Pre filled syringe, also known as pre filled syringe, is a type of syringe that integrates "drug storage" and "injection function". It directly fills drugs into the syringe on the production line, ensuring zero contact with air during drug use and completely avoiding the risk of secondary contamination of traditional penicillin bottles and ampoules during injection.

Pre filled syringe is a new type of injection with high technological content and practicality, which has the advantages of accurate administration, high drug utilization rate, safety and convenience. It is mainly used in the fields of vaccines and non final sterilized biologics.

Source: Shandong Weigao official website, compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

1、 Overview of Market Development

Thanks to its product advantages such as accurate drug administration, high drug utilization rate, and simple and convenient operation for medical staff, pre filled syringes have been widely recognized and applied in many countries around the world in recent years, and China is no exception. However, compared to developed regions abroad, pre filled syringes in China started relatively late, and in the early stages, due to foreign technological monopolies, prices remained high, limiting market expansion and relying heavily on imports. For example, upstream borosilicate glass relies heavily on imports due to its high technological threshold, limited supply of core raw materials, and expensive facility procurement and maintenance costs.

Until recent years, with the breakthrough of domestic technology and the rapid development of domestic biological products, the development momentum of pre filled syringes in China has been rapid. For example, the COC/COP new material has solved the problem of insufficient production capacity of borosilicate glass. It is understood that COC/COP is widely used in medical optical components, with advantages such as low density, low saturation water absorption, low birefringence, good elasticity, good heat resistance, and good airtightness. It not only extends the advantages of glass syringes, but also allows for mass production without being limited by imported raw materials. At present, new materials have diverse advantages and are becoming a new force in the upstream raw material industry chain. They have significant development prospects and will be an important supplement to the pre filled syringe market.

Break the bottleneck constraints of European and American countries in the field of equipment technology. In April 2021, Shandong Zibo Minkang Pharmaceutical Packaging Co., Ltd. officially put into operation the first self-developed automatic molding machine and needle loading machine for pre filled syringes, becoming the first domestic enterprise to fully realize the production equipment of pre filled syringes and replace imports. The production capacity will be increased from 60 million to 120 million, completely breaking the "bottleneck" constraints of European and American countries in the field of equipment technology.

Although the equipment has broken the foreign monopoly, overall the market for pre filled syringes in China is still in its early stages of development and has broad prospects for the future.

2、 Market Development Status

According to the "In depth Analysis and Development Prospect Forecast Report on the Current Situation of China's Pre filled Syringe Industry (2022-2029)" released by Guanyan Report Network, the biopharmaceutical industry in China has developed rapidly in recent years, with increasing demand for pre filled syringes and rapid industry growth. Data shows that the market size of pre filled syringes in China was 800 million US dollars in 2020; It is expected that the market size of pre filled syringes in China will reach 1.6 billion US dollars by 2025.

At present, the market concentration of pre filled syringes in China is relatively high, and the domestic market has formed a leading pattern, making it difficult for new enterprises to enter. The domestic pre filled syringe market is mainly occupied by several enterprises such as BD, Shandong Pharmaceutical Glass, Zibo Minkang, Weigao Co., Ltd., and Ningbo Zhengli. In recent years, Weigao Co., Ltd. has continuously seized the BD market share with high cost-effectiveness and has become a leading enterprise in the domestic market, with a market share of over 68%.

3、 Current Status of Downstream Market Development

At present, pre filled syringes in China are mainly used in fields such as biomedicine, antithrombotic drugs, medical beauty, vaccines, etc.

1. Biopharmaceuticals

In recent years, with the continuous breakthroughs in domestic biotechnology, gradual adjustment of industrial structure, and continuous increase in per capita disposable income of residents, the domestic biopharmaceutical industry has shown strong development momentum. The growth rate of the biopharmaceutical market is much faster than the overall pharmaceutical market and other segmented markets in China. It is expected that with the expansion of medical insurance coverage and the improvement of payment ability, the scale of China's biopharmaceutical market will continue to grow, and the application of pre filled syringes will also expand accordingly. Data shows that the size of China's biopharmaceutical market increased from 218.5 billion yuan in 2017 to 369.7 billion yuan in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 19.2%. It is expected that the scale of China's biopharmaceutical market will reach 518.3 billion yuan in 2022.

Data source: Frost&Sullivan, compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

2. Antithrombotic drugs

In recent years, with the intensification of population aging, changes in people's living habits, accelerated pace of life, and increased pressure, the number of patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China has been increasing year by year, which has also driven the expansion of the demand for antithrombotic drugs in the market. This has to some extent driven the development of the pre filled syringe market.

3. Medical Aesthetics

The trend of "injectable medical beauty" riding on consumer demand has brought significant demand to pre filled syringes. It is understood that the main feature of injectable gel is high viscosity, which also means that the liquid fluidity is poor. The filling system needs special design, manufacturing and control to ensure high subpackaging accuracy, achieve aseptic filtration, low transmission loss and less residual liquid. As a device with dual functions of packaging and drug delivery, the use of pre filling syringe (PFS) in the medical and aesthetic field has increased year by year with its own advantages. With the driving force of "consumption upgrading+awareness awakening" in the medical beauty market, it is expected that the pre filled packaging market will further expand in size.

The medical beauty industry, also known as medical beauty, is an industry related to cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery. It refers to the use of drugs, surgery, medical equipment, and other traumatic or irreversible medical techniques to repair and reshape the appearance and various body parts. Originating in ancient Egypt, it is an art of making appearances beautiful.

In recent years, with the development of the economy, the increase of per capita disposable income, the enhancement of purchasing power and personal medical beauty awareness, strong support has been provided for the growth of China's medical beauty market, and the scale of China's medical beauty market has grown rapidly. Data shows that from 2014 to 2020, the size of China's medical beauty market increased from 50.1 billion yuan to 179.5 billion yuan, with an annualized growth rate of about 24%, far higher than the global average of+8.9% during the same period.

Data source: Compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

Compared with surgical medical beauty services, non-surgical medical beauty methods represented by injection have the advantages of short recovery time, relatively low price and risk, and therefore have higher market acceptance and repurchase rate. Data shows that the market size of non-surgical light medical aesthetics in China has grown from 27.6 billion yuan to 123.8 billion yuan, and its market share has continued to increase, rising from 55% in 2014 to 69% in 2020, becoming the mainstream of China's medical aesthetics market. Sodium hyaluronate and botulinum toxin have become the most popular medical beauty treatments.

Data source: Compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

For example, in terms of sodium hyaluronate: Sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, which is a white granular powder with no odor. Sodium hyaluronate, as a glycosaminoglycan, is present in the extracellular matrix and cornea of various connective tissues in the human body, and is composed of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. It is also artificially extracted from the fermentation broth of chicken crowns and Streptococcus equi.

Hyaluronic acid injections can have various functions such as shaping and filling, wrinkle removal and moisturizing. Driven by the beauty economy and self pleasing consumption, the medical beauty market in China has achieved rapid development, and the future development potential of hyaluronic acid medical beauty applications is great. According to relevant data, the market size of medical beauty hyaluronic acid terminal products in China has grown from 1.21 billion yuan in 2014 to 4.76 billion yuan in 2019, with a CAGR of about 31.51%, making it the fastest-growing sub industry in the medical beauty market.

Data source: Frost Sullivan, compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

In terms of botulinum toxin: Botulinum toxin is a toxic protein secreted by Clostridium botulinum, which not only acts on striated muscles, but also on visceral muscles and cholinergic systems (such as sweat and salivary gland secretions). It can effectively remove wrinkles on the skin, as well as wrinkles caused by muscle tone disorders, hyperhidrosis, and diseases affecting the digestive and urinary systems. It is widely used in clinical and cosmetic fields.

In recent years, benefiting from the increasing demand for beauty among domestic consumers, the continuous development of injection based medical beauty services by medical beauty institutions, and the strong promotion of botulinum toxin products, the market size of botulinum toxin in China's formal channels has continued to grow. According to data, the market size of botulinum toxin in China was nearly 4 billion yuan in 2020, and it is expected to exceed 6 billion yuan in 2022, maintaining a high growth rate.

Data source: Frost Sullivan, compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

Although the scale of the legitimate channel botulinum toxin industry has continued to grow in recent years, the current market is still relatively small. This is mainly because there is a significant gap in the size and per capita consumption level of China's legitimate channel botulinum toxin market compared to the United States. Although the Chinese market reached 4.5 billion yuan in 2020, the US market had already reached 22.3 billion yuan in 2019. In addition, in terms of the proportion of botulinum toxin in non-surgical medical beauty projects, China only accounted for 33% in 2019, which is at a low level among countries in the world. It can be seen that there is still a lot of room for development in the scale of China's legitimate channel botulinum toxin industry.

4. Vaccine

Pre filled syringes are mainly used in vaccines to contain vaccines. It is understood that glass bottles used for vaccine packaging must generally have the characteristics of low temperature resistance, high quality, and high stability. This requires the use of medical glass in the packaging process of vaccine production, among which borosilicate glass is internationally recognized as a safe drug packaging material. Pre encapsulation combined with borosilicate glass can better leverage its advantages while reducing drug residue, which can significantly improve vaccine utilization for vaccine companies.

In recent years, with the increasing awareness of vaccine safety among the public, the improvement of domestic vaccine product research and production level, and the promotion of relevant favorable policies, the demand for high-quality and new vaccines with higher safety, better immunogenicity, and the ability to prevent more diseases has been growing. China's vaccines continue to grow. Data shows that the market size of China's vaccine market increased from 25.3 billion yuan in 2017 to 76 billion yuan in 2021; It is expected to reach 89.3 billion yuan in 2022 (excluding COVID-19 vaccine).

Data source: Compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

The vaccine industry in China has shown an increasing trend in batch issuance, with a total of 5704 batches issued in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 9.2%. At the same time, the overall number of vaccine batches issued in China remained at 500 million, showing a historic decline in 2021 to 136 million, a year-on-year decrease of 5.15%.

Data source: Compiled by Guanyan Tianxia

Class II vaccines tend to use pre filled syringes. In recent years, the rapid rise of second-class vaccines in China has driven an increase in the penetration rate of pre filled vaccines. Data shows that in 2020, the batch issuance of first-class vaccines in China was 348 million, and the batch issuance of second-class vaccines was 303 million, accounting for 53.46% and 46.54% of the total batch issuance of vaccines, respectively. From the changes in vaccine structure from 2013 to 2020, the rapid rise of second-class vaccines in 2020 has led to a significant increase in their proportion.

Data source: China Inspection Institute, compiled by Guanyan Tianxia (WW)

The epidemic stimulated the market expansion of COVID-19 vaccine. Since the year 2020, the COVID-19 has made countrymen people realize the importance of vaccines and improve their awareness of epidemic prevention. At present, the COVID-19 has become a serious global public health emergency, and the emergence of the variant strain of Omicron has caused the number of confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19 to surge again. Recently, the national epidemic has shown localized outbreaks and sporadic outbreaks in multiple areas, with a sharp increase in the number of deaths involving multiple regions. According to data, from January 2021 to April 2022, a total of 429 deaths have been reported in 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in China. At the beginning of the outbreak, the WHO data showed that the COVID-19 severe rate was 13.8%, and the crude case fatality rate was 3.8%. To curb the spread of the epidemic and reduce the severity or mortality rate, countries are actively developing effective epidemic prevention drugs.

Vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of severe disease and death caused by COVID-19 such as Omikron, which is one of the effective means of prevention and treatment. According to the data from the National Health Commission, as of April 28, 2022, the country has reported 3.34 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and the total number of vaccinations has reached 1.28 billion.

In the environment where the COVID-19 still exists, China is actively promoting COVID-19 vaccination to enhance personal protection against constantly mutating strains, focusing on the elderly and strengthening vaccination, and vaccination will continue. Influenced by COVID-19 vaccine, it is expected that the demand for pre filled syringes will continue to grow in the future, accounting for 50% in 2023. With the rise of high-value domestic new vaccines and consumer vaccines, the penetration rate of pre filled syringes (especially domestic pre filled syringes) is expected to continue to increase.