Bank of America Securities: Mainland China's drug sales growth rate in October slowed significantly from the previous month.

Bank of America Securities released a research report stating that in October, the total sample drug sales in the mainland pharmaceutical industry decreased by 3% year-on-year, a significant drop from the 6.8% year-on-year growth in September. Hospital channel sales declined by 3.3% year-on-year, compared to a previous growth of 7.1%. Retail channel monthly sales in October were basically flat year-on-year, significantly slower than the 2.4% year-on-year growth in September. The report pointed out that in October, HANSOH PHARMA (03692) recorded the highest year-on-year growth among its peers, at 8.6% in October. Most of HANSOH PHARMA's key products saw double-digit growth in October, except for PEG-loxenatide. The "buy" rating was maintained with a target price of HK$45. The report also mentioned that Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (01276) faced pressure on multiple key products in October. The total sample sales in October increased by 2% year-on-year. Among them, butorphanol / ioversol / sevoflurane decreased by 49.1%, 0.5%, and 10.8% year-on-year respectively. Sales of rezvilutamide / henagliflozin increased by 92.5% and 155.2% year-on-year. The "underperform the market" rating was maintained with a target price of RMB 57.7 for Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (600276.SH) A shares. Regarding SINO BIOPHARM (01177), the report noted that the performance of its product portfolio in October was mixed. Sales of core products such as anlotinib/glycyrrhizicacid increased by 6.5% and 4.4% month-on-month. However, sales of budesonide/esomeprazole decreased by 28.5% and 39.4% month-on-month, and decreased by 22.6% and 28.8% in the first ten months of the year. Based on sales performance, the bank lowered the sales forecast for some products affected by VBP starting in 2026, and reduced revenue forecasts for 2026 and 2027 by 0.2% and 0.4% respectively. The target price was lowered from HK$9.4 to HK$8.3, and reiterated a "buy" rating based on the huge potential of its pipeline products. Additionally, the report mentioned that CSPC PHARMA (01093) experienced continued weak sales of multiple key drugs in October. The "underperform the market" rating was maintained with a target price of HK$7.2.