The good prospect of API industry will be an important driving force for the upgrading of pharmaceutical industry

China is one of the largest API producers in the world. After decades of development, China has formed a relatively complete industrial system. In recent years, after adjustment and upgrading, the API industry is expected to maintain a rapid growth rate, and the prospect will continue to be good, and will become an important thrust for the upgrading of the pharmaceutical industry.

Development status of API industry

At present, China's pharmaceutical retail market reached 33.3 billion yuan in 2015. In addition, China has entered an aging society. In 2015, the population over 65 years old will exceed 140 million, and the consumption demand for pharmaceutical products will continue to increase, which indirectly promotes the demand for API in China.

According to statistics, from 2011 to 2015, the number of Enterprises above Designated Size in the API industry increased year by year, but the growth rate of the number of enterprises showed a downward trend year by year. In 2015, the number of Enterprises above the industry scale was 1249, which was the same as that of the previous year.

The growth and change of sales revenue of API industry in China can also reflect one or two. The total sales volume shows a year-on-year growth trend. However, in recent three years, due to environmental protection and other factors, the growth rate of revenue has decreased significantly. In 2015, China's API industry achieved sales revenue of 440.112 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 3.79%.

In addition, China's API industry technology has been in the stage of rapid growth. The continuous development of technology will enrich the product types of API, improve the product quality level and promote the development of the industry.

Generally speaking, from the perspective of market demand, as an important part of China's pharmaceutical industry and upstream raw materials of chemical preparations, API still has a good demand prospect with the continuous growth of medical and health care needs of Chinese residents. It is estimated that by 2022, the sales scale of China's API industry will be close to 700 billion yuan.

However, with the continuous growth of residents' health care knowledge and the continuous increase of the "anti drug restriction order", the market demand for antibiotic raw materials will continue to decline in the future.

Development trend of API industry

First of all, in terms of market competition, as the industry enters the adjustment stage, and environmental protection policies and the market force, the competition in the bulk API industry will gradually ease in the future, but it will still be higher than other segments of API. Bulk API is the main label of API industry in China, and it is also an important reason for China to become a big country of API. After years of development, China's bulk API market has a serious overcapacity. Under the multiple pressures of price decline and cost rise, the bulk API industry has entered the integration period. From the perspective of industry life cycle, some bulk API has entered a recession period.

However, due to the high technical barriers, the entry barriers for new entrants are higher, so there will be no obvious phenomenon of intensified competition in the short term. However, in the long run, with the continuous decline of the bulk API market, more and more enterprises will transform to characteristic API enterprises, and the future competition will be intensified.

In terms of industry investment, with the decline of overall profitability, the increase of production costs and the intensification of competition in the API industry, the competition pressure faced by the industry enterprises will continue to increase, and more enterprises will extend their business to the downstream, increase the profit point through the extension of the industrial chain, resist the impact of the decline in the API industry profit, and improve the competitiveness of enterprises Comprehensive competitiveness.

In addition, the API industry is in the mature stage, and some bulk API products have entered the recession period. For industry investors, new investment not only faces a longer return cycle, but also faces greater market risks. Through the way of merger and reorganization investment, can quickly cut in, and get returns, and at this stage, investors can choose more target enterprises, more initiative. Therefore, M & A will become the main way of investment.