Zhitong Finance App learned that on October 7, Huadong Pharmaceutical (000963.SZ) released news that its wholly-owned subsidiary Huadong Pharmaceutical (Guizhou) Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., the exclusive variety Jukeling spray, was simultaneously included in the “Expert Consensus on Stepping Knee Osteoarthritis (2026 Revision)” and the “Non-Surgical Treatment Guidelines for Chronic Joint Pain (2026 Edition)”. The clinical value of topical use of herbal medicine has been unanimously certified by experts, and the evidence-based medical evidence has been further consolidated.
Gumkeling spray is the only prescription drug/ OTC proprietary Chinese medicine spray approved in China. It has been marketed and sold for more than 20 years. This time, it has received two authoritative guidelines/consensus recommendations, which are not only a concentrated expression of long-term evidence-based product accumulation, but also an important footnote for Huadong Pharmaceutical to continue to consolidate its topical formulation platform and improve its innovative product matrix.
Two authoritative guidelines/consensus certifications, and the evidence-based value of topical use of medicinal herbs has been recognized by authorities
Bone and joint diseases and chronic pain are public health problems with a huge number of patients and a heavy burden of disease in our country. According to data released by China's National Health Commission, the overall prevalence of osteoarthritis in China has reached 15%, and it is conservatively estimated that there are more than 100 million patients. According to the “Report on the Development of Pain Medicine in China (2020)”, the number of chronic pain patients in China has exceeded 300 million, and the number is growing by 10 million to 20 million every year. Pain has become the third largest health problem after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and tumors.
Gumkeling spray is derived from traditional Miao wound treatment and is a classic ethnic traumatology medication. The drug formulation selected Guizhou Plateau's native seedling medicine, combined with ten flavor medicinal herbs, and incorporated the three Miao medicinal herbs used to treat wounds. The original medicine embodies Miao medicine's unique wound treatment theory -- balancing blood activation and clean-up; the application direction in Miao medicine is “lift Shekai, Spin Guan, Laochong, and Kaidou”, which corresponds to the category of traditional Chinese medicine, that is, to clear heat and cool blood, activate blood circulation, and relieve swelling and pain.
The “Expert Consensus on Step Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis (2026 Revision)” is led by the Joint Surgery Group of the Orthopedic Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and co-formulated by the Arthrology Group of the Orthopedic Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association. It is an important update 8 years after the first edition was released in 2018. The new version of the consensus is based on the latest developments in the field of diagnosis and treatment of knee osteoarthritis in recent years, refers to the latest diagnosis and treatment guidelines at home and abroad, follows scientific, practical and advanced principles, further regulates the clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine, incorporates specific proprietary Chinese medicines and clinical evidence-based evidence into the consensus, and promotes evidence-based clinical use of bone and joint diseases. In an overview of the evidence in the recommendation that “topical external use and oral traditional Chinese medicine can relieve knee osteoarthritis pain and improve knee function”, Jukeling spray received an authoritative recommendation.
The “Guidelines for Non-surgical Treatment of Chronic Joint Pain (2026 Edition)” released at the same time was jointly formulated by the Bone and Joint Branch of the China Geriatric Health Association with more than 90 senior domestic experts in the field of chronic pain. Combining the latest evidence-based medical evidence and clinical experience, it proposes a safe and reasonable non-surgical management plan for chronic pain in large joints of the limbs such as shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle. The guidelines classify chronic joint pain into the category of “bone palsy” and “paralysis” in traditional Chinese medicine. It is divided into four types of symptoms: rheumatic fever paralysis, hemorrhagic fever block, and renal myelopathy. Gumkeling spray is listed as the only recommended proprietary Chinese medicine for rheumatic fever palsy, and is also recommended for external use for hemorrhagic stasis.
This time, Colin was recommended by authoritative guidelines/consensus, which means that its clinical value and evidence-based evidence have been recognized, providing an authoritative basis for its standardized application in the stepwise treatment of knee osteoarthritis and non-surgical management of chronic joint pain. For Huadong Pharmaceutical, this will strongly consolidate the evidence-based medical evidence chain that harms Keling spray, enhance the clinical value and market competitiveness of the product, rely on a perfect marketing network and professional pharmacy service teams, accelerate the coverage of internal and external sales networks in 31 provinces and cities across the country, lay a solid academic and brand foundation, and help the inheritance, innovation and commercialization of herbal medicine.
The innovative product matrix continues to expand, and commercialization of innovative drugs is being accelerated across the board
The continued consolidation of the evidence-based value of Xunkeling spray is a microcosm of Huadong Pharmaceutical's ability to innovate, transform and commercialize. According to the company's 2026 interim results report, Huadong Pharmaceutical achieved operating income of 22.067 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, up 1.81% year on year; net profit to mother of 1,861 billion yuan, up 2.53% year on year; net profit after deducting non-return to mother was 1,888 billion yuan, up 5.44% year on year. Among them, the innovative product business achieved sales and agency service revenue of 1,684 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52%, accounting for 21.14% of the pharmaceutical industry's revenue (including CSO business). The innovative business has become the core engine driving the growth of the company's pharmaceutical industry sector.
At the commercialization level, Huadong Pharmaceutical has developed an efficient transformation capability integrating “R&D, registration, production and sales”. It has independently developed and introduced nearly 20 cooperative products to achieve commercial sales. Among them, the Innovative Drug Research and Development Center has harvested a total of 12 innovative products on the market, and many major varieties have entered the large-scale release stage. In the first half of 2026, ELAHERE® (ELAHERE®), the company's exclusive commercialized CAR-T product, covered more than 20 provinces and cities across the country, with a total of 110 valid orders, which were included in the reimbursement category by over 100 companies; ELAHERE® (ELAHERE®), the world's first and currently the only FRα-targeted ADC approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, has completed sales of about 90.49 million yuan in the first half of the year. A number of innovative drugs have fully benefited from the dividends of health insurance admission policies: Huiyoujing®, a new class 1 drug in the diabetes field, covered more than 2,400 grade hospitals, and sales revenue increased by more than 900% in the first half of the year; the novel PARP inhibitor Paishuning® was marketed in all provinces of mainland China, covering nearly 1,200 medical institutions; and the new generation P-CAB Xinlian® has covered 25 provinces, cities, and more than 900 level hospitals. In the field of autoimmunity, Xeroxin® /Seagenin® has prescribed more than 2,000 hospitals. Domestic sales in the first half of the year exceeded 300 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of more than 100%, and is expected to become the company's new core product in the field of self-immunity. In the direction of innovative drug combinations, the world's first TGFR system for real-time evaluation of renal function has completed the networking of consumables and injections in most provinces and included in relevant clinical practice guidelines.
While continuing to achieve commercialization results, Huadong Pharmaceutical's innovation pipeline continues to advance at a high intensity. The company's innovative drug research and development center is promoting the development of 96 innovative drug pipelines, and has formed a matrix of three specialty products: ADC, GLP-1, and topical formulations. It has launched the world's first novel drug in the three core treatment fields of oncology, endocrinology, and autoimmunity. In the field of endocrinology, the self-developed small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist HDM1002 has reached the main end point and achieved positive top-line results in the Chinese phase III clinical trial, and will soon be submitted for marketing; clinical progress such as the GLP-1R/GIPR dual-target agonist HDM1005 and the three-target agonist DR10624 is accelerating. In the field of oncology, ADCs are arranged around differentiated targets such as ROR1, FGFR2b, MUC17, and CDH17. Among them, HDM2005 ranks first in the world. It is the first ROR1-targeted ADC in China to obtain fast-track approval from the US FDA for mantle cell lymphoma indications. The topical formulation platform to which Sunkeling Spray belongs is one of the three major characteristic matrices. It has laid out more than 10 topical formulation products, and has the ability to integrate a full chain of R&D, registration, production and commercialization.
From the inclusion of exclusive varieties of herbal medicine in the authoritative guidelines, to a 52% increase in revenue for innovative products and the accelerated release of various major varieties, Huadong Pharmaceutical is using a “R&D+Commercialization” two-wheel drive, outlining a high-quality growth path driven by evidence driven by innovation. In the future, with the continuous consolidation of evidence-based evidence for Xunkeling spray and the accelerated coverage of the national sales network, and superposition of major varieties such as HDM1002, HDM1005, and DR10624 to enter the harvest period one after another, Huadong Pharmaceutical is expected to further release the value of the entire industry chain and build a long-term competitive advantage in major fields that have not met clinical needs.