The price of cynomolgus (crab-eating) macaques used in China to test the safety of new drugs has doubled in a year: the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control paid 92,000 yuan per animal in May 2025 and 178,000 yuan in June 2026, while some export-grade animals on the private market now go for more than 220,000 yuan, over $30,000. The figures appear in an analysis published on October 30 by Sina Finance, which presents them as the most telling sign that China’s contract research organizations (CROs) have emerged from their slump.
The key points in 20 seconds
- What’s rising: the price of monkeys used in toxicity trials, which has more than doubled in public tenders in a year.
- Why: more early-stage drug projects, driven by Chinese molecules being licensed abroad, against a primate supply that is growing slowly.
- Who benefits: CROs with international certifications and their own animal colonies, which are winning back orders and prices after years of a price war.
- The caveat: the analysis comes from a stock market information platform and relies on figures supplied by the companies themselves.
What the public tenders show
The increase can be tracked on China’s public procurement portal, where research institutes publish the price they paid:
| Date | Buyer | Animals | Price per monkey |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2025 | National Institutes for Food and Drug Control | 40 | 92,000 yuan |
| March 2026 | Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (Chinese Academy of Sciences) | 450 | About 131,000 yuan |
| June 2026 | National Institutes for Food and Drug Control | — | 178,000 yuan |
| June 29, 2026 | National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (tender budget) | 40 | 190,000 yuan |
On the private market, 3- to 5-year-old monkeys free of major pathogens are offered at 180,000 to 200,000 yuan, and some SPF-grade animals suitable for export go above 220,000 yuan. Industrial Securities, an equity research firm, places the turning point in the last quarter of 2025, when monkey prices and the fees for safety and clinical trials began rising together.
Drug licensing deals are driving demand
The main driver is the licensing business. According to PharmCube, cited in the analysis, Chinese pharmaceutical companies closed deals to license molecules abroad worth $99.7 billion in the first half of 2026, roughly double the total for all of 2024. Those deals typically require completing data packages, independent validations and additional trials, which end up at the CROs. On top of that comes the rise of more complex molecules, such as peptides, antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies and oligonucleotides, which are more demanding to evaluate.
Artificial intelligence also enters the equation, though not as a replacement for the animals. The head of a small CRO quoted in the piece says demand for its AI-assisted research services outstrips capacity and that it has raised its rates by around 20% this year. China has long been investing in computing for drug design, as with the Tianqiong supercomputer for molecular simulation, but regulations still require animal toxicity testing before trials in people.
A sector left with fewer competitors
In recent years, Chinese CROs went through a price war made worse by a drought in biotech funding. According to health authority records cited in the analysis, the number of active clinical CROs has fallen 69% since 2021. The survivors are now winning back orders and prices:
- Joinn Laboratories had a backlog of about 3.7 billion yuan at mid-year, with 2.02 billion yuan in new orders during the half, and breeds its own macaques.
- InnoStar signed 1.466 billion yuan in orders and grew its backlog 80% compared with the end of 2025.
- Medicilon signed 1.233 billion yuan, returned to profit, and raised its gross margin by 10.4 points, to 31.6%.
- WuXi AppTec, the sector’s giant, had a backlog of 76.74 billion yuan at the end of September, up 36.4% from a year earlier.
Medicilon’s chairman, Chen Chunlin, said pharmaceutical companies are accepting current prices better and that rates are climbing off their lows. The stock market has welcomed the news: on October 30, shares of CRO-linked companies rallied sharply in Shenzhen and Shanghai, with gains of 20% (the maximum allowed in a single day), 16% and 11% at three of them.
What to read with caution
The analysis comes from a stock market information platform owned by the Jiemian group and combines public data, such as the tenders, with figures and statements from the listed companies themselves. The tender prices are reliable, but they correspond to specific purchases by public institutions rather than a market index. The piece itself warns that a full recovery of the sector still requires patience. For Western pharmaceutical companies that outsource trials to China, the message is more direct: the era of bargain pricing is coming to an end.
Frequently asked questions
How much has the price of lab monkeys risen in China?
In purchases by the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, from 92,000 yuan per animal in May 2025 to 178,000 yuan in June 2026. On the private market, some animals sell for more than 220,000 yuan.
What are these monkeys used for?
For nonclinical safety studies, which test a drug’s toxicity before it is tried in people. The cynomolgus (crab-eating) macaque is the most widely used primate species in these trials.
What’s driving demand?
Mainly the licensing of Chinese molecules to foreign pharmaceutical companies, which reached $99.7 billion in the first half of 2026 according to PharmCube, along with the rise of more complex drugs to evaluate.
Which companies are benefiting?
CROs with international certifications and their own capacity, such as Joinn Laboratories, which breeds its own macaques, InnoStar, Medicilon and WuXi AppTec, which have won back orders after years of a price war.
Source: Sina Finance
This article is also available in Spanish: «El precio de los monos de laboratorio se dobla en China», on revistacloud.com.
