Both pharmaceutical intermediates and APIs belong to the field of fine chemicals.

Pharmaceutical intermediates: chemical raw materials or chemical products used in the process of pharmaceutical synthesis. They are intermediate products in the process of producing APIs, which can be further processed into APIs. It does not require a production license for APIs, and can be produced in ordinary chemical plants. As long as it reaches a certain level, it can be used for the synthesis of APIs.
 

API: Active pharmaceutical ingredient, which is the basic substance that constitutes the pharmacological effect of drugs. It is prepared by chemical synthesis, plant extraction, or biotechnology. Only when raw materials are processed into pharmaceutical preparations can they be used as clinical drugs. The quality of the drug substance determines the quality of the preparation, so its quality standards are very strict. Countries around the world have formulated strict national pharmacopoeia standards and quality control methods for their widely used drug substances.

APIs are active products that have completed the synthetic route, and intermediates are products somewhere in the synthetic route. The API can be directly prepared, and the intermediate can only be used to synthesize the next product. Only through the intermediate can the API be manufactured.

From the basic chemical raw materials to the preparation of chemical preparations, complex chemical and physical processes are required. The production of chemical raw materials and intermediates concentrates the main synthetic processes and technical links, which is the premise and important guarantee for the development of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.