The Valsartan Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) market commenced in 2023 on a healthy note as demand from end-user drugmakers gradually increased. Valsartan is widely employed in the production of various drugs that can be used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. It has already been seen that heart failure cases are growing around the world at an alarming rate. To reduce the chance of death from heart failure, major market players from the pharmaceutical sector are continuously researching and investing in R&D to innovate new drugs by utilizing the Valsartan API. Similarly, industry behemoths such as Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Glenmark) and Lupin Limited in India have recently launched Sacubitril + Valsartan tablets, paving the way for more affordable treatment of heart failure. In response to all this, the demand for Valsartan API has increased in the global market, which in turn has resulted in rising prices for this API.

China, the world's largest producer of Valsartan API, raised prices in January 2023 in response to rising demand from the downstream pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. The inventories of Valsartan API were in shortage in the first few weeks of January, due to which the Valsartan supply was inadequate to meet the needs of the consumer. The manufacturing activities in China had already been hampered in the fourth quarter of 2022 due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases at the end of October. After returning from the Spring Festival, the manufacturers resumed their production and enhanced their prices to keep their profit margins in line. Moreover, demand from the domestic and international markets also gained momentum after the vacation, resulting in an increment of 2.5% in the price of Valsartan API during January 2023.

Similarly, the prices of Valsartan API in the USA, Germany, and India also followed an upward trend at the end of January as the distributors and suppliers from these countries had faced high price quotations for Valsartan from the major exporting country, i.e., China. Along with this, traders had to place bulk orders in view of rising demand from downstream producers as the consumption of Valsartan API in producing finished drugs has increased. Among all other countries, German buyers have encountered the costliest import from China as the Chinese currency gained against the US dollar, appreciating nearly 3% in January alone.

According to the ChemAnalyst team, Valsartan API’s prices are anticipated to increase in the upcoming month in expectation of increasing demand from drugmakers. Additionally, dealers are suggested to examine fluctuations in the supply and demand outlook.