(Yicai Global) July 19 -- Shares in Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical’s share price reached record heights today after the Chinese drugmaker said that net profit surged by 29 percent in the first half from the same period last year largely due to the recent doubling in price of its popular hangover herbal pill.

Pientzehuang’s stock [SHA:600436] was trading up 6.57 percent at CNY462.88 (USD71) at 2 p.m. China time. Earlier in the day it had reached CNY470.

The firm logged a 29 percent jump in net profit for the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier to CNY1.1 billion (USD170 million), the Zhangzhou, southeastern Fujian province-based company said on July 16. Revenue leapt 18.6 percent to CNY3.8 billion.

Pientzehuang’s namesake herbal tablets are a popular treatment for hangovers and liver conditions that go hand-in-hand with China’s heavy drinking culture revolving around rice wine liquors such as Moutai. However, an acute shortage of one of its main ingredients Moschus, a rare material made from the glandular secretions of animals such as the musk deer, has led to a shortage and caused prices to soar.

Pien Tze Huang normally retails for CNY590 (USD91) per three-gram pill, but stockpiling has led to prices on e-commerce platforms surging to over CNY1,100 each.

The Zhangzhou Administration for Market Regulation issued a warning on July 17, reminding consumers not to blindly buy or take Pien Tse Huang tablets for self-medication. Rather, the medicine should be given to patients who really need it.

Pientzehuang will do its best to ensure adequate supply by increasing the amount of the herbal tablets delivered to proprietary sales channels and mainstream stores, the drugmaker said on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s investor interaction platform last month.

Editor: Kim Taylor