Artemisinin

Globally, malaria still causes millions of infection cases every year, and the clinical demand for antimalarial treatment remains rigid. Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone antimalarial drug extracted from Artemisia annua L., a plant of the Compositae family. It generates free radicals through the cleavage of its endoperoxide bridge structure, which acts on the membrane system structure of Plasmodium, destroys its vacuolar membrane, nuclear membrane and plasma membrane, and finally kills the asexual forms of Plasmodium in the erythrocytic stage. This component has significant efficacy against vivax malaria and falciparum malaria, especially infections caused by chloroquine-resistant strains. It is the core component of the artemisinin-based combination therapy recommended by the WHO, and is applicable to malaria cases of all age groups, including pregnant women and children with severe malaria.

At present, the global market size of artemisinin-based drugs is growing steadily. In 2023, the market size has exceeded 2.8 billion US dollars, with a compound annual growth rate maintained at around 4.7%. China is the world's largest supplier of artemisinin raw materials, accounting for more than 90% of the global total output. The upstream raw material supply is concentrated in the main producing areas of Artemisia annua L. such as Guangxi, Yunnan and Chongqing. On the preparation side, in addition to the original research enterprise, a number of generic drug enterprises have obtained WHO prequalification, and their products are mainly supplied to high malaria incidence areas such as Africa and Southeast Asia. Public procurement accounts for more than 75% of the overall market share.

The original research enterprise of artemisinin is the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. The team led by Tu Youyou took the lead in completing its extraction and efficacy verification. The first approved relevant preparation is sold under the trade name "Artemisinin Tablets". The relevant research results of the core compound were first published publicly in 1977 and have entered the public domain. At present, the artemisinin-related dosage forms already marketed in China include tablets, suppositories and injections, with common specifications of 50mg, 100mg, 200mg, etc. A number of artemisinin-based preparations have been included in the Chinese National Essential Medicines List. More than 30 artemisinin active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) have completed registration (Status A) at the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) in China, and there are more than 180 approval numbers for supporting preparations. (Data as of July 2025, please refer to the official CDE website for the latest information)

In response to the demand for quality control and compliance R&D of artemisinin, CATO provides a full set of impurity reference standards for this API, covering all research dimensions such as process impurities and degradation impurities. Most products are available in stock, and orders placed before 16:00 can be shipped on the same day. All reference standards meet the requirements of multiple regulatory systems such as Chinese Pharmacopoeia and FDA, and can fully meet the use needs of pharmaceutical enterprises in different scenarios such as registration and declaration, and quality release.