Photo: VCG

Chinese drug producer Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical (Yiling Pharmaceutical) has ramped up production amid the booming demand of the company's popular Chinese herbal medicine Lianhua Qingwen in Shijiazhuang city, North China's Hebei Province, where the company's headquarter is located.

Several local pharmacies have reportedly run out of stock or are seeking to stockpile inventory amid rising demand. Meanwhile, Yiling Pharmaceutical assured the market that production capacity can be adjusted in a timely manner in responding to the consumer demand, according to the statement the company sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

Shijiazhuang municipal government pledged that it will further optimize and adjust its COVID-19 prevention and control measures while implementing the 20 measures promulgated by the government to cope with COVID resurgences.

Yiling Pharmaceutical's stock price at China's A-share market surged by its daily limit of 10 percent Tuesday morning to reach 37.76 yuan ($5.36) per share. Some other drug suppliers' stocks such as CR Sanjiu, a domestic cold medicine producer, also saw stocks jump.

An employee with Lijing pharmacy store in Shijiazhuang said Tuesday afternoon that they have just purchased another 100 boxes of Lianhua Qingwen after it ran out of stock.

"TCM medicine is very popular and many have come and buy it at almost every minute, and we cannot guarantee that there will be any available ones left tomorrow," an employee with another local pharmacy told the Global Times.

Many cold medicines have been targeted for stockpiling by the public, in addition to Lianhua Qingwen, according to media reports.

Yiling Pharmaceutical's patented Lianhua Qingwen capsules were recommended for the treatment of COVID-19 by Chinese medical authorities, making it the most frequently recommended proprietary Chinese medicine, according to media reports.

The surging demand was partially contributed to by a spike in sales during the recent 'Double 11' shopping festival, industry insiders said.

Yiling Pharmaceutical said on Tuesday that "the company does not know about the sold-out at local pharmacies," but their production plan is "production based on sales," and the production plan can be adjusted in time according to market demand to ensure supply.

Despite surging demand, the drug producer said that their sales remain normal as they have been working to increase production capacity over the past two years, and that current production capacity has been greatly improved.

The company's overseas sales of Lianhua Qingwen have also increased this year compared with the same period last year, the Global Times has learned. At present, Lianhua Qingwen has obtained registration approval or import license in 30 countries and regions around the world, according to the statement.

Global Times