Founded in 1973, Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical General Factory (BPGF) is a famous antibiotics manufacturer and one of the top 100 pharmaceutical companies in China. As the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer under Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited and the largest monomer pharmaceutical company in China, it combines scientific research, production and sales with an annual sales turnover of more than 2 billion RMB and stable consecutive increases in revenue and profit. Now, it has 1700 employees in total, two famous national trademarks—Baiyunshan and Kangzhiba, 11 dosage forms and over 300 varieties of products. In particular, BPGF has a wide range of antibiotics products that nearly cover all the common bactericidal drugs. Its Baiyunshan Jin Ge (for combatting erectile dysfunction) is the first domestically produced “Viagra” to hit the Chinese market.

BPGF adheres to integrity management. According to the company ethos of Care and Quality First, BPGF insists on maintaining a Grade 5 quality management system and total quality management, ensuring the quality of products to full effect. As the first qualified experimental unit in Guangdong, it executed total quality management and has made good progress since the outset. Since 2008, 10 quality control teams have been recognized as National Excellent Quality Control Teams and 19 won the title of National Excellent Quality Control Team in the Pharmaceutical Industry. As the first pharmaceutical company to offer comprehensive warranty services encompassing goods return, goods exchange, maintenance, loss caused from price reduction and elimination, and loss caused from slowing of sales within expiry date, it has won the title of the People’s Trusted Drug Brand and the People’s Trusted Pharmaceutical Enterprise.

On September 2, 2014, BPGF's independently-developed Sildenafil Citrate Tablets (also known as Baiyunshan Viagra) was approved, making BPGF the first national enterprise to produce a Chinese Viagra. The new compound cephalosporin—cephalosporin amidine hydrochloride,  developed by BPGF, obtained a US patent and support from the National Science and Technology Major Special Project for Major New Drug Innovations. BPGF's Category 1 New Drug under research—BYS03 is the first to enter National Key Laboratory of Industrial Education Research Base for Respiratory Diseases.

Thanks to its achievements in innovation, it has gained multiple titles such as National Enterprise Technology Center, National High-tech Enterprise, Guangdong High-tech Enterprise and Innovative Company , Model Company of Intellectual Property in Guangdong. In 2012 it won the first Patent Implementation Performance Award. In 2014, it was approved by the National Standards of Enterprise Intellectual Property Management System.

Apart from that, BPGF has spared no effort in developing in house talent by appointing Dr. Murad as adviser, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering Tang Xican as chief scientist and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences Wei Yuquan as part-time academician. Moreover, the company works together with Sun Yat-sen University and Peking University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences to carry out scientific research and system development—Integrated Product Development Model.

BPGF is always ready to fulfill its corporate responsibilities. The company is dedicated to offering employees a stable job with increasing income and safe production environment, it holds safe production methods as the basic responsibility for every staff member and puts their health before profit. BPGF also actively implements energy saving and emission reduction policies and upholds  the principles of low carbon and environmental protection by founding a collaborative effort to  establish Green Production Lines for Chinese Medicine and adopting the international green enzyme process for preparation. Using one ton of green enzyme material can reduce organic solvent usage by 90%, cut sewage COD emissions by 80% and save the usage of dichloromethane, all of which facilitates the development of green medical production lines and contributes to environmental protection.

BPGF is also public-spirited, holding the National Science Popularization Day, promoting the benefits of maintaining a low-carbon footprint, environmental protection, garbage classification and distributing over 6 million user guides of antibiotics for free. Furthermore, BPGF is also dedicated to helping the disadvantaged, through funding the Guangzhou Association of Disabled Women and Guangdong Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, donating money to relief efforts during the Wenchuan Earthquake, Yushu Earthquake, drought in southwest China and flooding in western Guangdong and investing 1 million RMB on a Poverty Alleviation Scheme for Family and Individual. In 2011, BPGF established the Nanxi Village Mesona Plantation Base. Now this Base is recognized as one of the big three poverty alleviation programs to come out of Guangzhou, helping the underprivileged in Meizhou.

(Translator: Cheryl Ma; Editors: Simon Haywood, Olivia Yang, Monica Liu)