The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled rapid growth in the domestic bio-reagent industry, with promising prospects for the future.
Release Date:
2021-08-20 11:03
(1) Biological reagents are the core toolkit for life sciences research.
Life sciences is a discipline that investigates both phenomena and their underlying principles. With the advancement of science and technology, human understanding of life has progressively evolved from a macroscopic perspective to the microscopic level, expanding from the study of whole organisms to that of tissues, cells, and molecules. Biological reagents refer to the various chemical and biological materials used in life-science research; as consumable tools, they are extensively employed in scientific research and are characterized by a wide variety of types and large quantities. Depending on their composition and intended applications, they can be classified as follows: Protein reagents (recombinant proteins, antibodies, etc.), Molecular reagents (nucleic acids, vector enzymes, etc.), Cell-based reagents (cell lines, transfection reagents, culture media, etc.).
Source of images: Prospectuses of various companies; compiled by the Anxin Securities Research Center.
(2) Rapid Growth in the Biological Reagents Market: Global vs. China
China’s enthusiasm for life sciences research is above the global average. The life sciences industry is a strategic emerging sector that maintains strong momentum worldwide, with sustained high levels of innovation and R&D investment. According to Frost & S Sullivan, global research funding in the life sciences sector increased from 1 in 2015, Increased from US$16.6 billion to of 2019 1.51 4 US$100 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.7%. In terms of regional distribution, the United States leads in life sciences research funding, reaching US$72.9 billion in 2019, while China’s investment in life sciences research has grown at a faster pace, increasing from RMB 43.4 billion in 2015 to RMB 86.6 billion in 2019, representing a compound annual growth rate of 18.8%—significantly above the global average.
According to Frost & Sullivan Data, 2019 In China, molecular reagents accounted for 50.9% of the country’s biological research reagents this year. , with a market size of approximately RMB 6.9 billion, and the protein category accounting for 29.4%, with a market size of approximately RMB 4 billion, Cell-based products account for 20% of the market, with a market size of approximately RMB 2.7 billion.
Molecular Biological Reagents This primarily refers to the types of reagents required for experiments involving nucleic acids and small molecules. Examples include custom-designed RNA and DNA fragments, Taq DNA polymerase and UDG enzyme for PCR, reverse transcriptase, DNA exonuclease, and topoisomerases for molecular cloning and reverse transcription, as well as DNA ligase, polynucleotide kinase, and isothermal amplification enzymes used in gene sequencing.
Reagents dominated by foreign capital present significant room for import substitution. According to Frost & Sullivan In 2020, in China’s molecular biology reagent market, Thermo Fisher, Kehui Bio, and Bio-Rad Four foreign-invested enterprises collectively hold more than 40% of the market share, leaving substantial room for domestic brands to achieve import substitution. Currently, the market structure among domestic manufacturers is relatively fragmented, with the leading players including: Novozymes 、 Full-style gold 、 Yisheng Bio 、 Aibotaike 、 Kangwei Century Wait.
Protein-based biological reagents It mainly includes antibodies and recombinant proteins. Protein-based biological reagents are primarily categorized into recombinant proteins, antibodies, and other types. According to Frost & Sullivan, in 2019 the Chinese market for antibody-based biological reagents was valued at RMB 2.7 billion, accounting for 67.0% of the protein-based biological reagents market; the recombinant protein-based biological reagents market was valued at RMB 900 million, representing 21.3% of the protein-based biological reagents market; and the market for other protein-based reagents was valued at RMB 500 million, or 11.7% of the protein-based biological reagents market.
The recombinant protein market is highly fragmented. According to Frost & Sullivan, the global market for recombinant protein biological reagents grew from RMB 3.3 billion in 2015 to RMB 5.2 billion in 2019, representing a compound annual growth rate of 13.6%. During the same period, the Chinese market for recombinant protein biological reagents expanded from RMB 400 million in 2015 to RMB 1 billion in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 25.7%. From a competitive perspective, the Chinese recombinant protein biological reagents market remains highly fragmented, with foreign brands holding a relatively large share; among domestic brands, the leading players are Yiqiao Shenzhou and Bioss 。
Cell-based biological reagents Mainly includes: cells, culture media, and cytokine transfection reagents.
(3) Domestic Industry Leaders Rapid Rise: The COVID-19 Pandemic Presents a Historic Opportunity
Domestic Leading domestic players are rising rapidly, and import substitution holds promising prospects for the future. China’s bioreagent industry first took off in the 1990s; due to its relatively late start, domestic brands still lag behind their overseas counterparts. Over more than two decades of development, several Chinese bioreagent companies have experienced rapid growth, following two distinct pathways: (1) Independent-brand model: These firms begin in specific niche segments, swiftly break through core technology barriers, and in some cases even emerge as strong competitors capable of rivaling foreign brands—for example, Yiqiao Shenzhou’s protein reagents, Bio-Rad’s recombinant protein reagents, Novozymes’ high-end enzyme-related reagents, and Feipeng Biotech’s IVD raw-material reagents. (2) Platform-service model: Focused on meeting customers’ procurement needs, these companies rapidly expand their product portfolios by distributing foreign brands while simultaneously developing their own proprietary brands—for instance, Youningwei, a bioreagent platform specializing in antibodies, and Titan Technology, a one-stop research-service platform. We believe that as China’s life-science industry places increasingly stringent demands on the upstream supply chain, domestic bioreagents are poised to gradually replace imported brands and expand the market share of本土 brands.
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