China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) reports that at the end of 2007 there were 6,913 pharmaceutical companies in the country, including 4,682 active pharmaceutical ingredient and preparation manufacturers. The Chinese pharmaceutical market is composed of seven subindustries: “Chinese patent medicines, prepared slices of Chinese crude drugs, bulk chemical drug substances, chemical drug preparations, biologicals, medical devices and hygienic materials.” In 2007, the market’s output value rose 33% to CNY$667.9 billion ($97.767 billion). From 1998 to 2007, pharmaceutical exports grew from $3.4 billion to $24.6 billion, and imports rose from $1.5 billion to $14.0 billion. To date, 27 nonclinical drug research institutions have obtained good lab practices certification. At the end of 2007, 178 good clinical practice–certified institutions existed. In 2007, the market for traditional Chinese medicines rose 24% to nearly $26 million to represent close to 27% of the country’s pharmaceutical output.

Source: SFDA