2023 Biotechnology Industry Innovation Forum
On May 25th, guided by the China Pharmaceutical News and Information Association, co-hosted by the Medical Beauty Industry Branch of the China Pharmaceutical News and Information Association, Shandong Zhongshan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and Global Influence Think Tank, the 2023 Biotechnology Industry Innovation Forum and Zhongshan BiotechnologyAnhydrous Sodium HyaluronateThe new product launch event was successfully held at the Beijing National Convention Center. With the theme of "New Anxious Forces, Leading the New Future," the forum focused on exchanges and discussions around policy regulations, R&D innovation, and industry trends in fields such as biotechnology, bio-manufacturing, and biomedicine.At the same time, Frost & Sullivan (Frost & Sullivan, abbreviated as "Frost & Sullivan") jointly released the "White Paper on Anhydrous Sodium Hyaluronate in China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") with Zhongshan Biotechnology. Yang Lizhu, the consulting director for Frost & Sullivan Greater China, was invited to attend the event and provided an in-depth interpretation of the report at the launch site.
The "White Paper on Anhydrous Sodium Hyaluronate in China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") was jointly released by Frost & Sullivan and Zhongshan Biotechnology, focusing onhyaluronic acid raw materialsfour major chapters: industry, Chinese anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials, terminal applications of anhydrous sodium hyaluronate, and market competition landscape of anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials. The aim is to interpret the current development status and prospects of the anhydrous sodium hyaluronate industry from a scientific, rational, and professional analytical perspective.
Yang Lizhu, consulting director for Frost & Sullivan Greater China
Yang Lizhu pointed out that China is the world's largest producer and seller of hyaluronic acid raw materials, with its fermentation technology level, output, and quality reaching international advanced standards.
According to Frost & Sullivan research data, in 2022, the total sales volume of Chinese hyaluronic acid raw materials accounted for 82.7% of the global total sales. Chinese enterprises rank among the top in global sales, while overseas enterprises' sales volume accounts for a smaller proportion.The COVID-19 pandemic has had short-term impacts on both the supply and demand sides of the global hyaluronic acid raw material market. However, encouraged by policies in China's import and export trade markets, the sales volume of Chinese hyaluronic acid raw materials has maintained continuous growth over the past five years, increasing from 2.65 billion yuan in 2017 to 3.9 billion yuan in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.0%.
Looking at different levels of hyaluronic acid raw materials, in 2022, cosmetic-grade hyaluronic acid raw materials accounted for the highest sales volume, followed by pharmaceutical-grade raw materials at 3.6%. However, the export price of Chinese pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid raw materials is about $2,700 - $25,000 per kilogram, while other grades are about $150 - $500 per kilogram.Due to their high cost, pharmaceutical-grade raw materials have significant profit margins.
The report shows that due to the policy dividend released by China at the beginning of 2021 regarding food-grade hyaluronic acid, the sales volume of food-grade hyaluronic acid raw materials has grown rapidly in the short term. It is expected that over the next five years, the Chinese hyaluronic acid raw material market will maintain a high compound annual growth rate of 8.4%, reaching 582 billion yuan in 2027.
Source: Frost & Sullivan analysis
Yang Lizhu then briefly introduced anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials and their advantages.AnhydrousSodium Hyaluronate Raw Materialswill become the preferred choice for customers producing sterile preparations and sterile medical devices using non-final sterilization processes.
Anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials refer to non-final sterilized hyaluronic acid raw material products produced through an aseptic production process. The non-final sterilized product process design uses sterilization filtration for sterilization, ensuring product quality through strict aseptic control. Sodium hyaluronate is sensitive to high temperatures and decomposes significantly under humid heat sterilization conditions, causing significant fluctuations in product viscosity before and after, resulting in the product not meeting quality standard requirements. For manufacturers of sterile preparations and sterile medical devices that cannot be finally sterilized, using sterile raw materials eliminates the risk of viscosity degradation during material sterilization, avoiding experimental costs and time costs.
Currently, the market for anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials is still in its infancy, with no mature or large-scale sterile production lines, and there is still a distance from mass production and sales.Since the terminal applications of anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materialsare similar to those of pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acidraw materials, the market scale of pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid raw materials can be used to predict downstream demand for anhydrous raw materials.
Pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid raw materials are generally used in drug treatment or medical aesthetics. Due to their special uses, the overall performance requirements for products are higher, and they need to pass NMPA certification before use, resulting in higher prices. The report shows that in 2022, the market scale of Chinese pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid raw materials was 21.6 tons, with a compound growth rate of 11.6% from 2017 to 2022. It is expected that the compound growth rate from 2022 to 2027 will be 11.4%, reaching 37.1 tons.Similarly, the downstream applications of anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials are mainly in the medical field. Due to their higher product quality requirements, production process requirements, and qualification requirements, it is expected that the price will be higher than that of pharmaceutical-grade raw materials.In the future, it is expected that anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials will replace a portion of the market share of pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid raw materials.
Due to the special properties of cross-linked hyaluronic acid, such as good biocompatibility, longer degradation time in vivo, and good filling and shaping effects, it has become the mainstream soft tissue filler material and gradually replaced other fillers such as collagen, widely used in various plastic surgery fields.
Yang Lizhu statedWith the continuous improvement of domestic enterprises' technology and process levels, local medical beauty hyaluronic acid enterprises are increasingly competing with foreign brands both domestically and internationally, and the sales volume of domestic medical beauty hyaluronic acid fillers is gradually increasing.
Compared to surgical plastic surgery, minimally invasive non-surgical medical aesthetics represented by injections have a faster recovery time, relatively lower prices, and risks, thus having a higher market acceptance and repurchase rate. In 2022, the market scale of Chinese medical beauty hyaluronic acid terminal products was greater than other medical terminal application fields, reaching 7.77 billion yuan, with a compound growth rate of 19.9% from 2017 to 2022, and is expected to reach 236.6 billion yuan in 2027
Source: Frost & Sullivan analysis
In addition,In the orthopedic field, hyaluronic acid can be used to treat bone and joint diseases, fracture fixation, joint stiffness, and lumbar discectomy injections.It is estimated that the market scale of Chinese orthopedic treatment hyaluronic acid terminal products will reach about 1.84 billion yuan in 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.0% over the next five years. In the ophthalmic field, hyaluronic acid terminal products include hyaluronic acid viscoelastic agents used in ophthalmic surgeries (cataract surgery, intraocular lens implantation, penetrating keratoplasty, glaucoma surgery, intraocular foreign body removal, eye trauma surgery, etc.) and hyaluronic acid artificial tears used to treat symptoms such as dry eyes. In the future, it is expected that the overall market scale of Chinese ophthalmic treatment hyaluronic acid products will further expand, reaching about 5.2 billion yuan in 2027.
The report shows that Zhongshan Biotechnology is the first enterprise in China to launch anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw material products produced on a sterile production line. Zhongshan Biotechnology's anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw material products meet the terminal application standards of the downstream pharmaceutical field.Zhongshan Biotechnology's Workshop No. 8 is an automated workshop specializing in producing sterile hyaluronic acid raw materials and is also the first sterile sodium hyaluronate workshop in China. The equipment selection in its workshop uses production equipment from first-class domestic and international enterprises, starting from the source of material transfer, all operations are carried out under full enclosed conditions, and the production line adopts fully automated control, meeting the production standards for anhydrous sodium hyaluronate raw materials. Compared with traditional pharmaceutical-grade raw material production workshops, Zhongshan Biotechnology's sterile production workshop has stricter quality control, with higher requirements for production equipment, process technology, and production environment.
