[PIDC - Market Insights and Consumer Research] Analysis of Ophthalmic Drug "Sodium Hyaluronate Eye Drops"

　　Research Background
　　Since entering the new century, China has become one of the countries with the largest number of patients with ophthalmic diseases worldwide. The market size and demand for ophthalmic drugs have rapidly increased. According to Yaozhi data, the ophthalmic drug market has grown from 16.7 billion yuan in 2020 to 23 billion yuan in 2024.
　　Across all terminals, the market size of eye drops increased from 10.4 billion yuan in 2020 to approximately 13.2 billion yuan in 2024. Among them, eye drops for treating dry eye syndrome occupy a large share of the ophthalmic market, and sodium hyaluronate eye drops, known as "artificial tears," are one of the main drugs for treating dry eye syndrome, with sales reaching 2.5 billion yuan in 2024.
　　However, sodium hyaluronate eye drops now face a challenging situation: firstly, pressure from the aggressively introduced new dry eye drug from overseas—cyclosporine eye drops; secondly, major pharmaceutical companies accelerating research on new drugs for dry eye syndrome, such as Hengrui's perfluorohexyl octane eye drops.
　　This article will explore the next growth point in the eye drops market using sodium hyaluronate eye drops as an example, based on the basic consumer demographics and medication journey.
　　Market Performance and Competitive Landscape Analysis of Sodium Hyaluronate Eye Drops
　　2.1 Overall Terminal Ophthalmic Drug Trend: Eye Drops Shift Toward Consumer Market
　　The total ophthalmic drug market reached 23 billion yuan in 2024, an 8% increase from last year.
　　The ophthalmic drug industry has continued steady growth since surpassing 20 billion yuan in 2023.
　　Over the past five years, ophthalmic drug sales across all channels have steadily increased with a CAGR of 8%, reaching 23 billion yuan by 2024.
　　The shrinking share of eye drops reflects the increasingly competitive 'red ocean' market for surface eye diseases, while the rise of injections confirms the irreplaceability and technological premium of treatments for fundus diseases.
　　Hospitals remain the main sales channel for ophthalmic drugs, maintaining a 60% market share over the past five years. E-commerce channels have rapidly developed, aggressively eroding the retail market, reaching 7% by 2024, while retail has declined to 31%.
　　In terms of dosage forms, eye drops are the main form of ophthalmic drugs but have slightly declined over the past five years (mainly due to pressure from injections). The shrinking share of eye drops reflects the increasingly competitive 'red ocean' market for surface eye diseases, while the rise of injections (increasing from 16% market share in 2020 to 21% in 2024) confirms the irreplaceability and technological premium of fundus disease treatments.
　　Eye drops are shifting toward the consumer market (retail/e-commerce), focusing on health care attributes, and this trend will continue.
　　In hospitals, eye drops and injections dominate, accounting for 75% of the 14.1 billion yuan market.
　　In retail and e-commerce, driven mainly by consumer demand, the primary ophthalmic drug form purchased is eye drops, accounting for over 80% of the share in each channel.
　　This trend will continue: eye drops shifting toward the consumer market (retail/e-commerce) with a focus on health care attributes; injections benefiting from biologic drug innovations (such as the clinical approval of KH631 gene therapy) and medical insurance support will continue to dominate the high value-added segment. Single-dose anti-VEGF injections cost thousands of yuan and often require long-term injections, significantly driving up the total market value.
　　Currently, five varieties have been included in centralized procurement.
　　At the initial stage of national centralized procurement, ophthalmic drugs were not included due to the limited number of approved varieties. Ophthalmic drugs appeared for the first time in the third batch of centralized procurement.
　　To date, five varieties have been included in centralized procurement: levofloxacin eye drops, olopatadine hydrochloride eye drops, sodium hyaluronate eye drops, moxifloxacin hydrochloride eye drops, and diquafosol sodium eye drops.
　　2.2 Overall Terminal Eye Drops Variety Landscape: (Basic Drugs for Dry Eye/Fatigue) Sodium Hyaluronate Eye Drops Continue to Gain Traction in the Consumer Market
　　Channel differentiation essentially reflects the scenario split between "disease treatment" and "symptom management": hospitals address pathological issues, while retail/e-commerce meet daily management needs.
　　In hospitals, eye drop medications mainly treat eye infections and inflammations (such as conjunctivitis and keratitis, which require professional equipment like slit-lamp examination for diagnosis; patients cannot self-assess and must obtain prescriptions and treatment through hospital channels, along with outpatient co-payment policies guiding chronic disease medication return flow and centralized procurement price advantages), accounting for 31%; secondly, treatments for dry eye syndrome and eye fatigue account for 27%.
　　Symptoms of dry eye syndrome (foreign body sensation, dryness) and eye fatigue (aching, blurred vision) are clear, and patients can independently choose artificial tears (such as sodium hyaluronate) and nutritional eye drops (such as vitamin B12) to relieve discomfort. These products accounted for 55% of the retail market share and 63% of the e-commerce market share in 2024.
　　The "Chinese Clinical Expert Consensus on Dry Eye" clearly states that the prevalence of dry eye in China is 21.0%-52.4%.
　　With changes in lifestyle and work patterns, dry eye syndrome has become a common and frequently occurring ophthalmic disease. Epidemiological surveys show that there are 344 million dry eye patients worldwide, accounting for 30% of ophthalmic outpatient visits, with a 10% annual growth rate. The "Chinese Clinical Expert Consensus on Dry Eye (2024)" points out that the global prevalence of dry eye is 5%-50%, and the prevalence in China is as high as 21.0%-52.4%, meaning about 2 to 5 out of every 10 people suffer from dry eye.
　　Hospital side: Due to centralized procurement and cyclosporine, sodium hyaluronate eye drops have continuously declined in recent years.
　　Sodium hyaluronate ophthalmic preparations are the largest-selling dry eye eye drops in China's hospital market. In 2020, they accounted for over 20% of the market share. Although sales remained above 1 billion yuan, a clear downward trend appeared. At this time, cyclosporine eye drops (II) were officially approved for marketing in China. In 2021, sodium hyaluronate eye drops were included in the fourth batch of centralized procurement varieties, with four companies selected and prices cut by 40%. By 2023, terminal sales of sodium hyaluronate eye drops fell to a low point, with sales below 500 million yuan and a market share of 7%. After three years of adjustment, hospital procurement volume and pricing systems stabilized, companies adapted marketing strategies, and new preservative-free formulas were launched. Sodium hyaluronate eye drops rebounded somewhat in 2024.
　　Retail side: Sodium hyaluronate eye drops have opened a new battlefield, with sales continuing to rise.
　　Due to the increasing prevalence of dry eye disease, product efficacy recognition, and effective market promotion, sodium hyaluronate eye drops have opened up a new realm in the retail market. Sodium hyaluronate eye drops have performed outstandingly, with sales and market share continuously rising. Since 2022, they have surpassed Naominwei eye drops to become the top product, exceeding 1 billion in 2023 and reaching 1.3 billion yuan in 2024, with a market share of 21% in the same year, becoming the fastest-growing category.
　　E-commerce side: Thanks to the development of pharmaceutical e-commerce, sodium hyaluronate eye drops have rapidly expanded their own market.
　　Benefiting from the development of pharmaceutical e-commerce, Frost & Sullivan statistics show that the e-commerce channel has a compound growth rate of about 39% (data from 2019-2024), with rapid development of online eye drops. Leading products (such as Hailu®) completed the transition from prescription to OTC in 2020, allowing consumers to purchase independently at pharmacies/e-commerce platforms without a prescription, greatly expanding the sales radius.
　　Unlike offline retail, leading companies of sodium hyaluronate eye drops seized the opportunity to vigorously develop the e-commerce market. By 2024, sodium hyaluronate eye drops reached 630 million yuan, accounting for 43% of the entire channel's share.
　　2.3 Sodium Hyaluronate Eye Drops Enterprise Competition Landscape: Centralized Procurement Changes Enterprise Landscape, Hailu Breaks Through Using Consumer Market
　　The importance of retail and e-commerce channels in the sodium hyaluronate eye drops market is increasingly prominent, while the hospital channel faces multiple challenges leading to a shrinking market share.
　　Overall, the domestic sodium hyaluronate eye drops market size grew from 1.5 billion yuan in 2020 to 2.5 billion yuan in 2024. The retail channel's market share increased from 30% to 50%, the e-commerce channel's market share significantly rose from 2% to 25%, with retail and e-commerce markets continuously eroding the hospital market share. Currently, growth in the sodium hyaluronate eye drops field has become saturated, with the hospital channel's market share sharply declining from 68% to 25%.
　　Enterprises layout multiple dosage forms and specifications of sodium hyaluronate eye drops according to channel characteristics.
　　Generally, for daily eye fatigue, 0.1% concentration sodium hyaluronate eye drops can be chosen; for severe cases or when effects are not obvious, 0.3% sodium hyaluronate eye drops are used.
　　① Aili: Original research drug (domestically produced original), 0.1% and 0.3% specifications have high market share, but bottled versions contain preservatives and are moderately priced. Domestic sodium hyaluronate eye drops generally use Aili as the reference preparation.
　　② Hailu: Original research drug listed domestically (imported original), 0.1% specification has high market share, preservative-free, mainly used for daily eye care and fatigue relief, but priced high.
　　③ Purunyin: Mainly targets the 0.3% specification market, single-dose packaging, preservative-free, mainly used for moderate to severe dry eye or postoperative repair, with a relatively high cost-performance ratio.
　　Hospital side: Affected by centralized procurement, original research Aili remains resilient, but original research Hailu sharply decreases.
　　In 2021, during the fourth batch of centralized procurement, 4 companies were selected. After procurement, hospital market sales continued to decline. Among them, selected companies' sales rose rapidly. By 2024, the four companies' sodium hyaluronate eye drops sales reached 295 million yuan, with a CAGR4 of 128%.
　　The original research did not win the bid during centralized procurement. By 2024, Santen Pharmaceutical (Aili) still occupies 30% of the market, less affected by procurement (Aili has deeply cultivated the dry eye medication market in China for over 20 years, with high loyalty from doctors and patients, maintaining demand through prescriptions despite not winning the bid). However, Eusan GmbH (Hailu) market share was heavily eroded, with hospital channel share dropping from over 40% before procurement to 19% in 2024.
　　Consumer market: Losing the hospital market, Hailu opens a new TOP1 battlefield in the consumer market.
　　After centralized procurement, Eusan GmbH (Hailu) accelerated layout in retail pharmacies and e-commerce channels, with sales CAGR (2020-2024) in retail and e-commerce channels growing by 43% and 117% respectively, seizing the channel TOP1 position to compensate for hospital channel losses.
　　Santen (Aili) market share in the consumer market continues to decline. Currently, it is accelerating the promotion of single-dose disposable (0.1%) OTC products to capture the lost market, but sales performance shows the downward trend has not been stopped.
　　Consumer retail market: Hailu continues to expand, Aili still unable to stop its decline.
　　According to the latest monthly data from Yaozhi Retail, Santen's sodium hyaluronate eye drops sales in retail continue to decline, while Eusan GmbH continues to expand, widening the gap.
　　Hailu quickly occupies the consumer market with a mild eye care brand positioning and promotes the 0.2% domestic launch.
　　① Aili: Retains high gross margin original research drugs (such as 0.3% concentration) serving high-end medical scenarios, while launching single-dose disposable (0.1%) OTC products to penetrate the mass market, aiming to capture the high-end self-pay market through "preservative-free + portability" features.
　　② Hailu: The domestic version meets "basic moisturizing" needs, the overseas version is positioned for "scenario-based eye care," balancing market share and profit through "concentration gradation + channel isolation." In addition, the overseas version of Hailu directly serves Chinese consumers via cross-border e-commerce on JD International, a "curve entry into China" strategy, with 0.2% approved under National Medicine Standard HJ20240162 in December 2024.