Full-chain landscape of the biopharma and life-health industry
Full-Chain Landscape Series: Biopharma and Life-Health Industry Chain — Full Landscape. 24 key segments | 161 major companies | latest 2025 data.
Biopharma and life-health is a strategic emerging industry tied to the national economy and people's livelihood. At one end it connects the manufacturing base of APIs, reagents and consumables, and pharmaceutical equipment; at the other it connects the demand end of medical services, health management, and digital health. The chain has a three-part structure: upstream raw materials, reagents, and R&D services — midstream drug and device manufacturing — downstream distribution services and health consumption. Drawing on data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the China Pharmaceutical Industry Association, and listed-company annual reports, this piece lays out the overall picture, 24 key segments, 161 major companies, and the spatial layout.
I. Overall picture of China's biopharma and life-health industry chain
Overall picture. Biopharma and life-health is an industrial system centered on chemical drugs, biologics, traditional Chinese medicine, vaccines and blood products, and medical devices, extended by R&D outsourcing and health services. Upstream: chemical APIs and intermediates, Chinese medicinal materials and decoction pieces, biological reagents and diagnostic raw materials, culture media and consumables, pharmaceutical equipment, pharmaceutical excipients and packaging, life-science instruments and lab animals, drug discovery and preclinical services, and AI drug-discovery platforms. Midstream: innovative chemical drugs, biologics, cell and gene therapy, vaccines and blood products, traditional Chinese medicine, high-end formulations, in vitro diagnostics, implantable/interventional devices, and biomanufacturing. Downstream: pharmaceutical distribution, medical services, pharmaceutical retail, physical exams and rehabilitation, medical-aesthetics consumption, and digital health.
Scale. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025 China's pharmaceutical manufacturing above-scale enterprises posted revenue of 2,487.0 billion yuan and profit of 349.0 billion yuan, with 9,875 above-scale enterprises. The China Pharmaceutical Industry Association's full-caliber pharmaceutical industry revenue was 2,956.25 billion yuan, with export delivery value of 404.24 billion yuan, up 9.8%. Among sub-sectors, biological products was the only segment with both revenue and profit growth: revenue up 7.5% and profit up 37.9%. In 2025 the innovative-drug market was about 740 billion yuan, up 34.5%; cell and gene therapy about 95 billion yuan, up 42.3%; biologics about 710.2 billion yuan. Total pharmaceutical import-export was 201.72 billion USD, with exports of 111.34 billion USD.
Enterprise cultivation and support. China has formed an echelon of "central SOE platforms + innovative pharma companies + specialized and sophisticated SMEs." By the end of 2025 there were 17,600 national-level specialized and sophisticated "little giants" and 1,862 manufacturing single champions, with over 1,000 "little giants" in biopharma. The A-share pharmaceutical and biotech sector had 499 listed companies with total market cap of 6.78 trillion yuan; Hong Kong's 18A had 90 cumulative listings with market cap of 1.33 trillion HKD. The 2025 top 100 pharmaceutical industrials had combined revenue of 1,000.22 billion yuan, with an entry threshold of 3 billion yuan; Jiangsu led with 17 companies.
Policy. The 2021 "14th Five-Year Plan for Pharmaceutical Industry Development" and the 2022 "14th Five-Year Plan for Bioeconomy Development" set the industry path; in 2024 the State Council Office's "Implementation Plan for Full-Chain Support of Innovative Drug Development" and "Opinions on Comprehensively Deepening Drug and Medical Device Regulatory Reform to Promote High-Quality Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry" opened up the full chain of R&D, review, and payment; in 2025 the medical insurance catalog added 114 drugs, and the first commercial insurance innovative-drug catalog included 19 high-value innovative drugs; in October 2025 the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee listed biomanufacturing as a new growth point; and the 2026 Government Work Report for the first time listed biopharma as an emerging pillar industry.
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