Nine key words & hot events in the pharmaceutical industry in 2023 H1

2023 has been a year of continuous events in the medical field. In the first half of the year, there were two rounds of medical insurance negotiations. The negotiations were delayed due to the pandemic and were held after the New Year's Day of 2023. The negotiations resulted in 111 new drugs being added to the catalog, and three drugs with canceled approval numbers were removed from the catalog. The negotiations and competitive new entries resulted in an average price reduction of 60.1% for the drugs.

The second batch of national key monitoring drugs was released on January 13, 2023, which was the first update since the first batch was released in 2019. The second batch still focuses on chemical drugs and biological products, covering 30 drugs, including omeprazole, human albumin, budesonide, cefoperazone sulbactam, and other drugs with a value of over 1 billion yuan. Unlike the first batch, which mainly focused on adjuvant drugs, the second batch includes star drugs with proven efficacy, such as omeprazole.

In February 2023, with the outbreak of influenza, the "miracle drug" oseltamivir was in high demand, and some places even experienced shortages. The reason for the shortage may be that, due to the impact of the pandemic, the global and Chinese influenza levels have been low in the past two years, and related pharmaceutical companies have reduced their production and reserves of oseltamivir. In addition, some people hoarded and rushed to buy the drug, causing a natural imbalance in the drug supply.

In March 2023, the eighth batch of national procurement was opened in Lingshui County, Hainan Province, covering 40 major varieties of drugs in the fields of anti-infection, heparin, anti-thrombosis, hypertension, and other drugs, including heparin products for the first time. The bidding results showed that 39 drugs were successfully purchased, with an average price reduction of 56%, and it is expected to save 16.7 billion yuan annually.

In February 2023, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Overall Plan for the Construction of Digital China," which requires the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy and the acceleration of digital technology innovation and application in key areas such as agriculture, industry, finance, education, medical care, transportation, and energy. The pharmaceutical industry, as one of China's pillar industries, is entering a period of explosive growth in digital transformation, which is the most important change in the pharmaceutical industry in the next five years. The global market size of the pharmaceutical industry's digital transformation has reached billions of dollars, and it is expected to grow to more than 100 billion dollars by 2025.

In June 2023, Novo Nordisk's semaglutide injection was officially accepted for listing application by the National Medical Products Administration, and the indication may be for weight loss. If approved for listing, Novo Nordisk's semaglutide will become the first imported weight loss drug. Although semaglutide has only been approved for use in type 2 diabetes patients in China, it has been sold out due to its "miracle weight loss drug" reputation, causing many diabetes patients to be unable to find the drug.

The 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was held in Chicago, USA from June 2nd to 6th, 2023. As the most authoritative annual event in the field of oncology, more than 200 new drug research projects were selected for oral reports, of which 19 were from China, accounting for nearly 10%. According to data from Debon Securities, companies such as Hengrui, BeiGene, Xinda, Junshi, Zai Lab, and Baili Tianheng have more research projects. PD-(L)1, EGFR, HER2, and other targets are still the focus of attention at this year's meeting. Lung cancer is still the focus of attention, followed by HER2+ breast cancer, gastric cancer, and other fields.