The so-called raw material drug is the most important active ingredient in the drug. Take a simple aspirin as an example, acetylsalicylic acid is synthesized by chemical industry, and then purified to the specified purity. This process is the production process of the raw material drug. If the synthetic acetylsalicylic acid is added with various excipients, such as fillers, binders, disintegrants, etc., and then pressed into tablets, it is called a preparation.

　　The production of raw materials is generally either pure chemical synthesis, or biological fermentation, or semi-synthetic, first biological fermentation and then synthesis after extraction.

　　Not all pharmaceutical companies make their own raw materials, and many manufacturers do not have the scale to produce raw materials. Even if they have large-scale production, the cost of production may be much higher than that of procurement. Therefore, most manufacturers buy raw materials and then make preparations, so that the production of drugs can be completed without a large scale.

　　At present, China and India are already the two largest producers of raw materials in the world. Many European and American pharmaceutical companies, even if some are their own original drugs, will give up the production of raw materials as the patent expires and the market matures. And purchase raw materials from China and India.