Original Wu Yue Minenet
Highlights
On April 30, the NMPA official website released the latest drug approval information, and Hainan Huluwa Pharmaceutical Group's bromhexine hydrochloride injection and desloratadine tablets were approved for marketing. Bromhexine hydrochloride injection is a classic expectorant, desloratadine tablets is a star antihistamine, and Huluwa Pharmaceutical has added two more blockbuster members to the respiratory drug market.
Figure 1: Huluwa Pharmaceutical's latest approved product
Source: NMPA official website
Bromhexine hydrochloride injection is used for chronic bronchitis and other respiratory diseases accompanied by mucous sputum and is not easy to cough up. According to the data of Minenet, more than 10 domestic pharmaceutical companies have obtained production approval, and the main sales position of the product is the terminal of China's public medical institutions (urban public hospitals + county-level public hospitals + urban community centers + township health centers).
Figure 2: Sales of bromhexine hydrochloride injection (unit: 10,000 yuan)
Source: Minenet's competitive landscape of drug terminals in China's public medical institutions
In recent years, the sales of bromhexine hydrochloride injection in China's public medical institutions have continued to soar, rising to more than 660 million yuan in the first half of 2023, becoming the TOP1 injection product in the expectorant (excluding compound preparations containing cough medicines) market.
Desloratadine tablets are used to alleviate the systemic and local symptoms of chronic idiopathic urticaria and perennial allergic rhinitis, and more than 10 domestic pharmaceutical companies have obtained production approval, and the sales of the product in retail pharmacy terminals (urban physical pharmacies + online pharmacies) have grown rapidly in recent years, and the potential should not be underestimated.
From 2021 to 2023, the sales growth rate of desloratadine tablets in China's urban physical pharmacy terminals was 11.69%, 29.60%, and 10.09%, respectively, and it was the top 7 products for domestic use in the market of other systemic antihistamines, and from 2021 to 2023, the sales growth rates of desloratadine tablets in China's online pharmacy terminals were 75.81%, 59.63%, and 32.76%, respectively, making it the top 13 products for oral use in the market of other systemic antihistamines.
Table 1: Approved Respiratory Chemicals (by Product Name)
Source: Minenet China Listed Drugs (MID) Database
In 2022, the total sales scale of respiratory system drugs in China's three major terminal and six major markets (see the statistical scope at the end of the article) (chemical drugs + biological drugs) will exceed 50 billion yuan.
In August 2023, the desloratadine oral solution of the subsidiary Guangxi Weiwei Pharmaceutical was approved for marketing and regarded as a review, and in April 2024, Hainan Huluwa Pharmaceutical Group successively won the solution for nebulized inhalation of terbutaline sulfate, bromhexine hydrochloride injection, and desloratadine tablets.
Table 2: Huluwa Pharmaceutical's respiratory system chemical drugs under review
Source: Minenet China Declaration Progress (MED) database
At present, Huluwa Pharmaceutical has 9 new respiratory system chemical drugs that are being launched in a sprint, still focusing on three sub-markets: cough and cold drugs, systemic antihistamines, and obstructive tracheal disease drugs.
Source: NMPA official website, Minenet database
Note: The statistical scope of "China's Three Terminals and Six Major Markets" is as follows: urban public hospitals and county-level public hospitals, urban community centers and township health centers, urban physical pharmacies and online pharmacies, excluding private hospitals, private clinics, village clinics, and county and rural pharmacies; The statistics are as of April 30, if there are any omissions, please correct.