforts have boosted top players' presence in the industry and their average research and development spending went up 20 percent from a year earlier to 550 million yuan.
A total of 82 companies on the top 100 list are domestically funded, including public and private ones, and the number of listed companies has also climbed from 24 in 2015 to 61 in 2019.
Most multinational drug firms are also playing important roles in China and are actively responding to new policies and market trends, with health authorities also welcoming innovative drugs for unmet medical needs.
"The ChiNext board also attracted a number of startups and a total of 35 biopharma companies have listed as of mid-August to boost business vitality and push for new initiatives," said China National Pharmaceutical Industry Information Center Director Guo Wen.
