Tracing the development and transformation of Shanghai Xinhanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Chenpon Pharmaceutical, is like looking out at a river where the main and tributary streams converge, meandering and flowing endlessly.
In 1923, Huang Chujiu, known as a pioneer of the Chinese Western medicine industry, founded Jiufu Pharmaceutical Company at No. 710 Aido Road (now Yan'an West Road) in Shanghai. In 1927, Jiufu Company built a factory and added equipment at No. 250 Baike Road (now Fengyang Road), reorganizing into Jiufu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. In 1931, it was renamed Jiufu Chemical Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The "Bailingji" and "Buliduo" products produced by Jiufu at that time were famous, and even today, you can find old packaging and advertisements on used book websites. The "Lekoufu" malted milk, which continued to be produced after the liberation, has become an indelible childhood memory for several generations.
(Shanghai Business Directory, 1940s)
In 1951, Jiufu Company transitioned to a public-private partnership, and over the following years, between nine to twenty-one pharmaceutical companies gradually merged into it. By 1961, the company had developed into a professional tablet manufacturing plant. In 1964, it was renamed Shanghai Huanghe Pharmaceutical Factory. In 1965, Huanghe Pharmaceutical Factory's "Four Eliminations and One Guarantee" quality management experience (eliminating mixed drugs, foreign objects, errors, batch rework returns, and ensuring no substandard products leave the factory) was promoted by the China Pharmaceutical Industry Company to the national pharmaceutical industry. Since the 1960s, the tablet output of Shanghai Huanghe Pharmaceutical Factory has consistently ranked among the top, reaching 11 billion tablets by the late 1970s, the highest in the country. With the development and reform of the national pharmaceutical industry, the company underwent multiple ownership changes and renamings and is now known as the Second Pharmaceutical Factory of Shanghai Shangyao Xinyi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
(Front Gate of Shanghai Huanghe Pharmaceutical Factory, 1970s)
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Second Pharmaceutical Factory of Shanghai Xinyi Pharmaceutical established joint ventures with local entities, setting up the Qingpu Zhaoxiang Branch (Shanghai Xinyi Jiufu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) and the Songjiang Xinqiao First Branch (Shanghai Xinyi Huanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Shanghai Xinhanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.).
In 1992, Shanghai Xinyi Huanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and the U.S. company Syntex formed Shanghai Syntex Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., with products entering Hong Kong and other markets. After the cooperation ended, the company reverted to its original name.
In 2014, Chenpon Pharmaceutical acquired Shanghai Xinyi Huanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and the company was renamed to its current name, Shanghai Xinhanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Xinhanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has continually developed and introduced new products based on its existing range of vitamin products, now holding over 40 drug production licenses.
In 2023, a brand new formulation production line facility was completed for Shanghai Xinhanghe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., signifying a new height in the company's production capacity and quality control standards. Tackling the challenging dry powder inhalation formulations will become a new engine driving the company's future development.
The development path of a company is both a reflection of the historical tide of social change and industrial transformation and a testament to individual perseverance and innovative creation. "Understanding history to seek wisdom and inspire the future" might be the significance of reviewing this history.
