API drugs are pharmaceutical intermediates obtained through chemical synthesis or biological fermentation, extraction, and subsequent 4-5 steps of chemical synthesis using basic chemicals or animals and plants as API. In the downstream of API, API can be used in fields such as pharmaceutical preparations, feed, health products, and cosmetics, with the main application scenario still in the field of pharmaceutical preparations. The characteristic API among them mainly correspond to drugs after the patent protection period, and the profit margin can still be maintained at a high level, with only a few enterprises able to produce them.
The research and development of characteristic API usually starts 5 to 6 years before the expiration of the patent. Generic drug companies often cooperate with raw material drug companies to compete for first-time copies, striving to register, declare, and sell in a timely manner within the patent expiration time window, in order to gain a larger market share.
In the past decade or two, the Chinese pharmaceutical market has continued to expand, and the raw material pharmaceutical industry has maintained stable growth and a good development trend. However, there are still many research and development institutions and pharmaceutical factories that need to purchase imported API. Imported API require a large number of procedures throughout the entire chain, including team experience, procedures, channels, transportation, customs clearance, etc. Any lack of resources or experience will require a lot of time. So it is very important to choose a company with rich experience and foreign resources to cooperate.