In a recent development, the renowned “Sunflower Medicine Company,” known for its advertisement campaign “Mom Sunflower’s Class is in Session,” experienced operational losses for the first time since its listing in 2025. This news has sparked attention on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Concurrently, the founder and actual controller of the company, Guan Yanbin, has once again come under scrutiny for a past case of intentional homicide.
Sunflower Medicine Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE: 002737) was established in 1998 and went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2014. The company primarily engages in the business of traditional Chinese medicine, chemical medicine, and biological medicine. The “Little Sunflower” series of children’s medicines is one of the group’s most recognized brands.
Despite its rapid expansion in the pharmaceutical industry, the company’s founder Guan Yanbin found himself embroiled in a shocking case of spousal murder, leading to his incarceration.
According to public court documents and reports from mainland Chinese media, Guan Yanbin, born in 1954 in Wuchang, Heilongjiang, had a background in business. He went through bankruptcy and divorce in his early years.
During Guan Yanbin’s toughest times, Zhang Xiaolan came into the picture. In 1998, when the state-owned Wuchang Pharmaceutical Factory was on the brink of bankruptcy and up for acquisition, Zhang Xiaolan, who was a mid-ranking official in Shenyang at the time, resigned from her public position to join Guan Yanbin in starting a business. Leveraging her extensive network, Zhang Xiaolan secured over ten million yuan in loans. Together with others, they acquired and restructured the Wuchang Pharmaceutical Factory, forming the Sunflower Medicine Company.
The two individuals subsequently worked together to manage the company long-term. Guan Yanbin was primarily responsible for marketing and sales, while Zhang Xiaolan handled internal affairs and government relations. Sunflower Medicine Company gradually evolved from a local pharmaceutical factory into a large-scale pharmaceutical enterprise.
In 2014, Sunflower Medicine Company went public. Consequently, Guan Yanbin briefly made it onto the Hurun Rich List, becoming a billionaire entrepreneur. However, the relationship between him and his wife eventually deteriorated. According to multiple media reports, Guan Yanbin engaged in an extramarital affair with a female secretary from the company, which became a significant factor leading to the breakdown of his marriage.
In 2017, the couple divorced. Subsequently, they continued to be embroiled in disputes over assets and child custody.
On December 22, 2018, Guan Yanbin visited Zhang Xiaolan’s parents’ home, leading to a confrontation. Guan Yanbin fetched a kitchen knife and repeatedly attacked Zhang Xiaolan, causing severe injuries that were life-threatening. After the assault, Guan Yanbin attempted suicide.
The following day, Guan Yanbin was apprehended by authorities at a hospital in Harbin.
On December 28, 2018, Guan Yanbin resigned from his positions as director, chairman, and general manager of Sunflower Medicine Company. The next day, he was placed under residential surveillance by the police on suspicion of intentional homicide and subsequently arrested.
In July 2020, the Daqing Hu Lu District Court issued a first-instance verdict, finding Guan Yanbin guilty of intentional homicide and sentencing him to 11 years in prison. Guan Yanbin appealed the verdict. In December of the same year, the Heilongjiang Daqing Intermediate Court upheld the original ruling in the second instance.
In 2021, Guan Yanbin filed another appeal, seeking a change in the judgment. However, the Daqing Intermediate Court ultimately rejected his appeal, upholding the initial decision.
After stepping down from the management of Sunflower Medicine Company, Guan Yanbin’s two daughters, Guan Yuxiu and Guan Yi, assumed the positions of chairman and general manager in early 2019. Over the following years, the two siblings respectively oversaw the company’s board of directors and day-to-day operations.
At a certain point, Sunflower Medicine Company’s performance reached a peak. In 2021, the company recorded a revenue of 4.461 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 705 million yuan; by 2022, revenue increased to 5.095 billion yuan, with a net profit of 867 million yuan. 2023 marked a recent high for the company, reaching a revenue of 5.7 billion yuan and a net profit of 1.119 billion yuan.
However, the company’s performance took a sharp downturn from 2024 onwards. Revenue dropped to 3.377 billion yuan in 2024, with a net profit of 492 million yuan. By 2025, Sunflower Medicine Company’s performance further deteriorated.
The company’s 2025 annual report revealed that it achieved an operating income of 2.318 billion yuan for the year, a year-on-year decrease of 31.36%; the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company showed a loss of 258 million yuan, and the adjusted net profit attributable to the parent company also incurred a loss of 310 million yuan.
The company explicitly stated in its annual report that 2025 marked the first time it incurred operational losses since its establishment 27 years ago and listing 11 years ago.
Sunflower Medicine Company attributed the decline in performance to various factors, including the profound restructuring of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, changes in the distribution network landscape, and adjustments in the company’s own operations.
Data showed that the company’s revenue shrank by over half from 57 billion yuan in 2023 to 23.18 billion yuan in 2025.
As the company’s performance plummeted, a reshuffle within the management of Sunflower Medicine Company also began.
On February 9, 2026, Guan Yi resigned from the position of company general manager (CEO) due to personal reasons. On the same day, the company appointed Zhou Jianzhong as the general manager.
Sunflower Medicine Company indicated that this adjustment was part of efforts to establish a professional management team. Previously, Zhou Jianzhong had held positions such as general manager at Wuhan Yuanda Pharmaceutical Group and Wuhan Zhonglian Pharmaceutical Group Limited.
While Guan Yi no longer served as general manager, he remained within the company. On March 2, 2026, the company’s board of directors elected Guan Yi as vice chairman.
Currently, Guan Yuxiu remains as the company’s chairman, Zhou Jianzhong as the general manager, and Guan Yi as the vice chairman.
Of particular interest is that despite being sentenced to 11 years in prison for intentional homicide, Guan Yanbin has not lost his actual controlling stake in Sunflower Medicine Company.
As of the end of 2025, Guan Yanbin directly held approximately 6.03% of Sunflower Medicine Company’s shares; the Sunflower Group under his control held 45.41% of the company’s shares, while Heilongjiang Jinkui Investment held 4.11%.
In its 2025 annual report, Sunflower Medicine Company still listed Guan Yanbin as the company’s actual controller, and stated that there had been no changes in the controlling shareholders or actual controller during the reporting period.
The company’s annual report also mentioned that Guan Yanbin currently “does not hold director, supervisor, or senior management positions,” clarified that the criminal case had not affected the company’s normal production and operation, and affirmed that his shareholder rights remained unaffected.