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(Mostly) Explain Api

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Market in Focus:

Active Pharmaceutical
Ingredients (APIs)

December 2022
Contents
Key Highlights 03
Global Markets 11
Kingdom Market 16
Major Challenges 20
Success Factors 20

Disclaimer
This Report, including data, information, methodologies, and opinions reflected herein contained or is for general information pur-
poses only.
The material in this Report is obtained from SIDF per dating of the report.
SIDF has taken reasonable care to ensure that, and to the best of our knowledge, material information contained herein is in accord-
ance with the facts and contains no omission likely to affect its understanding.
SIDF makes every effort but cannot and does not represent or warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, as to, the accuracy,
reliability, or suitability of the information, products, services, or related graphics in this Report for any purpose.
SIDF assumes no liability or responsibility of any kind for any errors or omissions in the content of this Report and further disclaims
any liability of any nature for any loss howsoever caused in connection with using this Report.
The materials and information in this Report are subject to change at any time without prior notice.

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%.

Global top three active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), adali-


mumab, immunoglobulin & ustekinumab, contribute to 30% of the
value. Adalimumab & immunoglobulin are growing at a CAGR of
10%, while ustekinumab is growing at 39%.

China and India have an advantage of cost competitiveness


through value chain integrated clusters, low-cost utilities,
high-capacity utilization, and economies of scale.

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.

The Kingdom’s APIs demand is growing in parallel with the ris-


ing number of finished dosage form (FDF) manufacturers, with
a market value of over SR 5 billion in 2021. Indian and European
importers had a combined market share of around 70%.

The local demand is restricted to chemical APIs with no consump-


tion for biological APIs, as the two active biologic FDF facilities
in the Kingdom are only performing secondary packaging for
licensed products.

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.

SFDA’s involvement in the API sector is limited to the GMP cer-


tification for the facilities. The FDF producer submits API infor-
mation as part of the drug registration process, and the APIs
of higher grades (USFDA and CEP) are favorable regarding FDF
registration duration.

This industry is considered a long-term investment with high-lev-


el capital intensity and requires strong technical and manpower
capabilities and logistical infrastructure. Investors must have suf-
ficient liquidity and access to financing with more lenient lending
terms to cover capital costs and operational losses during the
start-up phase and support the project to achieve scale.

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:

Uses and Size


Product Definition
Examples /Complexity*

A chemical API is manufactured


through chemical synthesis combin-
ing specific chemical ingredients in Human/Animal
a replicable ordered process. medicines
Chemical APIs have a well-defined
Chemical API Paracetamol Aspirin
chemical structure; hence, batches
(Small Molecule) are identical.
(Panadol ®) 21 atoms
They can be further processed into Acetylsalicylic acid
different dosage forms and ad- (Aspirin®)
ministered through various routes
(tablets, capsules, injections, etc.).

A biologic is a protein manufactured


in a living system, e.g., a microor-
ganism, plant, or animal cell.
Most biologics are extremely large,
complex molecules or mixtures of
molecules, making them hard to Human/Animal
characterize. medicines
Biological API IgG Antibody
Generally, they are made in genet- Humira®, Enbrel ®,
(Large Molecule) ically engineered cell cultures, and insulins, hormones,
25,000 atoms
batch-to-batch variation is an inher-
vaccines
ent characteristic of biologics.
Due to their large size and nature,
they have poor bioavailability and
require injection/infusion to be
administered.

*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

Classification Potential global suppliers

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

Novel drug products extracted or semi-synthesized from biological sources, like


humans, animals, or microorganisms, by biotechnology.
Structurally like compounds within the human body, e.g., proteins, sugars, living
cells, etc.
In the U.S., biologics are often protected by two types of government-granted
Biologics
rights, given the heavy investment they require:
(Innovative) Biologic material patents last 20 years from the filing date, but companies could
petition the government to extend the patent for up to five years.
Regulatory exclusivity granted by the U.S. FDA lasts 12 years from the approval
date. It prevents others from obtaining FDA approval to market biosimilars but does
not afford any exclusivity from bio betters.

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

Recombinant technology is a DNA cloning method, where multiple DNA sequences


Produced by are manipulated and recombined in unique and reproducible ways, then allowed to
Recombinant grow into colonies. This altered DNA can be used or further translated into therapeu-
Technology tic proteins (e.g. Insulin, growth hormones, vaccines).
Most biologics available today are made using Recombinant DNA Technology.

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

Classification Definition Sources

Chemical compounds with defined chemical


properties and structure incorporated as a
Fine Chemicals / significant structural fragment into the API
structure. Imported, mainly
Pharmaceutical They vary depending on the product and the from China and India.
Intermediates production stage the manufacturer starts from
(n-3, n-2, or n-1). Manufacturers of pharmaceu-
tical intermediates must obtain the GMP.

Chemical substances that dissolve, suspend,


or extract other materials without chemically
changing the solvents or the other materials. Imported.
Solvents Solvents are used for extraction, purification, Available in the local
and providing a reaction medium. They help market (SABIC).
the final product achieve the proper consisten-
cy, like creams and antibiotic suspensions.

These are critical components in direct contact


with the API and must be approved by SFDA.
Bulk drugs are packaged in bags and often
Local
have a multilayer plastic bag constructed with
Primary Packaging an inert, flexible layer in contact with the drug,
Material like PVC/PP/Aluminum foil bags, etc.

They enclose and protect the primary pack-


aged product for distribution, sale, and use.
They are also for information transmission, Local
marketing convenience, and security, like fiber
and plastic drums.
Secondary Packaging
Material

Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 8
Biologics

Classification Definition Sources

The raw materials involved in the biomanu-


facturing process are mainly used as culture
media to grow the cell line and establish a Mas-
ter cell bank (MCB). They can be very diverse
depending on the type of cell used. Changing
the culture media or the cell line would require
large amounts of supportive data since the
end-product will differ. Imported, mainly
Cell Culture Raw
These components commonly include growth from Europe and
Materials factors and other supplements, e.g., soya North America
hydrolysates, carbohydrates, vitamins, recombi-
nant proteins like insulin, etc.
Once the MCB is established, it supplies genet-
ically identical cells for all future products. That
is what distinguishes biologics from each other.
The raw materials selection and quality control
are of high importance.

The prime purpose of the purification process


Purification is to remove living cells from the culture medi- Imported, mainly
um and discard unwanted components. from Europe and
Raw Materials Solvents are used in chromatography purifica- North America
tion.

They are limited to stainless steel/glass/plastic


containers. Due to their intrinsic nature and
properties, large molecule substances present
Imported, mainly
some unique challenges.
from Europe and
The effects of packaging derivatives on the
Primary North America
protein’s three-dimensional and surface
Packaging structure are very critical. Thus, it must be
Material FDA-approved.

Given the thermal sensitivity of biologics, tem-


Imported, mainly
perature-controlled containers must be used
from Europe and
for the transportation and shipping of bulk
North America
Secondary products, like credo cubes.

Packaging
Material

Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 9
Regulations

Authority Scope

Licensing of manufacturing facility (Good Manufacturing Practice):


A prerequisite to manufacture or repack APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates.
It ensures products are consistently produced and controlled according to strict
requirements to meet the quality standards appropriate to their intended use, as
required by the approved specifications in the market authorization of the FDF.
SFDA involvement is limited to GMP licensing. FDF manufacturers prefer APIs that
are CEP certified or have a USDMF since they shorten the period of drug registra-
tion at SFDA.

Product Certification (Certificate of Suitability).


Many API producers, aiming to gain more market access, especially in regulated mar-
kets, obtain the Certificate of Suitability (CEP) issued by the European Directorate for
the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare (EDQM).
EDQM inspects manufacturing facilities of APIs and performs testing on a risk basis.
If the information is satisfactory, EDQM issues a CEP.
CEP holders are recognized by over 50 countries, like Australia, South Africa, Canada,
etc.

Production and Margins


Capital costs vary noticeably between API plants depending on the product type
(small molecule or large molecule), product mix, size, location, production method, and
target market. Another essential component influencing capital cost requirements
is the stage from which production starts. For small API manufacturing, the product
mainly undergoes three stages: n-1, n-2, and n-3, where n-1 is the latest and requires
the most minimal capital. These stages can be summarized as follows:

Figure 1: API manufacturing stages

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.

Figure 2: API profit margin for each manufactring stage

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

05 Eli Lilly USA

06 GSK UK

07 Sanofi France

08 Boehringer Ingelheim Germany

09 Bristol Myers Squibb USA

10 Mylan USA

11 Cipla India

12 Dr Reddys India

13 Sun Pharma 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.

Figure 5: API local demand

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.

Kingdom Health Care Expenditure

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

Lack of supportive industrial infrastructure


Lack of necessary R&D to produce APIs from early stages instead of importing and
processing semi-finished products
Absence of intermediate chemical producers (Key Starting Materials)
Lack of experienced and skilled labor and management forces
Strong competition from global suppliers
Global domination of low-cost imports from India and China
Lack of import taxation for locally available APIs
The bond between scale and profitability

Market in Focus:
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) 17
Success Factors

Establishing an agreement with petrochemicals and chemical-local factories, like SAB-


IC, to produce some pharmaceutical grades of raw material (intermediates) used in API
production.
Considering acquisitions of international API manufacturers for local companies with
financial capabilities to guarantee these acquisitions.
Increasing the collaboration between industry and academia.
Focusing on R&D and building relations with universities/research centers to support
research and development of the API sector.
Focusing on industrial Pharmacy/Chemistry training and education to satisfy the high
demand for talent.
Integrating large-scale clusters with common infrastructure facilities, e.g., Effluent
Treatment Plants, testing facilities, chilled water plants, and industry can pay per use.
Requiring an experienced regulatory team from new entrants to ensure their aware-
ness of SFDA processes and regulations.
Providing government support for local manufacturers by 10% and can reach 30%
price preference given by local content authority to pharmaceutical manufacturers
that buy their APIs from local API manufacturers.

China as a successful country in bulk drugs and API


China’s dominant position in the market results from infrastructure investment, large-
scale manufacturing capacities, cost efficiency, technical capabilities, and supportive
government policies. The policies adopted by China to become a dominant force in
bulk drugs are as follows:
China has strategically executed multiple programs and initiatives, like policy and in-
frastructure reforms, to provide impetus and scale to its pharmaceutical and associat-
ed raw material industry. That involves encouraging innovation across the value chain,
shortening approval processes, optimizing efficiencies, and providing the necessary
utilities at discounted rates.
The government has launched a new mechanism to reduce the time for clinical trial
approval (CTA). The approval timeline for smaller molecules decreased from 25 months
in 2015 to nine months in 2018. The Approval timeline for large molecules dropped
from 22 months in 2015 to eight months in 2018.

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
For more information, please contact us at:
www.sidf.gov.sa

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