What ChemExpress does

ChemExpress (Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress Co., Ltd., Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market ticker 688131) is a Chinese integrated pharmaceutical CRO and CDMO founded in 2006 and headquartered in Shanghai, with 1,001-5,000 employees including 600+ scientists across the organization. The company provides services across the full drug development value chain covering small molecules, biologics (antibodies), bioconjugates (ADCs, PDCs, RDCs), peptides, and oligonucleotides (TIDES), with a parallel life science reagents business serving early-stage research. Its bioconjugate franchise has delivered 170+ ADC projects including 70+ CMC projects, 5 BLA projects, and 1 commercialized product, supported by an inventory of 80+ payloads and 400+ linkers, 16 US FDA DMF registrations, and high-potency API manufacturing capability at OEB5 containment (OEL as low as 10 ng/m³).

The technology platform spans nine proprietary enabling technologies including high-throughput experimentation (2,000+ reactions/month), flow chemistry, biocatalysis, preparative chromatography, solid-state chemistry, photochemistry, spray-dried dispersion, hot melt extrusion, and a CNAS-certified process safety laboratory. Operations are distributed across 10+ R&D and production sites in China (Shanghai, Chongqing, Ma'anshan, Yantai, Hefei, Nanjing) plus a US Business Center in New Jersey, with significant new capacity from the Chongqing Antibody Drug Conjugate CDMO Base launched in March 2025 (120,000L antibody drug substance, 1,500kg ADC drug substance, 5 million vials fill-finish annual capacity).

The business model combines project-based CDMO services (FTE, FFS, and CMC engagement models spanning preclinical to commercial manufacturing) with catalog-based life science reagents sold via online inquiry. Customers include 13,000+ pharmaceutical partners and 15,000+ global partners, spanning global pharma, biotech (especially Chinese ADC/XDC developers), and academic/research institutions. ChemExpress serves over 95% of the 22 Chinese ADC/XDC outbound companies, positioning the firm as the de facto manufacturing partner for China's bioconjugate licensing wave. The company is publicly listed with no disclosed parent and pursues an offensive expansion strategy through AI partnerships (Insilico Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University), technology alliances (UNano Chip for semiconductor-enabled photochemistry), and LP participation in an early-stage pharma venture fund alongside other Chinese pharma leaders.

Name

ChemExpress

Legal name

Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress Co., Ltd. (上海皓元医药股份有限公司)

Website

https://chemexpress.com.cn

Company type

Public

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

ChemExpress (Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress, ticker 688131) is a Chinese integrated pharmaceutical CRO and CDMO serving 15,000+ global pharma and biotech partners with small molecule, biologics, ADC/bioconjugate, peptide, and oligonucleotide services plus life science reagents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical CDMO Services

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Drug Substance–Drug Product Integrated CDMO (HLAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small-Molecule API & Intermediates CDMO (HLAGABAA), Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO (HLAGABAC), Packaging, Labeling & Serialization (Clinical/Commercial) CDMO (HLAGABAJ), Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK)

Keywords

• Pharmaceutical CDMO services
• Antibody drug conjugate manufacturing
• Peptide oligonucleotide synthesis
• Small molecule API production
• Life science research reagents

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. CDMO Services: Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization services covering the full pharmaceutical lifecycle from preclinical to commercial production. Services include FTE/FFS/CMC models for small molecules, biologics, ADCs, peptides, and oligonucleotides.
2. Life Science Reagents: Research chemicals and biological reagents for drug discovery. Product categories include molecular building blocks, catalysts & ligands, ADC/PROTAC molecules, nucleoside monomers, and pharmaceutical intermediates. Sold in catalog quantities from mg to kg scale.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ChemExpress (Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress Co., Ltd., 皓元医药) is a publicly listed Chinese pharmaceutical CDMO founded in 2006 that provides integrated contract development, manufacturing, and analytical services across the entire drug development value chain. Its offering covers small molecule discovery through commercial API/drug product manufacturing, antibody and biologics CDMO, antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs/PDCs/RDCs) one-stop CDMO services, peptide and oligonucleotide (TIDES) CDMO, analytical and quality control, and CMC regulatory support. The company also sells a catalog of life science research reagents (payloads, linkers, building blocks, PROTAC molecules, nucleosides).

Product overview

ChemExpress (Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress Co., Ltd., stock code: 688131) operates a comprehensive CRO & CDMO platform offering integrated services across the drug development lifecycle. The portfolio spans three core divisions: (1) Small Molecule services covering drug discovery, process development, API manufacturing, and drug product manufacturing; (2) Biologics & Bioconjugates including ADC/XDC full-chain CDMO services, biologics manufacturing, and TIDES (peptide and oligonucleotide) CDMO; and (3) Life Science Reagents for early-stage research. The platform is enabled by nine proprietary technology platforms including high-throughput experimentation, flow chemistry, biocatalysis, preparative chromatography, solid-state chemistry, photochemistry, spray-dried dispersion, hot melt extrusion, and process safety laboratory. The company serves over 15,000 global partners with operations spanning research facilities in Shanghai, Ma'anshan, Chengdu, Yantai, Hefei, and Nanjing, and commercial manufacturing in Ma'anshan and Chongqing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Small Molecule Drug Discovery, Process Development & Manufacturing Services (化学小分子) Integrated contract development and manufacturing services for small molecule drugs covering synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, API/intermediate process development, formulation development, drug substance manufacturing, drug product manufacturing, and CMC regulatory support for pharmaceutical and biotech clients.
• Bioconjugates CDMO Services (ADCs, PDCs, RDCs) (生物偶联物) One-stop bioconjugate CDMO services including ADC payload-linker synthesis, bioconjugation (cysteine, lysine, N-glycan, enzymatic), ADC drug substance and drug product process development and manufacturing, peptide drug conjugates (PDC), and radionuclide drug conjugates (RDC) — supported by 170+ ADC projects delivered including 70+ CMC, 5 BLA, and 1 commercialized project.
• ADC Payload-Linker Products & Services (ADC 载荷-连接子) ADC payload-linker catalog products and custom synthesis services featuring 80+ in-stock payloads, 400+ in-stock linkers, 1,000+ linker synthesis experiences, 5 GMP OEB5 production lines, and 16 US FDA DMF-registered small molecule products for ADC developers.
• Biologics CDMO Services (生物大分子) Full lifecycle biologics contract services covering antibody drug discovery, antibody process development (cell culture and purification), non-GMP and cGMP manufacturing, and antibody analytical development and quality control, supported by the Chongqing Antibody Drug Conjugate CDMO Base (120,000L antibody drug substance capacity).
• Peptide Process Development & Manufacturing Services (多肽) Peptide drug contract development and manufacturing services including solid-phase and liquid-phase synthesis (3-80 amino acids), cyclic peptides, peptide-PDC development, and GLP-1 derivatives, from milligram to kilogram scale with GMP production capability.
• Oligonucleotide Process Development & Manufacturing Services (寡核苷酸) Oligonucleotide contract development and manufacturing services covering siRNA, miRNA, CRISPR sgRNA, saRNA, ASO, and aptamer synthesis with 100+ modification capabilities (mg to kg scale) using ÄKTA OligoPilot and GE OligoPilot systems, including GalNAc and peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates.
• Life Science Reagents (生命科学试剂) Catalog of research reagents for early-stage drug discovery sold in mg-to-kg quantities including molecular building blocks, catalysts and ligands, ADC and PROTAC-related molecules, nucleoside monomers, PEG derivatives, and biological reagents covering more than 1,000 targets across 20 signaling pathways.
• CMC Regulatory Support Services (CMC 服务) Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) regulatory support services for pharmaceutical clients covering ICH-compliant IND, NDA, and ANDA pathways, US FDA DMF registration, and EU ASMF filings, leveraged across more than 50 IND projects delivered in both US and China.
• Analytical Development & Quality Control Services Cross-modality analytical and quality control services including method development and validation, structural characterization, impurity research, stability studies, and regulatory testing support delivered through CNAS-accredited laboratory platforms (CNAS L25516, L23676) for small molecule and biologic drug programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 170+ ADC projects completed successfully
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature14 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 迈威生物 (Mabwell / Shanghai Maohai Biotechnology Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2025Strategic cooperation to build a novel ADC compound library covering hundreds of targets, screen and advance next-generation ADC candidates, and accelerate the industrialization of innovative ADC drugs. Three-party collaboration with Insilico Medicine.
• 英矽智能 (Insilico Medicine / Insilico Intelligence Technology Shanghai Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2025Three-party strategic cooperation to leverage AI-powered drug discovery capabilities to screen and advance next-generation ADC candidates. Combined with ChemExpress's manufacturing and ChemExpress's ADC expertise.
• 上海交通大学药学院 (Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Pharmacy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2025Strategic cooperation on AI + organoid + drug R&D. Full chain system from basic research to technology development to achievement transformation to industrial incubation. Both parties signed agreement with Chairman Dr. Zheng Baofu and Dean Zhang Ao.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WuXi STA (WuXi AppTec): WuXi STA is the leading Chinese small-molecule API/intermediates CDMO and part of WuXi AppTec. It directly competes with ChemExpress's small molecule and process development services for global pharmaceutical and biotech customers.
• GenScript ProBio: GenScript ProBio is the CDMO arm of GenScript offering cell therapy, gene therapy, antibody and biologics manufacturing. Comparable to ChemExpress on biologics process development and contract manufacturing for biotech customers.
• Tigermed: Tigermed is a leading Chinese clinical CRO with growing CDMO and biologics services. Comparable to ChemExpress as a Chinese integrated drug development partner serving pharmaceutical and biotech customers across modalities.
• Asymchem Laboratories: Asymchem is a top Chinese CDMO focused on small molecule API/intermediates manufacturing with strong HPAPI capabilities. Comparable to ChemExpress on small molecule drug substance, HPAPI manufacturing (OEB-rated facilities) and global pharma customer base.
• Pharmaron: Pharmaron is a Chinese-headquartered integrated CRO/CDMO offering discovery, preclinical, CMC and commercial manufacturing across small and large molecules. Directly comparable to ChemExpress's integrated services across drug development stages and modalities.
• WuXi XDC: WuXi XDC is a leading Chinese bioconjugate/ADC CDMO spun out of WuXi Biologics, offering antibody, payload-linker and ADC drug substance services. It is the most direct competitor to ChemExpress's ADC CDMO franchise in China and competes for the same Chinese ADC/XDC outbound customers.
• WuXi Biologics: WuXi Biologics is the global leader in biologics CDMO offering antibody and recombinant protein manufacturing services. Directly comparable to ChemExpress's Biologics CDMO offering (antibody process development and manufacturing) and ADC antibody component supply.

Broad incumbents

• Catalent (Novo Holdings): Catalent is a major global CDMO (now owned by Novo Holdings) providing softgel and biologics development and manufacturing including ADC fill-finish. Comparable to ChemExpress's integrated drug product and biologics manufacturing capabilities.
• Lonza: Lonza is the world's largest CDMO providing services across small molecules, biologics, and cell/gene therapy. It is a broad incumbent competing with ChemExpress's integrated CDMO platform on global pharma accounts, particularly for biologics and ADC work.
• Samsung Biologics: Samsung Biologics is a leading Korean biologics CDMO offering large-scale mammalian and microbial manufacturing. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing with ChemExpress's biologics CDMO services on global pharma accounts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ChemExpress