Development trend of pharmaceutical intermediates

The limited output of new drugs in the market makes it more and more difficult to develop new products of pharmaceutical intermediates, and the competition of traditional products is becoming more and more fierce. The profits of the pharmaceutical intermediates industry are declining rapidly. For this reason, it is suggested that: ① extend the industrial chain upstream and downstream, and turn the main raw materials used by ourselves to self production, such as ethyl acetoacetate, the main raw material for the production of aminothiaoxime acid, acetylfuran (or furan, furfural) for the production of 2-aminomethyl furan acetic acid, methyl hydrazine for the production of triazine ring, etc. This can further reduce costs, and for some special raw materials, it can avoid the monopoly of key raw materials. The downward extension, that is, the direct synthesis of APIs from pharmaceutical intermediates, can further improve the added value of products and sell products directly to pharmaceutical companies. However, the investment in extending downstream is large, and the requirements for production technology are high. It is also necessary to maintain a good relationship with the manufacturers of API. ② It has formed its own characteristic products, such as triazine ring of Hebei Jintong company, aminothiaoxime acid of Shandong Jincheng, furan ammonium salt of Shijiazhuang Boqi, tetrazolium acetic acid of Zhejiang Hengdian, AE active ester of Fushun meiqiang and other characteristic brand products, which have great influence in the industry. ③ Improve technology and save cost. Pharmaceutical intermediates have a long process route, many reaction steps, large amount of solvents, and great potential for technical improvement. For example, raw materials with lower value can be used to replace raw materials with higher value, such as using liquid chlorine instead of liquid bromine in the production of aminothiaoxime acid, using ammonium thiocyanate instead of potassium (sodium) thiocyanate in the production of triazine ring, etc; Using a single solvent instead of different solvents in the reaction process to recover the alcohol generated by the hydrolysis of ester products, etc.

The domestic pharmaceutical intermediate industry has now entered a mature stage. The era when a few skilled workers can make profits in the early stage of construction has passed, and there will be no situation that a basic intermediate similar to aminothiaoxime acid is supplied to the production of more than a dozen drugs. With the development of the pharmaceutical industry, there will be new demands for pharmaceutical intermediates, such as the increasing demand for aztreonam intermediates. However, these new products have not formed a large market demand. At present, the varieties of pharmaceutical intermediates with relatively large domestic demand are still dominated by traditional series products such as aminothiaoxime acid, noraminothiaoxime acid and its derivatives. The enterprises of new projects should consider carefully and grasp the opportunity of intervention reasonably on the premise of having sufficient capital and technical force and maintaining a good relationship with pharmaceutical enterprises; In addition, we should have a good understanding of domestic and foreign peers and the dynamics of upstream and downstream, prepare for a rainy day and take the lead in the market.