(Mostly) Explain Api
(Mostly) Explain Api
Active Pharmaceutical
Ingredients (APIs)
December 2022
Contents
Key Highlights 03
Global Markets 11
Kingdom Market 16
Major Challenges 20
Success Factors 20
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Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 2
Key Highlights
The global API market is SR 786 billion per annum during 2021
and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6% during the next five
years. Faster growth is projected for the biologic APIs segment,
given its strong efficacy and high profitability, at a CAGR of 7.8%.
The local deficit for APIs will likely continue even if the gap
narrows due to the fierce competition with imported APIs, lack
of government subsidies, and ineffective tender price premium
offerings.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 3
Obstacles to establishing a prosperous API industry include the
lack of R&D, logistical infrastructure, and the lack of raw materials
suppliers. The industry may require massive investments in the
upstream production of chemical intermediates locally.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 4
Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are any substance or mixture of substances
used in manufacturing a pharmaceutical dosage form. When used, they become an ac-
tive ingredient of that pharmaceutical dosage form. Such substances furnish pharma-
cological activity or other direct effects in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or
prevention of disease or affect the structure and function of the body. APIs are either
synthetic or biological. The synthetic API process starts from chemical/natural prod-
ucts, whereas the biological API starts from seed cells from a master cell culture.
Globally, around 70% of APIs available at the market constitute synthetic chemicals
API, popularly known as small molecules, while 30% goes to biotech, known as large
molecules. APIs can fall under two distinctive categories, depending on the synthesis
methods and nature of the end-product:
*To give a sense of size, same-scale computer models of two drugs, aspirin (a small molecule) and
Herceptin (an antibody), were used to demonstrate the relative complexity (bike vs. plane).
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 5
Biologics and small molecule APIs are fundamentally different. In biologics, “The prod-
uct is the process;” for small molecule APIs, it is a straightforward chemical process.
Chemical APIs are further classified based on branding and potency as follows:
Branding
New or original active ingredients produced through research and development and
received government protection for exclusivity.
An active ingredient patent covers the structural formula of the drug; hence, it
applies to any form of the drug (pill, cream, liquid, etc.).
Patented A formulation patent is granted when a company reformulates an off-patent chem-
“Innovative” ical molecule or combines it with other active ingredients to adjust its behavior,
enhance its effects, and create new applications.
In the U.S., patent protection for pharmaceuticals lasts for 20 years from filing the
patent. Most drugs are under market protection for a much shorter time because
it takes years to develop the drug, complete clinical trials, and receive the final
regulatory review.
A chemically equivalent API bearing the same chemical substance as a drug origi-
nally protected by chemical patents.
Generic Generic drugs must be identical to the branded drug in terms of efficacy, safety,
usage, drug administration route, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics.
Potency
Potency refers to the inherent capacity of a drug substance to stimulate biological
activity at a given amount.
Classification Definition/Examples
Non-potent APIs are compounds that do not produce a biological response at a very
Non-Potent
low dose.
APIs They are used to treat various diseases in humans and animals, e.g., Atorvastatin.
HPAPIs are compounds that exert a biological activity with the potential to cause
cancer, mutations, developmental effects, or reproductive toxicity at low doses.
Specialized considerations in facility design, equipment, operation, and process
Highly Potent
safety are needed to achieve the desired level of containment of API or fin-
APIs (HPAPI) ished-drug products.
They are traditionally used for the treatment of cancer, e.g., cytotoxic compounds
and estrogen.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 6
Biologics (Large Molecule)
Biologics are classified based on branding and source as follows:
Branding
Classification Definition/Examples
Biosimilars are drug products with similar safety, purity, potency, and effectiveness
as off-patent biologics (reference biologics) with no clinically meaningful differences.
Unlike Generics, biosimilars are not interchangeable with the reference biologic since
Biosimilars
the living cells they originate from are unique. Biosimilars must meet certain require-
ments. They undergo further product evaluation and testing to demonstrate their
interchangeability.
Bio betters are considered the better, new-and-improved version of existing off-pat-
ent biologics.
Bio Betters/ They are altered to include molecular or chemical modifications to improve safety,
Bio Superiors enhance efficacy, and reduce toxicity.
They are structurally different from the reference biologic and might be novel and
patentable for this reason alone.
Source
Classification Definition/Examples
Extracted from Biologics that are extracted from animals, humans, bacteria, or viruses, then puri-
fied. (e.g., blood products, vitamin B-12, protein based-vaccines).
Living Systems
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 7
Raw Materials
Small molecule API production depends on the synthetic chemistry aspects and raw
material sourcing. In large molecule APIs, the pharmaceutical material is derived from
a living organism, and the behavior of the organism is key to synthesis. The best
procedures must be in place to ensure the quality of raw materials without distinction
of domestic or imported, given that the quality of the raw materials determines the
quality of the product.
Chemical APIs
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 8
Biologics
Packaging
Material
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 9
Regulations
Authority Scope
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 10
Another metric influenced by the production stage is profit margins. The earlier the
stage, the larger the profit margin.
Global Markets
The global API market was valued at USD 209.7 billion in 2021, equivalent to SR
786.37 billion. API market growth is parallel to that of pharmaceutical “buyers” and
relies on multiple factors:
Medical necessities, prevailing chronic diseases, and technological advancements in
the finished dosage form (FDF) market in mature and emerging economies
Regional variations in medicine pricing in regulated markets
Global buyer preference for cheaper, outsourced, and high-quality scaled APIs
Evicting older, less effective APIs by the rising drug research and development and
the innovative APIs pipeline
Expanding pipeline for generic chemical and biosimilar APIs with expiring patents
Export potential and effects of import taxation on buyers in target regions
Historically, global pharmaceutical giants practiced captive API manufacturing, where
a single company completes the value chain from API manufacturing to building, pack-
aging, and marketing. Over the past decades, the process of API production phased
out. It adopted a practice of outsourcing APIs to cut the high capital and operational
costs associated with manufacturing and be more streamlined to FDF production,
reducing costs and improving efficiency. Outsourcing APIs allowed pharmaceutical
manufacturers to enjoy low API selling prices from API manufacturers, achieving a
bigger scale and cheaper labor due to process focus and location.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 11
The end of the 1990s and 2000s saw much of the industry’s API production relocat-
ing to India and China. For example, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in the US histori-
cally operated several API manufacturing facilities onshore. Currently, they make only
15% of their APIs in the US while planning to outsource 100% of their API manufac-
turing overseas. Contradictory to what some large pharmaceutical manufacturers like
AstraZeneca are doing, recent developments by big players suggest that there is a
high focus on in-house manufacturing over outsourcing.
Scalability and cost reduction drove manufacturers to divest from API manufacturing
and outsource to cheap labor countries. The multiple shortages of major pharmaceuti-
cals recorded in this offshoring business model, and the COVID-19 pandemic, highlight
the most significant vulnerability: fragmented supply chains and the limited ability
to react to changes. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, there have been sev-
eral reports on the closure of Chinese raw material factories, which are crucial to API
production and the continuous delivery of vital medicines to patients. That creates an
opportunity for regional manufacturers to gain more market share.
Other offshore countries, including India, are preferred over China for API exports
due to geopolitical issues and the need to reduce dependence on Chinese APIs. Why
has this strategy been quickly accepted by the market? India, which previously relied
on Chinese APIs at nearly 70% of supply, has utilized production-linked incentive
schemes and successfully integrated API production with drug production in the past
few decades, thus gaining immense scale, technological insight, and global bargaining
power. Indians speak English more fluently than the Chinese, which facilitates trade
commerce with Western countries, where most developed pharmaceutical companies’
headquarters are. India also practices common law, making legal transactions more
achievable.
During such times of uncertainty, the global pharmaceutical industry studied its
strong dependence on suppliers of necessary raw materials and finished products
from this single offshore market, and several countries are re-implementing onshore
API production to secure their supply chains:
“Buy American” introduces new legislation in the US that would mandate the produc-
tion of APIs on America’s shores. It is considered a costly move for the industry, which
is not even price-regulated by the US FDA, unlike the local price regulation by the
SFDA. Some drug importations are exempt if they are already in abundant supply or if
procuring them in the US would increase the cost by up to 25%.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 12
Several European governments are trying to convince companies to consider the relo-
cation of their API and pharmaceutical products to Europe or their home countries.
Amongst major global players for chemical API production are Dr. Reddy’s Laborato-
ries (India), Pfizer (USA), Divis Laboratories (India), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany),
Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. (China), HEC (China), Sun Pharmaceuticals (India),
Bristol-Meyers Squib (USA), and Novartis (Switzerland). Western pharmaceutical and
biopharmaceutical companies often conduct license API manufacturing with facilities
in India for APIs still under patent.
Company
Rank API Manufacturers Name
Nationality
01 Pfizer USA
02 Abbvie USA
03 Novartis Switzerland
04 Merck USA
06 GSK UK
07 Sanofi France
10 Mylan USA
11 Cipla India
12 Dr Reddys India
14 Lupin India
15 Aurobindo India
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 13
Kingdom Market
The API market is surging from the increased demand for pharmaceutical drugs, which
relies on the aging population and rising prevalence of chronic diseases, e.g., cancer,
diabetes, cardiovascular, neurological, and infectious diseases. India and China are
the biggest suppliers of APIs to global markets due to their low production costs. To
cut down on expenses and increase profits, companies have begun outsourcing API
production to developing countries in Asia, leading to growth in the Asian market. The
safety of medication APIs is subject to stringent regulations and oversight from the
country to which they are shipped.
Currently, all demand in the Saudi market is for synthetic APIs, with no consumption
for biological APIs. The local market size of API is estimated to be around SR 5.5 billion
during 2021, with the FDF market size at SR 30 billion during the same year. The esti-
mation assumes that all finished dosage consumption is manufactured locally. There is
currently only one local producer of API, accounting for less than 1% of the total annu-
al API demand in the Kingdom. The total API consumption in the Kingdom is estimated
to be 2.91 million Kgs in 2021, expected to reach 3.97 million Kgs by 2026.
The future demand for APIs relates to the performance of the pharmaceutical manu-
facturing industry. In this regard, the Saudi Arabian pharmaceutical market is expected
to grow during the coming years, driven by the country’s large and expanding popula-
tion and rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 14
In the local market, Indian producers are estimated to have a market share of 40%, fol-
lowed by Chinese producers with a share of 20%. The rest 40% is distributed among
European producers.
Indian and american and Chinese producers dominate most of world’s API demand due
to their low-cost and high-quality APIs, provided that most Indian and Chinese pro-
ducers are either FDA or CEP (Certification of Suitability of European Pharmacopoeia
Monographs) approved.
The Chinese API market is estimated to have over 2,000 API molecules with more
than 7,000 API manufacturers (the number of manufacturers has increased by five
times in the last five years) with an annual production capacity exceeding 2 million
tons. The Indian industry has around 1,500 plants to manufacture APIs.
Most API imports originate from India, China, and Europe. European imports are fo-
cused on patented APIs.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 15
Selling Price
Quality and quantity determine API market prices. In an active pharmaceutical pro-
duction business, the prices rely on an Ex-work basis. The Buyer usually covers the
delivery method, related freight costs, inland transportation expenses, and duties
and clearance charges. There is a price variation between regulated markets, like USA
and EU countries, and non-Regulated markets, like Arab markets. Prices are higher in
regulated markets due to FDA approval and strict regulations. Quality is a prerequisite
and cannot be compromised in this industry. Indian and Chinese API producers have
emerged as prime international API suppliers since their production costs are much
lower than that of Europe and North America.
Quality is essential in this industry; thus, a supplier with either FDA or CEP approval of
a product usually prices the product higher than suppliers with no FDA or CEP approv-
al. For the final customers (pharmaceutical manufacturers), these approvals simplify
the registration of the products at the local health authority. The selling prices vary;
for example, in the regulated market, Amoxicillin is priced at around US$ 58 per kg
compared to Dulaglutide at an average price of US$ 6.4 million per kg. The same prices
are 50% cheaper in non-regulated/less regulated markets.
Competition
The local market of APIs is dominated by imports, especially from India and China.
Indian and Chinese producers dominate most of the world’s API demand, with a share
between 40% - 50%. They have a robust API portfolio, and their APIs are low-cost and
high-quality. Most Indian and Chinese producers are either FDA or CEP (Certification of
Suitability of European Pharmacopoeia Monographs) approved.
Indian and Chinese companies can sell the APIs at competitive prices because they
manufacture in huge volumes, export to many countries, and have low labor costs,
which lowers production costs.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 16
Figure 6: API local imports by country
Data Source: UnComtrade
Figure 3: API top 10 exporting countries
Major Challenges
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 17
Success Factors
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 18
The regulatory system is continuously evolving to keep up with the standards of the
EU, the US, and Japan. The Chinese government brought better integration into the in-
ternational bulk drugs market by becoming a member of the “International Council for
Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH).”
It streamlined its regulatory procedures per international standards. That has opened
China’s bulk drug companies for more external investments and collaborations.
The government has accepted international multicenter clinical trial data norms for
new drug approval (NDA). In small and large molecules, local innovative assets filing
increased to 20 in 2018 from 5 in 2015.
The government has been investing heavily in biologics and biosimilars, the next-gen-
eration drugs. It has recently invested around USD 1.6 billion in new drug develop-
ment.
China has created a “Thousand Talents Plan” to attract 50,000 PHDs international-
ly through research funding and created a collaborative research ecosystem, where
returning talent creates major alliances between multinational firms, universities, and
other companies.
National-level focus on training Ph.D. scientists with an interest in the pharmaceutical
sector.
R&D “parks” have been established at the provincial and/or local level to provide
economic and/or infrastructure-related benefits. They may include making available
low-cost facilities, R&D grants or subsidies, access to loans, and tax benefits.
China has shown significant interest in enhancing the supporting infrastructure,
including facilities, logistics, and continuous processing, which can act as drivers for
optimizing efficiency levels. Bulk drug parks in China are equipped with utilities, such
as steam supply, cooling water, chilled water, nitrogen gas, and compressed air. Com-
mon effluent treatment plants have a capacity of 50,000 MT to 100,000 MT.
The clusters have proximity to ports and airports for better logistics support.
Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 19
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