1)?Main application of pharmaceutical grade cellulose ether

In the field of medicine, cellulose ether is an important pharmaceutical excipient, which is widely used in the fields of tablet coating, suspending agent, vegetable capsule, sustained and controlled release preparation and other fields of medicine. Among them, the cellulose ether used for pharmaceutical sustained and controlled release preparations (especially cellulose ether for controlled release preparations) is currently one of the cellulose ether products with the most technical difficulty and the highest added value, and the market price is high. Cellulose ether products such as HPMC, MC, HPC, and EC are included in the 2020 edition of “Chinese Pharmacopoeia” and “USP 35″.

2)?Development Trend of Pharmaceutical Grade Cellulose Ether Industry

①?The rapid and high-quality development of the pharmaceutical excipient market drives the growth of demand for pharmaceutical grade cellulose ether

Pharmaceutical excipients are excipients and additives used in the production of drugs and formulation of prescriptions. In terms of the composition of pharmaceutical preparations, pharmaceutical excipients usually account for more than 80%. Although pharmaceutical excipients are not the core component of the drug’s curative effect, it has important functions such as shaping, acting as a carrier, improving drug stability, solubilizing, helping dissolution, slow and controlled release, etc., which will affect the quality, safety and quality of the preparation. important component of effectiveness. In recent years, the scale of the domestic pharmaceutical excipient industry has gradually expanded and is developing towards high quality.

On the one hand, as the per capita income level of domestic residents increases, the population aging continues to intensify, driven by the diversification of drug supply and the growing demand for drugs, the development of China’s pharmaceutical market shows a steady upward trend. According to statistics from Sihan Industry Research Institute, China’s pharmaceutical market in 2021 will reach 1,817.6 billion yuan. Compared with the market size of 1,430.4 billion yuan in 2017, the average annual compound growth rate will be 6.17%. It is estimated that the market size of China’s pharmaceutical industry in 2022 It will increase to 1,853.9 billion yuan. The rapid development of my country’s pharmaceutical industry will directly drive the growth of demand for pharmaceutical excipients.

On the other hand, domestic policy changes drive the development of the pharmaceutical excipients industry to high quality. At present, the global pharmaceutical excipients market is mainly distributed in Europe and North America. The domestic pharmaceutical excipients market started relatively late, and the relevant systems are not perfect. The proportion of production value is low. The implementation of relevant policies such as domestic generic drug consistency evaluation and drug related review and approval will promote the improvement of the quality requirements of pharmaceutical excipients, from the pursuit of low cost to high quality and high stability.

According to the forecast of Sihan Industry Research Institute, the scale of my country’s pharmaceutical auxiliary materials industry will maintain an annual growth rate of about 7% from 2020 to 2025, and is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan in 2025. As a high-quality pharmaceutical auxiliary material with stable performance, pharmaceutical-grade cellulose ether is expected to have a greater demand.

①?Pharmaceutical grade HPMC is the main raw material for the production of HPMC vegetable capsules, and the market demand has great potential

Pharmaceutical-grade HPMC is the main raw material for the production of HPMC vegetable capsules. The HPMC vegetable capsules produced have the advantages of safety and hygiene, wide applicability, no risk of cross-linking reactions, and high stability. At present, HPMC plant capsules are mainly used in the health care products industry, and the demand is concentrated in the United States, Europe, Japan and other developed countries with high economic development levels and mature health care products markets. The global health care products industry is currently showing a steady growth trend. According to Euromonitor statistics, by 2021, the global health care products industry will be worth US$273.242 billion.

Vegetable capsules are green, natural, and highly safe. They meet the medicinal preferences of environmentalists, vegetarians, and some religious believers. They can quickly penetrate in countries with a high proportion of the above-mentioned populations such as North America, Europe, and West Asia. According to statistics from Global Info Research, the global plant capsule market size is approximately US$1.184 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach US$1.585 billion in 2026. With the continuous improvement of the technical level of the industry, plant capsules will become one of the important directions for the upgrading of the hollow capsule industry in the future, and then become an important growth point for the demand for pharmaceutical grade HPMC in domestic and foreign markets.

②?Pharmaceutical grade cellulose ether is one of the key raw materials for the production of pharmaceutical sustained and controlled release preparations

Sustained and controlled release preparations are widely used in pharmaceutical production in developed countries. Sustained-release preparations can realize the effect of slow release of drug effect, while controlled-release preparations can realize the effect of controlling the release time and dose of drug effect. The sustained and controlled release preparation can keep the blood drug concentration of the user stable, eliminate the toxic and side effects caused by the peak and valley phenomenon of the blood drug concentration caused by the absorption characteristics of ordinary preparations, prolong the drug action time, reduce the number of times and dosage of the drug, and improve the efficacy of the drug. Increase the added value of medicines by a large margin. Pharmaceutical grade cellulose ether is one of the key raw materials for the production of sustained and controlled release preparations. For a long time, the core production technology of HPMC (CR grade) for controlled release preparations has been in the hands of a few internationally renowned companies. The high price has restricted the promotion and application of the product and the upgrading of my country’s pharmaceutical industry. The development of cellulose ethers for slow and controlled release is conducive to accelerating the upgrading of my country’s pharmaceutical industry and is of great significance to protecting people’s lives and health.

According to the “Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog (2019)” issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, “the development and production of new drug dosage forms, new excipients, children’s drugs, and drugs in short supply” is listed as an encouraged project. Pharmaceutical grade cellulose ether and HPMC As pharmaceutical preparations and new excipients, vegetable capsules are in line with the development direction supported by the national industrial policy.