93rd API China Outline New Ecology of Pharmaceutical Industry

The pharmaceutical industry chain division of labor presents a customized, specialized, refined trend

"Let's add a WeChat first and discuss the details of cooperation later." On November 12, as soon as the reporter walked into the Chongqing International Expo Center, he saw a hot scene of industrial docking: a person in charge of an enterprise was attracted by a product of an API enterprise and offered to add wechat friends, laying the groundwork for a potential cooperation. Such images can be seen everywhere at the 93rd China International Pharmaceutical API/Intermediates/Packaging/Equipment Fair (API China)-purchasing representatives who shuttle through various venues with information in their arms, industry colleagues who enthusiastically exchange business cards, and professional audiences who carefully check their schedules to find the venue ...... One by one vivid scenes together outline the vigorous and dynamic picture of China's pharmaceutical industry.

The 93rd API China was hosted by Sinopharm Reed, with the theme of "Integration, Innovation, and Internationalization". The exhibition area reached more than 70000 square meters, bringing together more than 1000 outstanding domestic and foreign companies, covering pharmaceutical raw materials and intermediates. There are dozens of categories and tens of thousands of products in pharmaceutical excipients, pharmaceutical excipients, pharmaceutical packaging, pharmaceutical equipment, etc., reflecting the latest direction of industry development.

To customized transformation

, at this API China exhibition, the exhibition stands of various enterprises have distinctive features and bright spots: the exhibition stands of Anhui Shanhe Pharmaceutical Accessories Co., Ltd. are integrated with Huizhou architectural design elements, attracting many professional audiences to stop for consultation and cooperation. Chongqing Hengsheng Pharmaceutical Capsule Co., Ltd. 's colorful hard capsule samples gathered extremely high popularity. COFCO Sugar Holding Co., Ltd. set up a temporary lecture area on the booth, experts from the enterprise explained the professional knowledge related to medicinal sugar on the spot, which attracted the audience to stop and exchange and learn.

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of drug regulatory policies and the acceleration of the research and development process of innovative drugs, the pharmaceutical industry has put forward higher requirements for the quality and performance of pharmaceutical excipients, and a number of excipient enterprises with technical strength and quality awareness have emerged.

Shandong Ruisheng Pharmaceutical Accessories Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Ruisheng Pharmaceutical Auxiliary) booth in front of the crowd. The company, which started with liquid excipients, has now developed into a comprehensive pharmaceutical excipients service provider with 26 registration numbers, with a product line covering solid excipients, APIs and intermediates. At this exhibition, its core products such as mixed fatty acid glycerides and propylene glycol have attracted much attention.

"We have established long-term cooperative relationships with leading companies in the industry such as Qilu Pharmaceutical and CSPC. In the view of our partners, our core advantage is to always adhere to the bottom line of quality in innovation." Li Chengfang, assistant general manager of Ruisheng Medicine, introduced. It is reported that the company has established a set of strict internal quality control system, and has continuously improved product quality and control level through the establishment of a professional R & D team and the introduction of advanced testing equipment.

In the aspect of high-end auxiliary material technology autonomy, Ruisheng medicine auxiliary has also made an important breakthrough. Take mixed fatty acid glycerides as an example, this suppository key accessories previously only foreign enterprises can produce. Through 7 years of technical research, Ruisheng Pharmaceutical Auxiliary has successfully mastered the core process of precise control of melting temperature, and the auxiliary materials produced can meet the special requirements of different suppositories for release temperature.

Li Chengfang pointed to the button size and milky white particles filled in a glass bottle and introduced to reporters: "These are mixed fatty acid glycerides, which are an important carrier for suppositories to release bulk drugs, and their melting temperature needs to accurately match the body temperature requirements of different parts of the human body." He further stated that precise control of the melting temperature has always been a technical difficulty in the production of mixed fatty acid glycerides. "At present, we have broken through this key technology and can stably produce products of various specifications such as Type 34, Type 36 and Type 40. Meet the diverse needs of pharmaceutical companies." With mature technical advantages, the annual sales of this product has accounted for about 20% of the total revenue of Swiss medicine auxiliary. Its business covers more than 20 mainstream suppository enterprises in China, and is exported to Russia, South Korea and other countries and regions.

, it is worth noting that Ruisheng Pharmaceutical Auxiliary has also vigorously promoted the customized service of "one enterprise, one plan. Li Chengfang told reporters that the same variety of pharmaceutical excipients, under the premise of meeting the Pharmacopoeia standards, due to the differences in the internal systems and processes of different preparation companies, their specific requirements for excipients are also different. "For example, the same use of dextrin, some companies require the moisture content to be controlled at 3%, while others may set the value at 6% due to process needs. This difference will directly affect the final effect and stability of the formulation." He explained. To this end, Resheng Pharmaceutical Auxiliary is committed to tailor personalized quality control programs according to the preparation characteristics and process characteristics of different pharmaceutical companies. At present, the company has provided more than 1000 pharmaceutical companies with customized accessories services.

"China's accessories industry is moving towards a high-end, customized and international high-quality development path." Li Chengfang said that Ruisheng Pharmaceutical Auxiliary will continue to break through the technical bottleneck, promote domestic excipients to the international market, and provide solid support for the high-quality development of China's pharmaceutical industry.

To Specialization

walk into the pharmaceutical packaging exhibition area located in the N6 Pavilion of Chongqing International Expo Center. A clean booth is particularly unique in the colorful exhibition area. There is no colorful packaging design here, only rows of pure white sealed barrels and sealed boxes are neatly displayed.

"How long can I use this sealed tank?" A purchasing officer from Chongqing Boteng Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Boteng Pharmaceutical) leaned over to carefully check the product details. "From the customer's experience feedback, there is no problem with repeated use for more than ten years." Zhang Xinping, sales manager of CurTec Asia Pacific (hereinafter referred to as CurTec) in China, answered while demonstrating the sealing process with a one-time seal. After some exchanges, the purchasing staff of Botten Pharmaceuticals finalized the sample testing on the spot. This product favored by pharmaceutical enterprises is CurTec's star series-a clean room-grade sealed tank specially designed for bulk drugs and intermediates and meeting the requirements of good manufacturing practice (GMP), with specifications covering 300ml to 2500ml. "The company's entire line of products are produced in an environment that meets GMP requirements." Harald Mullens, Director of Business Development and Sales at CurTec, said, "Drugs are highly active, and the packaging materials in direct contact must be clean and stable to ensure drug safety. Produced in a GMP environment, the risk of fiber shedding and particulate contamination from the packaging container during storage of the drug can be avoided at the source."

reporter noticed that each product on the scene was engraved with a string of special letters and numbers. "This is the certification mark that the product has passed the international compliance test, which means that even if our packaging containers are loaded with first-class chemical dangerous goods, they can effectively prevent leakage and explosion in various harsh transportation environments." Harald Mullens explained.

It is

noteworthy that from January 1, 2026, the appendix of pharmaceutical excipients and the appendix of pharmaceutical packaging materials in the good manufacturing practice (revised in 2010) will be officially implemented. "Our quality management system for the production of pharmaceutical packaging materials has been certified to ISO 15378 to help pharmaceutical companies meet compliance requirements." Harald said Mullens.

While adhering to the "lifeline" of drug safety, CurTec regards sustainable development as the "extension line" of the industry's future, and introduces lightweight series and bio-based series products. "This lightweight sealed barrel through structural optimization, in the protective performance is not reduced

under

premise, material consumption is reduced by 30% compared with traditional products." Harald said Mullens holding a sealed bucket with a light blue lid. The bio-based series innovates the use of renewable materials such as wheat straw and sugar cane stalks, which significantly reduces carbon emissions compared to traditional petroleum-based raw materials.

it is reported that this is the first time CurTec API China. At present, the company is accelerating its deployment in the Chinese market. It plans to build a bonded warehouse in Shanghai by the end of this year, and actively evaluate the feasibility of setting up a factory in China, with a view to providing Chinese pharmaceutical companies with pharmaceutical packaging solutions that better meet their needs and meet international standards.

Deep ploughing towards refinement

at the API China Pharmaceutical Equipment Exhibition site, the beauty of industry is everywhere: a box of medicines is flowing rapidly on the conveyor belt, and the high-speed checkweigher accurately captures the weight change per gram; the three-dimensional motion mixer draws a complex trajectory in the air to make the powder evenly blend; the filling machine is completing the liquid dispensing at a stable pace... In this exhibition area with "modern industrial style, zibo Huashun Corrosion Resistant Vacuum Pump Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huashun Vacuum), although the booth is not publicized, it has attracted many eyes with professionalism.

Huashun Vacuum's booth displays vacuum pump equipment of different sizes, which seems simple but points to a key problem in pharmaceutical engineering-how to ensure stable operation of equipment in a highly corrosive environment. "We are deeply engaged in a subdivision of the vacuum pump industry, but it is related to the safety of the core process of pharmaceutical enterprises-gas transportation under strong corrosion conditions." Yan Sun, general manager of Huashun Vacuum, pointed to the company's latest large-output series of products, and said, "From evaporation and crystallization to distillation and drying, the strong corrosive gases generated in these processes are the direction of our technology."

"Traditional metal equipment is often overwhelmed by corrosive gases. Frequent maintenance, performance degradation, and even the risk of leakage are all pain points that plague pharmaceutical companies." Sun Yan pointed to a running device and added further.

The breakthrough of the enterprise is due to the innovation of material technology. Through special composite materials and high-temperature and high-pressure mold forming process, Hua Shun Vacuum has developed a series of vacuum pump products that can withstand various corrosive media such as acid, alkali and organic solvents.

"In the past, we solved the problem of' from scratch, 'but now we have to pursue' keep improving'." Sun Yan revealed that the core task of the company's R & D team is to continuously optimize mature products. "Taking the upcoming fourth-generation products as an example, R & D personnel are conquering the last 10% performance improvement. These improvements may be difficult for ordinary users to detect, but It is very important for specific working conditions."

this concept of continuous optimization has been verified in practice. After an API company in Jiangsu introduced Huashun vacuum equipment at the beginning of this year, it completely got out of the dilemma that it needed to be repaired every two or three months before. The new equipment was put into use without any failure within 8 months. "What is even more surprising is that after replacing the equipment, the product recovery rate of the API company has increased from 80% to more than 99%." Sun Yan said that the successful equipment transformation has given the company the confidence to further expand production, and it is currently negotiating follow-up cooperation.

In the face of the current homogenization of the fierce competition in the market environment, Huashun vacuum choose to adhere to the path of technology in-depth development. Although the last 10% performance improvement requires more than 50% of the total R & D cost, Sun Yan still believes that this is the key to building core competitiveness: "In the future, we will expand the results of material innovation to more varieties of equipment fields and promote The pharmaceutical equipment industry is developing in a more refined and professional direction."

this API China coincides with the closing of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the key point of the 15th Five-Year Plan. At the exhibition site, the specialized products, customized solutions and refined services displayed by exhibitors not only demonstrated the innovation vitality of the industry, but also outlined a clear path for the pharmaceutical industry to upgrade to high quality. It is reported that the 94th API China will be held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) from May 13 to 15, 2026.

This article is from: China Medical Journal Medicine Special Issue.