Trump vs China biotech: who will emerge victorious in the tariff trade war?

Pacific Shuanglin Bio-pharmacy, Beijing Tiantan Biological Products and China Resources Boya Bio-pharmaceutical Group – involved in processing human blood plasma into high-value medical products – gained 10.6 to 16.6 per cent in two days after Beijing announced a matching 34 per cent “reciprocal” tariff imposed by Washington on Chinese goods.

Analysts attributed the three companies’ stand-out performance to the tariffs on US plasma products slapped by China, which relies on imports to meet demand. Blood proteins are the US’ top pharmaceutical exports to China and one of the largest chargeable items in public hospitals on the mainland, according to SWS Research, one of the largest securities research and consulting firms in China.

Albumin, which represents half of blood plasma’s total protein content, is used to treat trauma victims suffering from large blood loss, and acute kidney and liver disease. China’s demand for albumin reached 645 tonnes in 2021, 63 per cent of which was met by imports, according to a report by Insight and Info, a Beijing-based market research firm. Sales of the blood protein, which have been growing at an annual rate of 10.5 per cent since 2020, are projected to reach 42.5 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion) this year.

The main exporters of albumin from the US to China include CSL Behring, Grifols and Baxter.