Securities Times reporter Zhuo Yong Wang Jun
After 3 years, Pian Zixi, known as "medicine grass", announced that it once again raised the retail price and market supply price of Pian Zi lozenge, and set the largest price increase with an increase of 28.81%. At the same time, the price of Angong Niuhuang Pill, which has similar scarce raw materials, has also reached 860 yuan / pill, but there are still companies that continue to enter this "life-saving medicine" industry. For example, Buchang Pharmaceutical recently announced that it intends to transfer the pharmaceutical production technology of Angong Niuhuang Pill owned by Liaoning Hancaotang for 840.<> million yuan.
What are the main companies that currently produce and sell Angong Niuhuang Pills? Raw material prices are rising day by day, even leading companies are difficult to bear the impact of price increases on sales, and the current market monopoly pattern is more obvious, why are there still companies entering the market? What kind of "wishful thinking" is behind it?
More than 100 approvals have been issued
Leading Chinese medicine enterprises are clustered
According to public information, Angong Niuhuang Pill is composed of ox bezoar, musk or artificial musk, cinnabar and other multi-flavored medicinal materials, which is the most prestigious emergency medicine in China's traditional medicine, and its main effect is to clear heat and detoxify, calm and open the mind.
It is understood that the main treatment of Angong Niuhuang Pill mainly focuses on cerebrovascular diseases. According to Zhongkang CHIS system, in 2021, drugs for cerebrovascular diseases accounted for 47.39% of all drugs for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and the retail market sample sales of Angong Niuhuang Pill have continued to rank first in the market of proprietary Chinese medicines for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in the past five years.
Under the huge market demand, the sales of Angong Niuhuang Pill have been rising in recent years. In 2019, its retail market sales exceeded RMB20 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2020.33% to RMB66.27 billion in 16, and further increased to RMB2021.39 billion in 63. The annual sales of Angong Niuhuang Pills from 2019 to 2021 in the sample hospitals in China (urban public, urban community, county-level public and township health) were 1 million yuan, 89 million yuan and 1 million yuan, respectively.
Under the huge market space, many domestic pharmaceutical companies have begun to get involved in this "life-saving miracle drug". Recently, Buchang Pharmaceutical issued an announcement that it intends to transfer the production technology of Angong Niuhuang Pill owned by Liaoning Hancaotang for 840.2021 million yuan. Public information shows that it is not the first time that Buchang Pharmaceutical intends to purchase the production technology of Angong Niuhuang Pill at a high price. On November 11, 30, Buchang Pharmaceutical intends to purchase the drug production technology of Angong Niuhuang Pill for 750.<> million yuan, and its counterparty is mainly Changchun Xin'an Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
In addition, Kunzhong, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KunYao Group, obtained the "Drug Supplement Application Approval Notice" from Angong Niuhuang Pill approved and issued by the State Food and Drug Administration last year. As early as July 2020, Pian Zixi invested in Longhui Pharmaceutical with its own funds totaling about 7.4447 million yuan, and obtained 59% of the equity of Longhui Pharmaceutical. It is reported that Longhui Pharmaceutical mainly produces traditional Chinese medicine formulas such as Angong Niuhuang Pill, Xihuang Pill and Yangyin Qinglung Syrup.
The reporter of the Securities Times learned from the State Food and Drug Administration that at present, there are a total of 125 approval numbers of Angong Niuhuang Pill in China, involving Tongrentang, Foci Pharmaceutical, Sunflower Pharmaceutical, Lingrui Pharmaceutical, Jiuzhitang, Hongjitang, Tasly, Guangyao Baiyunshan, etc., which can be described as "big coffee gathers".
There are less than 5% of manufacturers
Possession of "Double Natural"
Like Pian Zixi, the price of Angong Niuhuang Pill has also been raised many times, once as high as 860 yuan / pill. Behind the rising price, it has to be attributed to the ingredients of Angong Niuhuang Pill, natural bezoar, natural musk, pearls, etc. are scarce and precious medicinal materials. According to Southwest Securities, natural musk and bezoar account for more than ninety percent of the cost.
Taking natural musk as an example, the breeding cost of a single forest musk is high, the yield of musk is low, and the reproductive capacity of forest musk is low, and the number of forest musk has decreased significantly in recent years, and natural musk has become more and more scarce. In addition, natural bezoar is a gallstone on cattle, which is also scarce due to the special supply. Chen Xingwen, founding partner of Kurosaki Capital, told reporters that according to their research, the current price of natural bezoar is about 480~550 yuan / gram (48,55 yuan ~ 400,40 yuan / kg), the national purchase price of natural musk is 500 yuan / gram (800,50 yuan / kg), and the market price is 80 ~ 3 yuan / gram (16,90 yuan ~ 800,<> yuan / kg), and the pricing of different sellers varies greatly. As of March <>, the quotation given by Hebei Anguo, the largest medicinal market in the north, was: natural bezoar <>,<> yuan / kg, musk <> yuan / gram.
It can be seen that Angong Niuhuang Pill is not everyone who does it. According to the reporter's understanding, although there are hundreds of Chinese medicine enterprises in the country with the production license of Angong Niuhuang Pill, only Nanjing Tongrentang, Beijing Tongrentang Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. Pharmaceutical Factory, Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. Tongrentang Pharmaceutical Factory, Mudanjiang Lingtai Pharmaceutical, Yaodu Pharmaceutical Group, Jilin Province Huaqiao Pharmaceutical and other manufacturers have the qualification of "double natural" (natural musk, natural bezoar). In addition, there are 16 manufacturers such as Jiuzhitang whose raw materials are natural bezoar and artificial musk. The rest are "double artificial" (artificial musk, artificial bezoar).
"Double natural" Angong Niuhuang Pill is more popular in the market, and manufacturers with "double natural" qualifications are generally doing better. For example, according to Tongrentang's 2022 annual report, the company's top five products will have revenue of 2022.45 billion yuan in 04, operating costs of 17.90 billion yuan, and gross profit margin of 60.26%. The Angong bezoar series is the company's top main product.
The annual report and the first quarterly report recently released by Pian Zixi also show that the company has achieved a faster increase by expanding channels to make Daangong Niuhuang Pills. In 2022, the sales revenue of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs will be 1 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 66.72%; In the first quarter of this year, the sales revenue of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs reached 24 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.21%.
Many "double artificial" (artificial musk, artificial bezoar) manufacturers operate dismally and have poor money-making effects. For example, Xin'an Pharmaceutical, which has Angong technology, achieved an operating income of 2020.449 million yuan and a net profit of -90.556 million yuan in 10, with a serious loss; in January ~ September 2021, the revenue was 1 and the net profit was -9.0 million yuan, almost falling into a desperate situation of stopping production.
Looking at Liaoning Hancaotang, the revenue in 2021 will be 2746.654 million yuan, and the net profit will be -2022.9 million yuan. As of September 30, 10052, the total assets were 11235.1183 million yuan, the total liabilities were 2022.1 million yuan, and the net assets were -9.376 million yuan; In January~September 960, the revenue was <>.<> million yuan, the net profit was -<>.<> million yuan, and the performance fell sharply.
The reporter combed and found that the current market share of this product is mainly occupied by Beijing Tongrentang, Nanjing Tongrentang, Guangyuyuan, Jiuzhitang, Baiyunshan, etc. Among them, Beijing Tongrentang has been accounting for more than 50% of the sales of Angong Niuhuang Pill in recent years, and Nanjing Tongrentang and Guangyu have climbed to more than 10%.
Capital entry or optimization of the industrial chain
Whether it is Angong Niuhuang Pill or Pian Zixi, they have increased their prices many times in recent years because they have similar scarce raw materials. Recently, Pian Zixi announced that in view of the rise in the main raw materials and labor costs of the company's Pian Zi Xi products, the retail price of the leading product Pian Zi Xi in the domestic market was raised from 590 yuan / capsule to 760 yuan / capsule.
The announcement pointed out that the increase in prices may change the sales volume of the series of products, and it is not even ruled out that there will be a decline in the number of sales. Of course, raising prices is also one of the marketing strategies of head players. Taking Beijing Tongrentang, which has the largest market share, as an example, it has experienced many price increases in history, and the latest price increase was raised to 2021 yuan per pill at the end of 860, an increase of 10%, driving the company's Angong Niuhuang Pill sales to a new level.
Raw materials are scarce and expensive, the market is highly monopolized, and the players who enter the game do not have much advantage in production and price, so why join the market melee?
First, the market space is large. Li Yifeng, chief executive of Guangzhou Yuanshi Investment Pharmaceutical, told reporters that the number of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China is 3 million, and with the aging of the population, the volume is still growing, so the audience of Angong Niuhuang Pill is extremely wide. However, due to the limited supply side, there are only more than 3 million pills per year, and it is expected that there will be 700~2 times incremental space. The intention of the layout of related companies is expected to be excellent business model, limited supply, large enough demand space, coupled with the expectation of annual price increases, the prospects are good.
Second, prepare for the "going to sea" of Chinese medicine. Chen Xingwen analyzed that although Angong Niuhuang Pill is monopolized to a certain extent in China, looking at the world, the market demand tends to be infinite. "The rise of traditional Chinese medicine is expected to enter the international universal drug market list, and the entry of listed companies into this product is not only based on the product's recognition in the domestic market, but also prepares for the national essence of traditional Chinese medicine to go overseas." Chen Xingwen said.
Third, dislocation competition. Chen Xingwen analyzed that although there are many differences in the efficacy of artificial medicinal materials instead of natural medicinal materials, the main treatment effect for the basic functions of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular should be similar, and for the needs of daily health care, artificial Angong Niuhuang Pill can also meet the demand. Therefore, for people with different consumption needs and spending power, natural and artificial Angong Niuhuang Pills have their own markets. "The artificially sourced Angong Niuhuang Pill production enterprises can still meet most of the low-end demand, and this demand also accounts for a large proportion, and the market scalability is worth imagining."
In addition, the entry of many players may further optimize the industry chain. Chen Xingwen analyzed that the entry of more domestic pharmaceutical companies will deeply open up the industrial chain, realize the expansion of upstream Chinese herbal medicine planting, accelerate midstream processing and production, expand downstream logistics and distribution, drug retail and other industrial chain upgrades, and inject strong industrial empowerment into the overall industrial chain upgrading and supplementation of Angong Niuhuang Pill.
However, for many enterprises to layout Angong Niuhuang Pill, Lin Yuan, chairman of Lin Yuan Investment, once pointed out that there are too many related production enterprises, and they must go through mergers, eliminate a number of enterprises, eliminate competition, and oligarchs come out before they can make a lot of money.