The flu virus "siege" has prompted Chinese traditional medicine companies such as Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical (600557.SH) and Hainan Huluwa Pharmaceutical Group (605199.SH) to search for "new solutions".

This winter is "not peaceful". Due to the simultaneous outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, COVID-19, and influenza across the country, with cases showing a trend of viral superimposition and younger age, medical experts point out that this is likely one of the most complex respiratory infections seasons in China in over a decade. How to effectively respond to this health crisis and ensure the health and safety of the public is not only a challenge for the public health system, but also brings potential growth opportunities for the pharmaceutical supply chain. Currently, in the A-share market, companies that can provide treatment drugs and testing tools for Mycoplasma pneumoniae have received widespread attention from investors, including Harbin Pharmaceutical Group (600664.SH), Teyi Pharmaceutical Group (002728.SZ), Luoxin Pharmaceuticals Group Stock (002793.SZ), etc., which have disclosed the production and sales of related drugs. A worrying phenomenon is that there are few drug options suitable for children in the treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and there has been a general problem of drug resistance. Many treatment plans and guidelines recommend a combination of Chinese and Western medicine, but according to observations by reporters, there are very few Chinese medicines that have been confirmed to be effective in treating Mycoplasma pneumoniae through evidence-based medicine, with only a few companies, such as Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical (600557.SH), explicitly obtaining research results. However, this has also prompted relevant pharmaceutical companies to increase their research investment in this field, which may lead to improvements in this situation. It is once again the "peak season" for Mycoplasma pneumoniae Based on the experience of European and American countries, the first flu season after the lifting of epidemic control measures will be accompanied by the outbreak of respiratory infectious diseases. Currently, the situation in various parts of China has confirmed this. The recent warning information released by various disease control centers shows that children's hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, and other places are operating at full capacity. Topics related to the main symptoms of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and how to prevent it have also been trending. What is different from previous years is that this year, multiple viruses such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, COVID-19, and influenza are simultaneously spreading, and there have been many cases of mixed infections. The new influenza vaccine vaccination technical guide, which was previously released, pointed out that this winter and spring, China may face the risk of the simultaneous or co-epidemic of multiple respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza, COVID-19, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. At a press conference held by the National Health Commission on November 13, Tong Zhaohui, the director of the Beijing Institute of Respiratory Diseases, said that Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the main pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia in children aged 5 and above in China. In this year's outbreak, children aged 3 and below have also been infected, showing a trend of younger age. Some medical experts believe that the outbreak of respiratory infections such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae may be related to the "immunity gap" caused by recent epidemics. Three years of epidemic prevention measures have reduced people's chances of infection but also brought certain risks: when the lockdown is lifted at the beginning of 2022 and normal social activities are resumed, the transmission chain of infectious diseases will be rebuilt, which will increase the immunity gap against pathogens. Currently, the first-line drug for treating Mycoplasma pneumoniae is macrolide antibiotics, such as azithromycin and roxithromycin. These drugs are widely used due to their strong specificity. In addition, quinolone antibiotics (such as levofloxacin) and tetracycline antibiotics (such as minocycline and doxycycline) are also effective choices for treating Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Combining Chinese and Western medicine treatment strategies to alleviate the shortage of children's medicines crisis? Due to the increase in cases of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, sales of related treatment drugs have also risen. Taking azithromycin as an example, as of the end of November, the daily sales of azithromycin in national retail pharmacies monitored by Zhongkang Ling Database increased by 275% compared to the same period last year. Currently, azithromycin oral liquid has been included in the ninth batch of centralized procurement list. This phenomenon has also attracted widespread attention from investors, and some listed companies have responded in announcements or investor platforms, revealing their layout of related drugs. Harbin Pharmaceutical Group stated in its performance briefing that the company's products in production and sales for the treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae include clarithromycin dispersible tablets, roxithromycin dispersible tablets, and lactose arachidonic acid erythromycin for injection. Specific medication needs to be prescribed by a doctor. In addition, Teyi Pharmaceutical Group responded to investors, stating that the company is currently producing and selling erythromycin enteric-coated tablets, erythromycin ethylsuccinate tablets, roxithromycin capsules, and azithromycin granules for the treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Yu Yunsong, Deputy Director of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital and an expert in infectious diseases, said in an interview, "The resistance to azithromycin has always been high. In our country, the rate of Mycoplasma pneumoniae resistance to azithromycin in children's patients is between 60% and 90% in most regions, with regional differences in different parts of the country. Mycoplasma pneumoniae isolated from children in our country is one of the countries with relatively high azithromycin resistance." According to public information, this year, it is extremely rare for listed companies to disclose in announcements that their Chinese medicine products have a therapeutic effect on Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Therefore, on December 7, Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical's disclosure of the completion of the "Randomized, Double-blind, Three-arm, Parallel-Controlled, Multi-center Clinical Study of Jinzhen Oral Liquid Combined with Azithromycin (Shishumei) for the Treatment of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae in Children" attracted widespread attention from the market. According to the announcement, this study was jointly conducted by 11 medical institutions, including the First Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Jiangsu Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, from November 2018 to November 2023. A total of 206 cases were enrolled in the study. The results showed that different doses of Jinzhen oral liquid combined with azithromycin (Shishumei) for the treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children showed a significant effect in shortening the course of the disease and improving the condition, with significant clinical benefits and good safety. It is understood that Jinzhen oral liquid is a new children's Chinese medicine developed by Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical. It is composed of goat horn and flat licorice.Huang Qin, Da Huang, and other eight herbal medicines are used to make the Jinzhen Oral Liquid. It has the functions of clearing away heat and toxins, and relieving cough and phlegm. As an exclusive basic medicine, the sales of Jinzhen Oral Liquid reached 1 billion yuan for the first time in 2022, accounting for 22% of Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical's total revenue that year. Last year, Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical also promoted the clinical study of Jinzhen Oral Liquid on multi-center children infected with the novel coronavirus.In addition, Hainan Huluwa Pharmaceutical Group (605199.SH) stated on the investor interaction platform that their pediatric pulmonary hot cough and asthma granules (4g) have been recommended as one of the drugs for treating pediatric mycoplasma pneumonia by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association's series of journals, "Modern Drugs and Clinical" as well as "Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Mycoplasma Pneumonia by Integrating Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (2017 Edition)". The fight against mycoplasma pneumonia and other viral infections highlights the importance of pharmaceutical companies' investment in research and development. According to Wind data statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, among listed traditional Chinese medicine companies, Kunming Longjin Pharmaceutical (002750.SZ), Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical, and Chengdu Kanghong Pharmaceutical Group (002773.SZ) ranked top three in terms of research and development expenses as a percentage of operating income, with percentages of 17.96%, 14.59%, and 8.62% respectively. Among them, Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical has the highest total research and development expenses of 510 million yuan. Some pharmaceutical industry analysts have stated that in the current medical challenges, in order to adapt to constantly changing clinical situations, pharmaceutical companies not only need to develop new drugs and vaccines to directly combat viruses, but also need to further research on and improve existing treatment methods for marketed drugs. This will help more effectively respond to public health crises.