China’s booming pharmaceutical industry has been rapidly expanding to become the second largest pharmaceutical market globally. The following are the top ten Chinese pharma companies from 2018, with revenues reaching over USD 1 billion.
Sinopharm Group
CEO: Yong Liu
HKEx 1099:HK
Sinopharm Group, the largest member of the China National Pharmaceutical Group, was officially established in 2003. The company engages in the research and development, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of medicine and other healthcare products. Sinopharm Group manages factories, research laboratories, traditional Chinese medicine plantations, and marketing and distribution networks that extend throughout China. The Group is considered the largest wholesaler and retailer of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China, as well as a leading supply-chain service provider. The company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) in 2009. Its total sales in 2018 reached more than USD 48 billion, far outpacing the other companies in the top 10 list.
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals
CEO: Da Wei Liu
HKEx 2607:HK
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd., headquartered in Shanghai and led by chairman Da Wei Liu, was founded in 1994 as an investment holding company which researches, develops, manufactures, distributes, and retails pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China. The company focuses on various therapeutic areas, including digestion, immune system, cardiovascular, anti-infection, nervous system, and oncology, as well as musculoskeletal system, and metabolism. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals produces approximately 800 varieties of drugs and oversees distribution, storage, logistics, and other supply chain solutions. In addition, it operates a network of over 1,800 retail pharmacy stores in 16 provinces and engages in manufacturing of medical equipment. Company sales reached more than USD 22 billion in 2018.
Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine
CEO: Sun Piaoyang
SSE 600276:CH
Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine was established in 1970 and has grown into the largest research and manufacturing base of antineoplastics and surgical medicine in China. The company engages in the manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical tablets, injections and raw materials, and its portfolio includes antineoplastic drugs for cancer treatment, angiomyocardiac drugs, contrast agents, and antibiotics. Jiangsu Hengrui is headquartered in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, and has R&D and production centers in Shanghai, Chengdu and New Jersey. Since its founding, the company has grown to more than 8,000 employees and sales revenue exceeded USD 17 million in 2018. Its injection products were the first to be approved by the FDA and the European Union, allowing them to be sold in Europe and the United States. Jiangsu Hengrui listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) in 2000, and its CEO Sun Piaoyang and his wife Zhong Huijuan, CEO of Hansoh Pharma, are now among the richest families in China.
Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical
CEO: Li Chuyuan
Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of pharmaceutical products. The Company’s products include Chinese traditional medicines, western medicines, chemical raw material medicines, medicines for external use, healthcare medicines, and other related products. The company was founded in 1992 and is listed on both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company’s executive director is Li Chuyuan, appointed in 2019.
China Meheco
CEO: Gao Yuwen
SSE 600056:CH
China Meheco, founded as an independent operation in 1988, is a state-holding company which listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2005. China Meheco’s business focus covers the whole industry chain, including R&D, cultivation and processing, manufacturing, distribution, and logistics. The company produces over 15,000 varieties of products, including Western medicine preparations, chemical raw materials, Chinese patent medicines, herbal medicines, medical equipment, biological products, and nutrition and health care products. Its research group was awarded a National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology and the company owns an innovative platform for the production and processing of APIs, distinctive preparations and Traditional Chinese Medicines. China Meheco is managed by Chairman and Party Secretary Gao Yuwen.
Huadong Medicine
CEO: Lv Liang
Shenzhen Stock Exchange 000963:CH
Huadong Medicine, established in 1993, specializes in the production and sales of antibiotics, Chinese patented medicines, synthetic drugs, genetic engineering, as well as the wholesale business of Chinese and Western medicines, herbal medicines, medical apparatus and instruments. Huadong Medicine produces patented drugs in areas such as endocrine, digestive system, antineoplastic, cardiovascular, antibiotic drugs and immunosuppressive agents. Some of Huadong Medicine’s achievements include applying for and obtaining more than 96 patents for authorized invention, participation in the formulation of 6 national standards, and having seven varieties of raw material drugs pass FDA certification. Managed by Lv Liang, Huadong Medicine is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Yunnan Baiyao
CEO: Yin Pinyao
Shenzhen Stock Exchange 000538:CH
Yunnan Baiyao was founded in 1971 in the city of Kunming, China. Its initial task was to mass-produce a powder used to treat wounds. Invented by a Kunming doctor in 1902, the Baiyao powder formula is a mixture of herbs that are all ingredients in Chinese traditional medicine that have been proven to help stop bleeding and prevent infection. Since its founding, the company has expanded its portfolio to include capsules, plasters, woundplasts, and aerosols as well as other health products such as toothpastes, itch-relief creams, and first aid kits. These new products were developed using infusions of the original Baiyao powder. Yunnan Baiyao’s products are used in the indications of activating blood circulation, dispersing blood stasis, reducing swelling, and relieving pain, as well as treating traumatic injuries, rheumatic paralysis, pains in bones, muscle aches, and cold injuries. Listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1993, the company is currently led by president Yin Pinyao, who aims to combine Chinese traditional medicine with the life of modern people and convenience of use.
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical
CEO: Wu Yifang
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical works across all key segments of the healthcare chain, including manufacturing and R&D, healthcare services, medical devices and medical diagnosis, as well as pharmaceutical distribution and retail. The company innovates in China, the United States, India and beyond and utilises several platforms: innovative chemical drugs, biologics, high-value generic drugs and cell-therapy. Currently, Shanghai Fosun’s focus is on therapeutic areas including oncology, cardiovascular, central nervous system, blood, metabolism and anti-infection. Its CAR-T cell therapy product FKC876 of Fosun Kite (trade name in the U.S. is Yescarta) launched its first clinical test in 2018 in China. Wu Yifang serves as the company’s executive director, president and CEO. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical is listed on both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Exchange.
Kangmei Pharmaceutical
CEO: Ma Xingtian
SSE 600518:CH
Kangmei Pharmaceutical was established in 1997 by current chairman and president Ma Xingtian, and went on to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001. The company researches, develops and manufactures traditional and patented Chinese medicines, as well as chemical drugs with active ingredients including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs, energy drugs, antibiotics, and gastrointestinal drugs in the form of amoxicillin capsules, norfloxacin capsules, metronidazole tablets, and inosine tablets. Kangmei Pharmaceutical counts over 8,000 employees and 140 enterprises covering the cultivation of medicinal materials, the trading of Chinese herbal medicines, modern logistics centers and industrial bases throughout the country as well as more than 540 intellectual property rights including invention patents, utility model patents, design patents and software copyrights. Its chemical production base is located in the Xiashan Industrial Zone of Puning City.
Harbin Pharmaceutical Group
CEO: Haiying Xu
SSE 600664:CH
Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, founded in 1991, is a state-controlled Sino-foreign equity joint venture involved in pharmaceutical manufacture, trade and R&D. Listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, it is composed of seven main business segments: antibiotics, small-molecular drug preparations, OTC and healthcare products, modern Chinese medicines, biopharmaceuticals, animal vaccines and medicine circulations. Its production facility manufactures more than 20 dosage forms and over 1000 drugs, and its main focus is developing penicillin. The company utilises innovative R&D platforms for extended, controlled and immediate release, fat emulsions, liposomes and lipid microspheres, and biopharmaceutical PEGylation. In 2018 Harbin made the move to buy a 40 per cent stake in U.S. nutritional supplements retailer GNC Holdings. Since March 2019 Harbin Pharmaceutical Group is managed by Haiying Xu.
