Respiratory system drugs is a term used to describe a wide variety of medicines used to relieve, treat, or prevent respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or pneumonia.

Today, Ddu, the leading global pharmaceutical & medical device B2B online platform, will share China’s Import and Export Market Report of Respiratory System Drugs with you.

I. General situation of global respiratory system drugs

Normally, respiratory system diseases are caused by Pathogenic microorganisms, protein allergens, dust particles and harmful gases due to climate change which results in a great demand for respiratory system drugs.

According to the statistics of IMS, global sales of respiratory system drugs exceeded 46 billion USD in 2015, becoming the third greatest drug in demand following cancer and cardiovascular drugs.

According to the statistics of the world’s best-selling respiratory system drugs, the top 3 products were Salmeterol/ fluticasone, tiotropium and budesonide/ formoterol of which sales were over 30 billion USD respectively. Salmeterol / fluticasone topped the list with sales of over 6 billion USD.

As shown in the chart above, with 54%, America took up the biggest share of the global market for respiratory system drugs. The main products were Adcair, indicated for the maintenance treatment of asthma from GSK, and Singulair, indicated for the relief of symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis from Merck.

Europe ranked second with the main products being Symbicort, indicated for the prophylaxis and chronic treatment of asthma from AstraZeneca, and Alvesco, indicated for the long-term maintenance treatment of asthma from Sanofi-Aventis.

II. Chinese market of respiratory system drugs

According to the statistics of respiratory medicine in China, the Chinese respiratory medicine market size was 123.18 billion RNB in 2016, an increase of 3.9% from the previous year.

In addition to this, drugs prescribed to treat coughing and colds took up 69% of the shares with market sales of 84.9 billion RMB followed by antiasthmatics which took up 15.5% with market sales of 19 billion RMB as well as formulations for the treatment of throat which took up 7.8% with market sales of 9.6 billion RMB.

Nowadays, most chemical drugs and Chinese patent drugs for respiratory system diseases are generic and produced by many Chinese companies, while exclusive chemical drugs and drugs with fewer approvals, but a variety in products, are mostly produced by foreign-funded companies. What’s more, products with sales of over one billion RMB are mainly Chinese patent drugs.

III. Export market

Despite the fact that the Chinese market for respiratory system drugs has been monopolized by imported products, Chinese respiratory system drugs have paved their own way as export products with a variety in usage and cheaper prices.

China's exports of respiratory drugs are mainly antiasthmatics and throat preparations. According to the statistics of China customs, exports of China's respiratory system drugs in 2016 were about 300 million USD with the major exporting countries being Japan, the United States, India and Pakistan. The main export products were as follows:

IV. Leading companies

1.  Changzhou Siyao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd

Changzhou Siyao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd is a state high-tech enterprise and one of the top 100 chemical drug companies with qualifications issued by the FDA, CEP by the EU and certified by the Japanese Ministry of Health.

Representative product: Ambroxol hydrochloride

Indication: Chronic bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis, treatment of bronchiectasis and bronchial asthma expectorant

Main importing areas: USA, EU, Japan

2.  CHIA TAI TIANQING PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP CO., LTD

CTTQ is a multinational pharmaceutical company with integrated R&D, manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution capabilities.

Representative product: Tiotropium Bromide Powder for Inhalation

Indication: COPD

Main importing area: EU

3. Jewim Pharmaceutical (Shandong) Co., Ltd.

Jewim Pharmaceutical (Shandong) Co., Ltd. is the biggest medical aerosol and spray manufacturer in China with the biggest variety of exclusive drugs and generic drugs produced and sold at first in the domestic market.

Representative product: Salbutamol Sulphate Aerosol

Indication: Alleviate asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Main importing area: Australia, New Zealand other 50 countries

V. Prospect

Although the respiratory drugs market is highly saturated, there are always an opportunities to make an impact by satisfying unmet demands.

Thus, as the leading global pharmaceutical & medical device B2B online platform, Ddu’s suggestion, given the great need for COPD drugs, if for Chinese companies to pay close attention to this field, making efforts to research and study the possibility of alleviating lung inflammation, how to effectively control the deterioration of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and how to reduce the probability of disease recurrence in asthma patients when no medicine is available. Research into curing disease such as these can forecast an even brighter future for companies in China.

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