The Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation (AMR) bureau has once again reprimanded SHP No.1 Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (SPH; HKG: 2607; SHA: 601607), for monopolistic pricing practices, this time concerning the injection product polymyxin B sulfate. The Chinese company has pledged to reduce the online procurement price of the drug from RMB 270 to RMB 123 and ensure supply security.
SHP No.1 Bio’s exclusive version of polymyxin B sulfate is utilized in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections, including urinary tract, meninges, and bloodstream infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
In the first half of 2023, the State Anti-Monopoly Bureau (SAMR) found that SHP No.1 Bio had conspired with three other companies—Wuhan Healcare Pharma, Wuhan Kede Pharma, and Hubei Minkang Pharma—to inflate the cost of drug raw materials by hundreds of times. This led to an unreasonable price increase of polymyxin sulfate B injection to over RMB 2,303 per dose, significantly higher than in overseas markets. The drug generated RMB 4 billion in sales within five years. Following the first interview by the National Healthcare Security Administration in June 2023, which requested a price reduction to RMB 270 from RMB 2,303-2,918 per piece, the company was fined RMB 1.219 billion by Shanghai’s AMR bureau in December 2023.- Flcube.com
