According to the 2021 annual report released by pharmaceutical companies, sectors such as vaccines, medical devices, and healthcare services delivered impressive performance, while the pace of innovative drug approvals continued to accelerate. Additionally, several innovative pharmaceutical companies previously operating at a loss have seen their losses narrow or even turn profitable, thanks to the successful launch of blockbuster products.
Taking Junshi Biosciences as an example, in 2021, the company achieved a year-on-year revenue growth of 152.36% driven by significant increases in technology licensing income, the addition of royalty revenues, and sales proceeds from the domestic commercialization of toripalimab injection. Meanwhile, the company's net loss narrowed substantially compared to the previous year. According to the data, Junshi Biosciences recorded operating revenue of RMB 4.025 billion in 2021, with a net loss of RMB 721 million, significantly lower than the RMB 1.669 billion net loss reported during the same period in the prior year.
According to statistics, the pace of domestically developed innovative drugs being launched in 2021 accelerated significantly, with a total of 39 innovative medicines approved for market entry. Among these, several were independently researched and developed by China, holding proprietary intellectual property rights.
According to Zhenbaodao's annual report, in 2021, Zhenbaodao made substantial progress in the research and development of innovative chemical drugs, as well as in the development of innovative traditional Chinese medicines and hospital-based formulations. Additionally, the company advanced the secondary development of its core products and pursued strategic acquisitions of key drug candidates. During the reporting period, Zhenbaodao simultaneously progressed 3 innovative traditional Chinese medicine projects, 4 innovative chemical drug projects, and 41 generic chemical drug projects, creating a diversified and complementary product pipeline that lays a solid foundation for the company to sustainably deliver high-quality pharmaceutical offerings to the market.
In 2021, the company achieved an operating revenue of RMB 4.127 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 21.24%, and reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company amounting to RMB 332 million.
In 2021, Hengrui Medicine achieved remarkable success in innovation. Its independently developed innovative drugs—such as Haqubopu Pamine Tablets, Proline Hangrelis Net Tablets, and Hydroxyethanesulfonic Acid Darlisili Tablets—received approval for market launch, bringing the total number of approved innovative drugs to 10. Additionally, more than 60 innovative drug candidates are currently undergoing clinical development, with over 250 ongoing clinical trials being conducted both domestically and internationally.
China's innovative drugs have entered a harvest period starting from 2018, and it is anticipated that more innovative medicines will receive approval in the next two to three years. In 2022, several major products from leading innovative pharmaceutical companies are expected to gain domestic market approval, potentially enabling some previously loss-making biopharmaceutical firms to swiftly turn profitable and significantly boost their revenue scale following the launch of these blockbuster products.
Among these recent developments, P-CAB Tegoprazan Tablets (trade name: Taixinzan), an innovative Class I drug independently developed and submitted by Luoxin Pharmaceutical, has recently received approval from the National Medical Products Administration for the treatment of reflux esophagitis (RE). This marks Linyi's first domestically developed Class I innovative drug, as well as Shandong Province's first domestically produced Class I chemically innovative drug. Additionally, it represents China's first potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB) developed entirely in-house.
Industry forecasts predict that 19 blockbuster new drugs will be approved in 2022, among which two innovative medicines are independently developed by domestic pharmaceutical companies. Notably, Cadonilimab, a bispecific antibody targeting both PD-1 and CTLA-4 and developed independently by Kangfang Biotech, is primarily indicated for conditions such as liver cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Meanwhile, Dorzagliatin, developed by HuaLing Pharma, represents the first domestically produced novel drug for type 2 diabetes that has achieved its primary efficacy endpoint. It is also the first glucose kinase activator (GKA)-based diabetes treatment to have submitted a New Drug Application globally.
With the accumulation of experience in innovative drug R&D, domestic innovative pharmaceutical companies will continue to see a steady stream of new drug projects emerge. Industry insiders note that the ongoing advancement of national centralized procurement initiatives will further accelerate the transformation of domestic pharmaceutical firms—from generic drug manufacturers toward innovation-driven, R&D-focused enterprises. Meanwhile, a group of rapidly growing biopharmaceutical companies has already emerged as a dynamic and vital force driving pharmaceutical innovation in China. Looking ahead to 2022, the Chinese pharmaceutical industry is poised to unleash even greater momentum and vitality.
Disclaimer: Under no circumstances should the information or opinions expressed in this document be construed as investment advice to anyone.
