In China, a product known as “Pianzaihuang”, dubbed the “Maotai of medicine,” has seen a significant drop in price from 1600 yuan per pill to the current price of 599 yuan per pill. With the decrease in price, sales have also decreased, leading to a substantial decline in the company’s market value.
According to a report by Jiemian News on October 27th, currently, “Pianzaihuang” is priced at 760 yuan per pill on Alibaba’s Tmall Health Pharmacy, with a discounted price of 685.62 yuan per pill on Meituan Buy Medicine, and a price of 599 yuan per pill on JD.com’s official store.
During its peak, “Pianzaihuang” was once priced as high as 1600 yuan per pill, leading to shortages in many areas. As a result, it earned the nickname “Maotai of medicine.”
According to reports from Haibao News, the manager of a chain pharmacy in Jinan, Shandong Province, stated that due to the high price, sales of “Pianzaihuang” tablets have decreased this year, with “probably only a few pills sold in a month.”
Public data shows that “Pianzaihuang” is a traditional Chinese medicine produced by Zhangzhou Pianzaihuang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., known for its efficacy in clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and resolving stasis, reducing swelling and alleviating pain, primarily used for acute and chronic viral hepatitis caused by heat toxins, boils, carbuncles, various swellings, bruises, and inflammations.
A report by the Phoenix Financial “Company Research Institute” stated that around 2021, the saying “take Pianzaihuang to protect your liver before drinking Maotai” was widely circulated in business circles. This led to the rapid rise of “Maotai + Pianzaihuang” as a symbolic “standard” combination in high-end banquet occasions, expanding demand explosively. At that time, the original price of 590 yuan per pill for “Pianzaihuang” tablets was inflated to 1600 yuan per pill, surpassing the price of gold, making it “hard to find” online and offline.
During this period, Zhangzhou Pianzaihuang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. continuously raised the price of “Pianzaihuang.” Public data shows that from 2004 to 2020, the retail price of its tablets had undergone 19 price increases, rising from an initial 325 yuan to 590 yuan. In May 2023, the price was raised to 760 yuan, marking the largest increase in nearly twenty years.
Currently, with weakening market demand, the glory days of “Pianzaihuang” have faded. According to the “Third Quarter 2025 Report” released by “Pianzaihuang” on October 18th, in the third quarter, it achieved a revenue of 2.064 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 26.28%, and a net profit of 687 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 28.82%. In the first three quarters of this year, “Pianzaihuang” had a revenue of 7.442 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.93%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of 2.129 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 20.74%.
In the capital market, the stock price of “Pianzaihuang” Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. also performed poorly. At the opening of the A-share market on October 30th, the stock price of “Pianzaihuang” was 178.00 yuan per share, with a total market value of 107.9 billion yuan. This market value evaporated by about 180 billion yuan from its historical peak in July 2021, where the stock price was 491.88 yuan per share.