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Great Wall Net • Hebei Cloud Client | Private Enterprise Power • At the Dawn of a New Era: Shijiazhuang No. 4 Pharmaceutical—Pursuing “New” Initiatives and Chasing the Dream of “China’s Best Medicines”

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发布时间：2025-04-10

【概要描述】 On a spring day in Shijiazhuang, sunlight streams through the Venetian blinds into the laboratories of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group. On the lab benches, rows of test tubes refract a glistening halo, as researchers meticulously operate instruments and record analytical data.

Great Wall Net • Hebei Cloud Client | Private Enterprise Power • At the Dawn of a New Era: Shijiazhuang No. 4 Pharmaceutical—Pursuing “New” Initiatives and Chasing the Dream of “China’s Best Medicines”

In springtime, the sun streams through the Venetian blinds into the laboratories of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group. On the lab benches, rows of test tubes refract a glistening halo, as researchers meticulously operate their instruments and record analytical data.

On March 24, good news arrived: the company’s new pediatric formulation—a broad-spectrum triazole antifungal, voriconazole dry suspension—has received registration approval from the National Medical Products Administration and is deemed to have passed the consistency evaluation. This marks the 15th new-product registration approval that Shijiazhuang No. 4 Pharmaceutical Group has secured so far this year.

“This is a new broad-spectrum antifungal medication, giving children a safer treatment option!” said Ding Lixiu, Deputy Director of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute at Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group, her excitement evident. This innovative product, which has been included on the National List of Pediatric Drugs Encouraged for Research and Development, took only two years from project initiation to approval. “Previously available oral formulations were in the form of relatively large tablets, which were difficult for children to swallow. With the development of a dry suspension, not only is it more convenient to administer, but the drug’s efficacy is also improved and side effects are reduced. Most importantly, the price has dropped significantly, easing the financial burden on patients,” Ding Lixiu noted.

At this very moment, the first batch of voriconazole dry suspension is about to enter production, and soon this new “Made in Shijiazhuang” product will be shipped nationwide.

Private enterprises are making significant contributions, their strides resounding.

Currently, Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group has more than 200 new products in development, with high-end complex formulations, improved new drugs, and innovative drug projects accounting for nearly 30% of the pipeline.

New products are springing up like mushrooms after a rain, revealing the secret to the development of private enterprises: a robust pulse of innovation and the favorable winds of supportive policies.

“By the end of 2023, our city’s biopharmaceutical industry had already ascended to a new milestone as a cluster exceeding RMB 100 billion in scale, and in 2024 it has achieved further breakthroughs. To keep pace with the industry’s development, enterprises must remain steadfast in their commitment to innovation and make proactive, strategic moves to secure a competitive edge,” said Qu Jiguang, Chairman of the Board of Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group.

At the AI-driven drug discovery studio, Li Yuan, Deputy Director of the Innovation Department at the R&D Center of Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group, is reviewing the latest AI-based drug-screening data on her computer. “Thanks to the introduction of AI technology, we’ve been able to screen more than 100 novel compounds from a library containing hundreds of millions of chemical entities in just over a month—something that would have taken at least two to three years in the past,” Li Yuan says. The adoption and application of AI have accelerated the translation of the company’s innovative research outcomes into tangible products and solutions.

Stepping into the 312 Digital and Intelligent Infusion Production Workshop of Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group, one sees robotic arms deftly maneuvering and flipping components. From compounding and filling to light inspection, the entire production process is fully automated and controlled by an integrated system. The workshop is equipped with state-of-the-art digital machinery, and with the support of artificial intelligence, it can now produce approximately 4 million large-volume infusion bottles per day—a fourfold increase in production efficiency. In the workshop’s inspection area, a fully automated light-inspection machine screens infusion bottles and bags for defects at intervals of just 0.15 seconds. “In the past, relying on manual inspection, we could examine only 10 to 15 bottles or bags per minute; today, with the light-inspection machine, we can inspect as many as 400,” says a technician. On the large display in the central control room, the data stream from the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) flickers like a constellation of stars. Yang Yi, Manager of the Quality Management Department at Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group, then presents to reporters the “21235” risk-management model—based on parameter-based release—that has been selected as a typical case by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In December 2024, the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Development Center of Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group was completed and put into operation, while Construction is in full swing on Industrial Park No. 1 of the Hebei Guolong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Demonstration Project for Integrated and Innovative Pharmaceutical Development under Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group.

Each innovative achievement and every step of progress would be impossible without a comprehensive package of policies and measures supporting the development of the private sector. In 2024 alone, the policy on additional tax deductions for R&D expenses resulted in corporate income tax reductions exceeding RMB 40 million for Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group. Thanks to these supportive policies, the group has further strengthened the development of its innovation platforms, including the National Enterprise Technology Center and the National–Local Joint Engineering Laboratory, while continuously increasing its investment in research and development—R&D spending now accounts for nearly 10% of sales revenue. These initiatives have driven the transformation and upgrading of Shijiazhuang Sihua’s product portfolio and marked a new stage in its R&D efforts: shifting from generic drug development toward original, breakthrough innovation. This year’s Two Sessions have sent a strong signal of continued support for the growth and expansion of the private sector, bolstering Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group’s resolve to harness new-quality productivity as the engine for momentum, growth, and profitability.

The “Innovation Roadmap” for 2025 is gradually unfolding. “We will continuously elevate our innovation capabilities and accelerate the strategic planning and development of innovative drugs, improved new drugs, specialized high-end formulations, and novel active pharmaceutical ingredients,” said Qu Jiguang. He added that Shijiazhuang Sihua Pharmaceutical Group has already secured approval for more new products this year than during the same period last year. Leveraging its strengths in injectable formulation R&D, the group is vigorously advancing the development of over 20 cutting-edge intravenous infusion products, including dual-chamber bags and triple-chamber bags; once these new products enter production, they will fill critical gaps at both the provincial and national levels.

“We will maintain the momentum of our ‘accelerated sprint,’ continuously leveraging innovative development to drive high-quality growth in Shijiazhuang’s biopharmaceutical industry and further enhance the ‘Good Chinese Medicines Made in Shijiazhuang’ brand,” said Qu Jiguang. He added that the company will harness “hardcore” technology and a deep commitment to industrial practice to deliver on the vision of a “Healthy China” for the new era.

(Reprinted from Great Wall Net·Hebei Cloud Client)

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