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Dannie Peng

A boom in China’s new drug research and development is driving laboratory monkey prices back to coronavirus pandemic-era highs, forcing some researchers to halt their studies.
According to Guo Xiangyu, a scientist at Jinan University in Guangzhou whose research focuses on developing non-human primate models for major brain diseases, laboratory monkey prices have risen steadily since Chinese New Year.
Suppliers are now generally quoting about 180,000 yuan (US$27,000) per animal.
“It is not just a question of price,” said Guo, who works at the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Non-Human Primate Research. “In many cases, the monkeys simply cannot be bought. Suppliers say they have all been pre-booked.”

Guo said his laboratory required between 30 and 50 monkeys each year for scientific work, including pathological and molecular biological analyses.
While this number is modest compared with the demands of pharmaceutical firms, the current shortage has still forced Guo’s team to suspend several projects.
“At these prices, we simply cannot afford them, so we have to stop,” he said.
Some projects had originally budgeted about 80,000 yuan per monkey when applying for grants. With prices having now more than doubled, their existing research funding is inadequate.
Mainland Chinese media outlet Red Star News on Monday reported that breeding companies in southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, as well as Guangdong and Sichuan provinces, had confirmed that this year’s crab-eating macaques were already fully booked by their partners.
These suppliers reported a severe supply deficit, pushing prices above 200,000 yuan.
Official government procurement records revealed that the price of these monkeys – widely used in preclinical trials to assess drug safety, absorption, metabolism and elimination – had doubled in just 12 months.
Native to Southeast Asia, crab-eating macaques are named for their fondness for eating crabs and are bred in China, primarily in the country’s warmer southern areas including Guangdong province, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Yunnan province.
They comprise the vast majority of non-human primates used in laboratory experiments, owing to a robust body of existing scientific data and their relatively small adult size, which requires lower doses of experimental drugs during testing.
Mainland financial news outlet Yicai this week reported that laboratory monkey prices in China had surged during the pandemic. At their peak, supply-chain disruptions and a spike in vaccine and drug development pushed unit prices past 200,000 yuan.


Prices then slumped from 2023 onwards as the innovative drug sector entered what industry insiders described as a “biology winter” before rebounding recently.
Now, demand and prices for the macaques are booming once more as the domestic market for new drug development heats up.
According to the 2025 annual report on the progress of China’s new drug registration clinical trials, published by the regulatory authority on June 23, the total number of clinical trials in China exceeded 5,000 last year for the first time – a record high.
Of these, 2,997 were clinical trials for new drugs, representing 57 per cent of the total and marking an 18 per cent year-on-year increase.
Phase one trials accounted for the largest share of these studies at 39 per cent, according to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).
China has also emerged as a vital source of innovation in advanced medicine, attracting multinational pharmaceutical companies eager to bolster their pipelines.
Chinese drug developers out-licensed roughly 94 molecules in 2024, a figure that rose to a record 157 in 2025, with many acquired by American giants such as Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb.
However, the supply of laboratory monkeys is difficult to replenish in the short term due to their long breeding cycles, according to Guo.
With individual monkey prices hitting 200,000 yuan on the market, breeding enterprises prioritised animal sales over expanding breeding herds amid an unpredictable business horizon, he said, adding that the trend would inevitably widen future supply shortfalls.
As China’s biomedical sector enters a phase of rapid expansion, Guo called for the supply and allocation of laboratory monkeys to be managed from a long-term strategic perspective.
To safeguard the needs of the domestic scientific community, relevant authorities should establish a national primate research centre, he said, ensuring that vital scientific work is not left at the mercy of market fluctuations.


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Long macaque breeding cycles and fully pre-booked colonies have forced some researchers to halt their critical studies


Long macaque breeding cycles and fully pre-booked colonies have forced some researchers to halt their critical studies.


National Medical Products Administration (China)

China’s lab monkey prices hit Covid-era highs on new drug R&D demand

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Long macaque breeding cycles and fully pre-booked colonies have forced some researchers to halt their critical studies

Long macaque breeding cycles and fully pre-booked colonies have forced some researchers to halt their critical studies