SIMM ranks at the top in China for its drug discovery and development activities. More than 100 drugs have been developed since its establishment. Of these, 10 were listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

For instance, periaqueductal gray matter has been demonstrated to be the most effective site in the whole nervous system for the abolition of pain by micro-injection of morphine. This finding was recognized internationally as a milestone in opioid research.

Artemether, a novel anti-malarial drug included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, has been exported to many countries to treat severe malaria.

Sodium dimercaptosuccinate, an antidote against heavy metal poisonings, was copied by a major U.S. pharmaceutical company and approved by the FDA to treat lead poisoning.

Sobuzoxan, an anti-tumor drug designed and synthesized by SIMM, jointly developed by SIMM and a Japanese pharmaceutical company, was approved by the Japanese Ministry of Health in 1994.

Huperzine A (HupA), a novel alkaloid isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb, Huperzia serrata, was found to be a potent, reversible and selective inhibitor of AChE. Clinical trials have shown that HupA could significantly improve memory deficiencies in aged population and patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Depsides salt injection, a modern Chinese herbal drug against coronary heart disease angina pectoris, received the certification of a new drug and permission for production from the Chinese SFDA in May 2005. The drug has the authorization of domestic and US patents. The invention of this drug is an important achievement of TCM modernization in the past few years.

Antofloxacin hydrochloride，a new antibacterial drug, is a class I new drug in China with independent intellectual property rights (IPRs). Compared to similar drugs available in the market, antofloxacin hydrochloride is superior in safety, efficacy and metabolism.

Oligomannate (compound code GV-971), the first-in-class drug invented and developed in China to improve cognitive function for those with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, was granted approval by China’s National Medical Products Administration and went on sale in 2019. It’s the first new Alzheimer’s drug to go on the market in the last 17 years.

Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, CAS and Shanghai Municipality, a number of drug candidates are currently under pre-clinical evaluations.