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Penicillin (Pen G) and 6-APA API prices halved since 2024 and now sit more than 40% below India's new minimum import prices. Price change from 2024 to 2026: - Pen G (typically injectables): down 50%, from USD 26.5/kg to USD 13.4/kg - 6-APA: down 48%, from USD 41.3/kg to USD 21.4/kg - Pen V (typically oral solids): stable, between USD 42 and 46/kg since 2023 That puts Pen G between its 2019 level of around USD 11/kg and its 2020 level of USD 13.9/kg. Pen G now trades 46% below India's new minimum import price of USD 24.5/kg, 6-APA 43% below USD 37.7/kg. All of that happened while energy costs in the EU shot up. EU average prices for non-household consumers (Eurostat): electricity almost doubled from EUR 80/MWh in 2015 to EUR 158/MWh in 2025, and natural gas rose 57% from EUR 35/MWh to EUR 55/MWh. Ian Ball calls it a market of "exceptional price pressure and structural imbalance". From our whitepaper "Global Pen G, Pen V and 6-APA Manufacturing in 2026" (September 2026), written in conversation with Ian Ball (Sandoz) and Alexander Krujatz (Centrient Pharmaceuticals). Download: https://lnkd.in/e-mKVjxr Source: QYOBO platform.

Sandoz and Centrient Pharmaceuticals reach the same conclusion in the interviews for our 2026 whitepaper on Pen G, Pen V and 6-APA manufacturing: penicillin supply needs to move beyond pure price competition toward frameworks that value supply security and resilience. The starting point: 10 of the 15 active Pen G and Pen V fermentation sites are in China. That leaves Sandoz in Kundl, Austria, as the only large-scale site outside China that runs both fermentation and 6-APA production with relevance for regulated markets. Ian Ball (Sandoz) wants: - trade measures to address structural cost disadvantages - procurement reforms that reward reliability - predictable long-term demand signals such as multi-year contracts or strategic stockpiling - antibiotic manufacturing as part of national resilience planning, from volume guarantees for European manufacturers to pricing incentives Alexander Krujatz (Centrient Pharmaceuticals) calls for: - consistent standards enforced on all products entering the EU market - action against trade distortions such as dumping and indirect import routes - procurement that rewards reliability, environmental compliance and diversified sourcing instead of "lowest-price-wins" models - an EU-wide industrial strategy that aligns funding, regulation and investment signals Krujatz: "A level playing field is not about protectionism, but about correcting systemic imbalances so that companies investing in sustainable, resilient and responsible antibiotic manufacturing are not penalized." "Ultimately, penicillin production must be treated as critical health infrastructure rather than a commoditized market," says Ball. Thank you, Ian and Alexander, for the conversation. From our whitepaper "Global Pen G, Pen V and 6-APA Manufacturing in 2026" (September 2026), written in conversation with Ian Ball (Sandoz) and Alexander Krujatz (Centrient). Download: https://lnkd.in/e-mKVjxr Source: QYOBO platform.

Chinese amoxicillin exports in Q3 2026 were priced 19% below India's new minimum import price. Earlier this year, in January 2026, India set minimum import prices for Pen G, 6-APA and amoxicillin, for one year. Minimum import price per kg (CIF): - Pen G: INR 2,216 (USD 24.5) - 6-APA: INR 3,405 (USD 37.7) - Amoxicillin trihydrate: INR 2,733 (USD 30.2) India's aim: protect domestic manufacturing by preventing imports below a defined price threshold. For context: the Chinese export price fell from USD 34.1/kg in 2022 to USD 24.4/kg in Q3 2026, 19% below India's price floor of USD 30.2/kg. But imports by 100% export-oriented units, SEZ units and under Advance Authorisation are exempt, as long as the material is not sold into the domestic market. So cheap API can still come into India if the finished drug is exported. Ian Ball of Sandoz on that route: "low-priced Chinese API being converted to FDF in India [...] putting further pressure on already low prices and challenging our ability to compete in critical markets." From our whitepaper "Global Pen G, Pen V and 6-APA Manufacturing in 2026" (September 2026), written in conversation with Ian Ball (Sandoz) and Alexander Krujatz (Centrient Pharmaceuticals). Download: https://lnkd.in/e-mKVjxr Source: QYOBO platform.

2 of 3 penicillin fermentation sites worldwide are in China in 2026. The active ingredients Pen G and Pen V are made by large-scale fermentation and can be converted into 6-APA, the building block for most semi-synthetic penicillins such as amoxicillin and ampicillin. The QYOBO platform counts 15 active sites that run this fermentation, 10 of them in China. 9 of the 15 also make 6-APA themselves, and 6 of those 9 are in China, too. Fermentation and 6-APA (9 sites): - 🇨🇳 Centrient Pharmaceuticals, Yushu - 🇨🇳 CSPC Pharma, Tuoketuo - 🇨🇳 Kelun Pharmaceutical, Khorgos - 🇨🇳 NCPC, Shijiazhuang - 🇨🇳 Sinopharm, Datong - 🇨🇳 The United Laboratories, Bayannaoer - 🇦🇹 Sandoz, Kundl - 🇮🇳 Lyfius Pharma (AUROBINDO PHARMA LTD) with Qule Pharma, Kakinada - 🇯🇵 Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., Gifu (small-scale) Fermentation only (6 sites): - 🇨🇳 Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, Harbin - 🇨🇳 Shandong Lukang, Zoucheng - 🇨🇳 Shanghai Tonglian, Leping - 🇨🇳 Xinxiang Huaxing, Xinxiang - 🇲🇽 Centrient, Ramos Arizpe - 🇸🇰 BIOTIKA, Slovenská Ľupča The plant in Kakinada, India, is not registered to supply regulated markets, because key regulatory approvals and GMP inspections are missing. That leaves Sandoz in Kundl, Austria, as the only large-scale site outside China that runs both fermentation and 6-APA production with relevance for regulated markets. Many more companies are registered as Pen G or Pen V manufacturers, but some only do downstream steps such as salt formation on material they source from others. They add no independent upstream capacity, so registration counts can give a false sense of diversification. "A supply chain remains exposed if multiple downstream suppliers depend on the same limited pool of fermentation or 6-APA sources," says Alexander Krujatz, CCO of Centrient. A new Pen G fermentation site is under development in Sohar, Oman (six fermenters of 200,000 liters each), which could supply up to 10% of global Pen G demand once fully operational, but when it starts is still uncertain. From our whitepaper "Global Pen G, Pen V and 6-APA Manufacturing in 2026" (September 2026), written in conversation with Ian Ball (Sandoz) and Alexander Krujatz (Centrient). Download: https://lnkd.in/e-mKVjxr Source: QYOBO platform.

Penicillin’s manufacturing base is narrower than registration counts suggest. QYOBO’s proprietary data, plus the operator’s view from Sandoz and Centrient, on where Pen G, Pen V and 6-APA are made, what API prices are doing, and what it will take to keep antibiotic supply secure.

QYOBO Research, in conversation with Sandoz and Centrient. Every active Pen G, Pen V and 6-APA site, mapped. Download the free whitepaper now.