Shareholder Liquidation Triggered Trading Halt; Zhaoyan Pharma Urgently Adjusts Plan

On the evening of March 16, CRO (Contract Research Organization) leading company Zhaoyan New Drug (603127.SH) disclosed a “full liquidation” share reduction plan, triggering intense market volatility. On March 17, the company’s A-shares hit the daily limit down, and H-shares fell over 11%. The company quickly issued a correction announcement, reducing the share reduction ratio and optimizing the reduction method.

In response, a reporter from the Economic Information Daily contacted Zhaoyan New Drug to inquire whether the reduction ratio adjustment was influenced by the stock price decline. Zhaoyan New Drug stated, “There was indeed some consideration of this.”

Previously, on the evening of March 16, Zhaoyan New Drug announced that shareholders Gu Xiaolei and his concerted persons plan to reduce all their A-shares through centralized bidding within three months, totaling 30.7425 million shares, accounting for 4.1026% of the total share capital. As of the end of Q3 2025, Gu Xiaolei and Gu Meifang are the company’s fourth and seventh largest shareholders, respectively. The shares to be reduced come from pre-issuance restricted shares and shares converted from capital reserve dividends, with the reason for reduction being “personal funding needs.”

After the sharp decline in stock price, on the evening of March 17, Zhaoyan New Drug issued a further correction announcement, reducing the share reduction ratio. After the correction, Gu Xiaolei and Gu Meifang plan to reduce a combined total of no more than 3.00% of the company’s total shares, down from 4.1026%. The reduction method was also changed from solely centralized bidding to a combination of centralized bidding and block trades.

Notably, this is not the first time Zhaoyan New Drug’s shareholders have reduced their holdings recently. From January 22 to January 28, one of the company’s actual controllers, Zhou Zhiwen, reduced 14.979 million A-shares through block trades and centralized bidding, cashing out approximately 568 million yuan.

Recent earnings forecasts disclosed by Zhaoyan New Drug show that the company expects to achieve operating revenue of 1.573 billion to 1.738 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 13.9% to 22.1%. It also forecasts net profit attributable to shareholders of 246 million to 370 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 945.2% to 1467.7%. However, the profit growth is mainly driven by fair value changes in biological assets such as experimental monkeys. The company’s laboratory services and other businesses are still operating at a loss, with fair value changes in biological assets contributing net profits of 452 million to 499 million yuan, while laboratory services and other businesses show net losses of 206 million to 130 million yuan.