01 Announcement of Pharmaceutical Company Ranking 

On July 27, Fortune Magazine officially announced the Top 500 Companies of China in 2020. A total of 17 pharmaceutical companies are included in the list.

The overall ranking of the 17 pharmaceutical companies has not fluctuated much this time, which, to a certain extent, indicated the robustness of the pharmaceutical industry. With the development of the pandemic, the Top 500 Companies of China List by Fortune Magazine may undergo major changes next year.

 

 

Among the 17 pharmaceutical companies on the list, Sinopharm Holding Co., Ltd., Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd., China Resources Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Jointown Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., and Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. rank the top 5. (Click here to view details)

02 The Third Batch of National Centralized Procurement 

On July 29, the Shanghai Sunshine Pharmaceutical Procurement Network announced the official document for the national centralized procurement of drugs, which means that the third batch of national centralized procurement has officially started.

 

 

According to the document, in order to implement the decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on normalizing the national centralized procurement and use of drugs, comprehensively deepen the reform of centralized drug procurement and use, establish a standardized and normalized centralized drug procurement model, and further reduce the medication burden of the masses, the third batch of state-organized centralized drug procurement and use is now being carried out. (Click here to view details)

03 Announcement of Two New Studies 

On July 27, local time, two new studies published at the just-held Alzheimer's Association (AAIC) annual international virtual conference showed that seasonal influenza vaccine and/or pneumococcal vaccine are associated with lowering the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

 

Screenshot of new study publication

 

In these two studies (one with flu vaccine and the other with pneumococcal vaccine), people who had received at least one vaccine were less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease later in life.

Although the two studies are slightly different, their similar conclusions indicate that the vaccines may play a broader role in enhancing the body's lifelong resistance to certain diseases. (Click here to view details)

04 1,235 Domestic Phase III Clinical Trials 

Phase III clinical trial is the last pass before the drug is marketed. The Phase III clinical trials of drugs under development basically represent the trend of the drugs after being marketed in the next 2-3 years, and are a key indicator of the launch of new drugs.

 

Distribution of Indications for Phase III Clinical Trials in China

 

As of July 15, vcbeat.top has carried out a brief statistical analysis of 1,235 Phase III clinical trials that are under development on the CDE drug clinical trial registration and publicity platform, trying to explore the trend of drug marketing in China in the next few years. (Click here to view details)

05 Sales of Three mainstream ED drugs Exceeded 3.3 Billion 

The first-line treatment of ED is mainly oral medication. The commonly used drugs in clinical practice are type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE5). PDE5 inhibitors currently on the market include sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil and so on.

According to data from Menet.com.cn, the national sales of the three major ED drugs in 2019 have exceeded 3.3 billion. The growth rate of tadalafil and vardenafil exceeded 10%. Sildenafil was still the main force in the market. Baiyunshan surpassed Pfizer to become the TOP1 brand in the retail market for the first time.

 

National Sales of the Three Mainstream ED Drugs in 2019

 

The research and development of ED drugs in China is extremely active. In 2020, 24 new products (products + enterprises) are expected to get approved. The battle for the first imitation of the new generation of ED drug, i.e. Stendra, AVANAFIL, is worth looking forward to. (Click here to view details)

06 Incoming New Drugs for Gout 

In recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards and changes in dietary structure, the incidence of gout has increased year by year and the patients with gout are becoming younger and younger. It has become the type IV chronic disease after hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia.

According to data from Menet.com.cn, in 2019, the terminal gout drug market for public medical institutions in China exceeded RMB 2 billion for the first time, with a compound growth rate of 49.8% from 2015 to 2019; the three gout drugs have the Evaluation of the Consistency in terms of enterprise layout. Allopurinol tablets have not yet been reviewed by companies.

 

Top 4 Generic Drugs for Anti-gout Preparations in Chinese Public Medical Institutions

 

According to incomplete statistics, there are currently 14 domestically-made Class I gout new drugs under development. Among the companies that are carrying out the development, Hengrui Pharmaceutical is making the fastest progress; the clinical application for import of Topiroxostat Tablets has been approved, and the generic drugs of 15 companies including Chengdu Brilliant Pharmaceuticals and Humanwell Healthcare have also been approved for clinical use. (Click here to view details)

07 Administrative Measures for the Clinical Application of Anti-tumor Drugs 

On July 29, the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China issued the Administrative Measures for the Clinical Application of Anti-tumor Drugs (Draft for Comments), aiming at strengthening the management of the clinical application of anti-tumor drugs in medical institutions, improving the reasonable clinical application of anti-tumor drugs, standardizing the clinical application of anti-tumor drugs and ensuring medical quality and safety.

 

Screenshot of the announcement of the Department of Medical Administration and Division of Medical Institution Management

 

The Draft for Comments pointed out that the clinical application of anti-tumor drugs shall be managed hierarchically. According to factors such as safety, accessibility, and economy, anti-tumor drugs are divided into restricted use and general use. (Click here to view details)