Discover Anesthetic Sevoflurane Market

The suspect in the movie Detective Chinatown 2 committed crimes by repeatedly using the mysterious anesthetic—sevoflurane. I have unlocked the mysteries of this mysterious drug here after research.

Fig. 1 Structure of Sevoflurane

Structure of sevoflurane is as shown in Fig. 1, which is so named because there are seven fluorine atoms in the molecule thereof. Sevoflurane is an efficient general inhalational anesthetic which the criminal in the said movie used repeatedly to successfully commit crimes, showing its good anesthetic effect.

Table I Current Market Layout of Sevoflurane in China

The market layout of sevoflurane in China is as shown in Table I. There are seven approval numbers for the sevoflurane products currently marketed, including four approval numbers of Chinese-produced sevoflurane, separately of the Sevoflurane under Jiangsu Shengdi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Shandong New Time Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Sevoflurane for Inhalation under Lunan Better Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Hengrui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; three approval numbers of imported sevoflurane, separately of Ultane under Aesica Queenborough Limited, Sevofrane under Aesica Queenborough Limited, and QiFuMei under Baxter Healthcare of Puerto Rico.

In terms of the sevoflurane market shares in China, Hengrui Pharmaceutical and Japan Maruishi have the largest market shares, especially Hengrui Pharmaceutical has been accounting for more than a half of the sevoflurane market in China in recent years, followed by the Sevoflurane for Inhalation under Lunan Better Pharmaceutical, which has very torrid market growth.

In terms of the contribution to the overall anesthetic market of China, sevoflurane makes significant contributions, of which the market shares are second only to Propofol, ranking second. And the anesthetics with big market shares also include remifentanil, sufentanil, and ropivacaine, etc.

Propofol, the anesthetic with the largest market shares in China, is an alkylphenol short-acting general anesthetic first developed by AstraZeneca and first marketed in the U.S. as approved by FDA in 1989. It is widely applied in clinical surgeries with anesthesia thanks to the quick acting and rapid recovery, etc. Propofol entered the Chinese market in 1996 and is now listed in the National Essential Drugs List of China. From the perspective of market shares, the Propofol market in China is mainly occupied by imported products, including AstraZeneca’s Diprivan, and Fresenius Kabi’s Injection and Medium and Long Chain Fat Emulsion Injection Jing’an. Chinese enterprises approved to produce Propofol include: Xi’an Libang Pharmaceutical, Sichuan Guorui Pharmaceutical, Guangdong Jiabo Pharmaceutical, and Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical.

Second only to sevoflurane in terms of market shares in China, remifentanil and sufentanil are fentanyl anesthetics which have rapid growth on the anesthetic market of China in recent years. Remifentanil and sufentanil are mainly sold by Humanwell Healthcare in China, which dominates in the market shares.

From the perspective of companies, Humanwell Healthcare has the highest shares on the anesthetic market of China, featuring remifentanil and sufentanil; followed by Nhwa Pharmaceutical, featuring etomidate and midazolam; then followed by Hengrui Pharmaceutical, featuring sevoflurane, and the M6G and remimazolam tosylate to be marketed soon.

The demand for anesthetics has continued to rise with the increase of various surgeries in China. According to an expert, the anesthetic market of China has exceeded RMB 10 billion. The anesthetic manufacturers, to get more market shares in such a big pharmaceutical area, all have made large efforts. We can be sure that the competition on the anesthetic market of China will become fiercer in the future.

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