Who was the import agent for Gleevec in the early years? Breakdown of compliance key points for special imported drug customs clearance

Sorting out the core industry logic of Gleevec import agent

As an original imported targeted drug,Gleevec faced far higher qualification requirements for import agents than ordinary goods when it first entered the Chinese market.The original Gleevec is manufactured in Switzerland,a special pharmaceutical product from Europe.To enter the Chinese market,it must hold the Import Drug Registration Certificate and Import Permit issued by the national drug regulatory authority,which are the core prerequisites for customs clearance.I have been engaged in import agency business for more than 20 years.Supervisor Wen had contact with customs clearance cases of imported special pharmaceuticals when he first started his career.Back then,the supervision on pharmaceutical import was stricter than it is now,all documents must correspond one by one,no slightest error is allowed.

Many people ask who was the import agent for Gleevec in the early years.In fact,it is well known in the industry that the import of special drugs puts extremely high requirements on the agent’s qualification,port resources and compliance capabilities,which cannot be undertaken by ordinary freight forwarders.As the largest pharmaceutical import port in China,most imported special drugs entered China through Shanghai port back then.Zhongshitong is rooted in Shanghai,with the capability of joint declaration at ports across the country,and its global agent network can collaboratively handle the whole process issues such as certificate of origin verification and foreign exchange settlement,breaking geographical restrictions to solve cross-regional trade problems.

Breakdown of core operation links for special drug import

Import license application

The first step of special drug import is to apply for the Customs Clearance Notice for Imported Drugs and Import Permit in advance,which is the absolute regulatory red line.Without corresponding certificates,the goods will be detained directly upon arrival,or even forced to be returned,leaving a bad customs clearance record for the enterprise,which will affect all subsequent import and export businesses.In 2026,the drug regulatory authority updated the review requirements for special drug import licenses,adding traceability information items.Complete production traceability information must be entered in advance to pass the review,and non-professional agents can hardly grasp the rule changes in time.

Pre-inspection by commodity inspection authority

Pre-inspection by commodity inspection authority requires document comparison in advance.The production batch number,production date,brand and model on the certificate of origin must be completely consistent with the information on the import registration certificate.I once encountered a batch of similar goods,where one extra "0" was typed on the production batch number of the certificate of origin,resulting in failed pre-inspection,two weeks of customs clearance delay,and more than 8,000 yuan of port demurrage.The small agent the consignor found had no previous experience in pharmaceutical import,and did not check this problem in advance at all,so the consignor had to bear all the costs at last.

Customs price verification

For the price verification of imported pharmaceuticals,many enterprises intend to under-report the price to avoid tax due to the high patent pricing of original drugs,which is also a clear compliance red line.In 2026,the customs has launched a new pharmaceutical price verification database,where prices of the same type of pharmaceuticals worldwide can be compared through the network.No matter under EXW or FOB trade terms,under-reported prices will trigger controlled inspection directly,and further post-clearance audit,which will affect the enterprise’s credit rating.Professional agents will sort out all documents of the transaction price for clients in advance,to ensure compliance with customs price verification requirements and avoid unnecessary inspections.

Common risk warnings for special drug import

• HS code classification error risk: Different HS codes for pharmaceuticals correspond to different regulatory documents.Misclassifying targeted drugs as general goods will directly lead to goods detention without valid certificates,and generate late payment surcharges.In 2026,the customs has intensified the audit of classification errors compared with previous years,and any error will directly affect the enterprise’s credit rating.
• Hidden cost trap: Some non-professional agents attract clients with low agency fees,and charge extra unpublicized fees later such as document handling fees,expedited inspection reservation fees,making the total cost more than 30% higher than that of regular agents.
• Exchange loss risk: Imported pharmaceuticals are generally settled in Euro or US dollar.Without locking the exchange rate in advance,extra exchange loss will occur when exchange rate fluctuates sharply.We will carry out exchange rate risk control for clients in advance,lock the exchange rate according to the payment time,and reduce unnecessary losses.
• Certificate of origin inconsistency risk: For pharmaceuticals exported from Europe,the information on the certificate of origin must be completely matched with the registration certificate.Any mismatch of even one character will lead to document rejection.We will conduct three rounds of pre-document inspection before shipment to eliminate such problems in advance.

Back to the question of who was the import agent for Gleevec in the early years,no matter who the agent was back then,the core logic of special drug import never changes: Compliance comes first,resources second,professionalism third.Shanghai port has advantages over other ports in inspection efficiency and approval speed due to its year-round experience in handling imported special pharmaceuticals.Rooted in Shanghai,Zhongshitong can access the green channel resources of Shanghai port,and support off-site declaration at any port across China,realizing unified compliance control no matter which port the goods enter through.

Supervisor Wen once handled a real case: a biotech enterprise intended to import a small batch of targeted drugs for clinical use,entering China through Ningbo port.The enterprise applied for documents on its own before,but failed pre-inspection twice.After receiving the request,we first sorted out all documents for the enterprise,corrected the production batch error on the certificate of origin,communicated with Ningbo port for pre-inspection in advance,and synchronized the pre-inspection records from Shanghai.Finally,the customs clearance was completed in 3 days after the goods arrived,no demurrage fee was generated,and the enterprise saved nearly 100,000 yuan in port demurrage and re-application costs for permits.

According to the latest 2026 trade rules,the traceability requirements for imported pharmaceuticals are stricter.All imported pharmaceuticals must be traceable to the manufacturer,so the brand,model and production batch number in the declaration elements must be completely consistent with the actual goods.We will conduct three rounds of verification before declaration to avoid being put under control due to inconsistent information.Many small and medium-sized enterprises do not have a professional foreign trade compliance team,and hiring a professional agent can lock risks before shipment and avoid unnecessary losses after the goods arrive at the port.