Recent activity in new drug development has made research monkeys a hot commodity again, with prices surging to as high as A$200,000 per animal.
Data indicates that market demand for these primates could exceed 60,000 by 2026, significantly surpassing current supply levels, leading to an estimated annual supply shortfall of around 10,000 monkeys domestically.
Securities firm analysis projects that from 2026 to 2028, the average yearly gap between supply and demand will widen to between 15,000 and 20,000 animals.
Industry sources report that prices for suitable research monkeys, aged 3-5, are generally on the rise, with crab-eating macaques typically priced between A$150,000 and A$200,000 each, while rhesus monkeys are quoted at approximately A$120,000 per head.
A research head at a biopharmaceutical firm noted the current challenge is not just high prices but a severe lack of availability.
Analysts suggest this price surge is not merely a cyclical fluctuation but the result of long-standing supply constraints colliding with new demand pressures.
On the supply side, crab-eating macaques require 6-7 years from weaning to reach laboratory readiness, with females maturing at four years and typically producing only one offspring per year, resulting in inherently low production elasticity.
During a previous high-price period several years ago, many breeding facilities sold large numbers of prime breeding-age monkeys as commercial stock to improve cash flow, leading to a current industry profile with a higher proportion of older females and a sharp decline in reproduction rates.
Regarding demand, the latest annual report on China's new drug clinical trial progress shows the total number of clinical trials surpassed 5,000 for the first time in 2025, reaching a historic high.
Research and development for complex molecular entities like multi-specific antibodies, ADCs, peptides, small nucleic acids, and cell and gene therapies is accelerating rapidly.
Emerging fields such as small nucleic acids are in an initial phase of concentrated Investigational New Drug application filings.
As the industry's R&D focus shifts from traditional small molecules to large molecules and complex innovative molecular entities, the preclinical evaluation of these new drugs relies more heavily on non-human primate models, further amplifying the rigid demand for research monkeys.
An executive at a listed pharmaceutical company stated that rising monkey prices create a divergence within the Contract Research Organization sector: companies with their own monkey farms or stable supply sources gain scheduling capability and pricing power, while those reliant on external procurement face cost and profit pressures.
Possessing monkeys means selling scarce capacity; lacking them means bearing uncontrollable costs.
JOINN is recognized as a leading CRO in safety assessment, being the earliest domestic player to establish and now holding the largest stock of research monkeys, with over 50,000 crab-eating macaques in its inventory, 90% of which are self-bred.
The company forecasts its net profit attributable to shareholders for the first half of 2026 to be between A$600 million and A$900 million, representing a year-on-year increase of approximately 884.9% to 1377.4%.
JOINN attributes this significant performance growth primarily to rising market prices for its biological assets and their natural growth, both contributing to a positive fair value change that has substantially boosted its results.
The entire CRO industry is currently in an upturn phase with a comprehensive recovery in new orders.
Leading CRO firms including WUXI APPTEC, PHARMARON, and JOINN reported substantial growth in new orders signed in the first quarter of 2026.
WUXI APPTEC saw a 23.6% increase in backlog orders for the quarter, while PHARMARON reported new order growth exceeding 30% for the first half.
JOINN has reported year-on-year new order growth rates of +24%, +118%, and +112% for each quarter since Q3 2025.
Securities analysis indicates that with a rapid recovery in financing amounts and project numbers, the growth rate for new orders in preclinical CRO reached about 40% in 2025.
As previously secured low-price orders are gradually fulfilled, the robust new order intake is expected to translate into a clear inflection point for both revenue and profit for the sector in 2026.
A fund manager noted that overseas pharmaceutical giants are facing pressure from the patent expiry of numerous core drugs, while domestic companies hold advantages in R&D efficiency and cost in areas like ADCs, small molecule targeted drugs, and autoimmune antibodies.
The ongoing supply-demand gap both domestically and internationally is expected to lead to a phase of simultaneous improvement in both performance and valuation for the innovative drug sector in 2026.
Key Industry Participants
JOINN is strategically positioned in high-growth pharmaceutical R&D sectors, with its technological leadership becoming increasingly prominent.
The company has proactively established its technological footprint in cutting-edge fields such as ADCs, antibodies, and small nucleic acids.
Its quarterly report disclosed new orders of approximately A$910 million for Q1, a year-on-year increase of 111.6%, with a total backlog of about A$3.1 billion as of the end of the quarter, up 40.9%.
WUXI BIO reported revenue of A$21.79 billion for 2025, a 16.7% year-on-year increase.
The company signed a record 209 new projects, approximately half from the US and about two-thirds being bispecific/multispecific antibody and XDC projects.
Its project backlog stands at 945, including 74 Phase III clinical and 25 commercial manufacturing projects, laying a solid foundation for future growth in commercial production revenue.
The company recently announced a share repurchase on July 7th, buying 2.7165 million shares at prices between A$36.560 and A$36.880 per share, totaling approximately A$99.8233 million.
WUXI APPTEC achieved Q1 2026 revenue of A$12.44 billion, a 28.8% year-on-year increase, with revenue from continuing operations growing 39.4%.
Adjusted Non-IFRS net profit reached A$4.6 billion, up 71.7%.
The backlog for continuing operations stood at A$59.77 billion as of quarter-end, a 23.6% increase, with adjusted operating cash flow growing 21.7%.
For the full year 2026, the company anticipates total revenue between A$51.3 billion and A$53 billion, with continuing operations revenue expected to grow 18% to 22%.
PHARMARON expects first-half 2026 revenue in the range of A$7.47 billion to A$7.66 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 16% to 19%.
Net profit attributable to shareholders is forecast between A$729 million and A$772 million, an increase of 4% to 10%.
The performance change is attributed to the company's deepened global expansion, with new orders growing over 30% year-on-year, including over 50% growth in new orders for small molecule CDMO services.
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