AI drug development drives demand for wet-lab work; Huiquan Beer bets on premium flagship products

Why does AI drug development increase demand for wet-lab work?

Sinolink Securities believes AI drug development is in a period of rapid growth. Models need high-quality experimental data that can be iterated upon for training and calibration; AI-generated candidate molecules also require synthesis and activity validation.
The core application at present is a “dry-wet loop”: AI designs and predicts candidate molecules, laboratories synthesize and test them, and the results are used to refine the models. More candidates in the same round of validation also increase demand for experiments and data generation.
According to Twist's investor day materials, as of 5 March 2026, its wet-lab stage had completed more than 200 thousand protein expressions and 130 thousand antibody tests, generating more than 7 million data points.

The materials say AI is expected to shorten drug research and development cycles, saving about 70%–90% of the time spent on drug discovery; pharmaceutical companies' R&D costs could fall by about 50%, equivalent to approximately 54 billion US dollars.
Sinolink Securities believes expanding experimental demand creates opportunities for wet-lab and laboratory service providers, including ACROBiosystems, Pharmaron and Medicilon.
Existing data show positive signals for the phase I clinical success rate of AI-enabled drugs, but whether they have an advantage in phases II–III remains to be confirmed; the report also flags data risk.

Sealand Securities believes flagship products offer a path to upgrading the product mix amid competition for existing beer demand. Yanjing U8 was launched in 2019, maintained sales volume growth above 30% in 2022–2024, and still grew by nearly 30% from 2025 through the first three quarters of 2026.
Management from the Yanjing group took full control of Huiquan Beer from October 2025. The company is focusing on Huiquan 1983 and drawing on the packaging design experience of U8. Following a refresh and upgrade in the first half of 2026, sales volume of its strategic mid-to-high-end products rose 190% year on year.
Channel expansion has already involved costs: in the first half of 2026, the number of distributors rose to 814, and selling expenses increased 35.1% year on year. The company is also deepening its presence in the greater Quanzhou area of Fujian and expanding into Jiangxi and Hunan.

In 2025, Huiquan Beer's price per tonne was 2888 yuan and its gross margin was 34.9%, both well below peers. Sealand Securities expects higher flagship-product volumes to lift the price per tonne and, together with cost reductions from management and upgrades, allow the company's net margin to move back toward the peer average.
The brokerage forecasts mid-to-high-end beer revenue growth of 12.3%, 21.8% and 19.7% respectively in 2026–2028, with corresponding sales volume growth of 8%, 16% and 14% and price-per-tonne increases of 4%, 5% and 5%. Weaker-than-expected sales growth for new products and reform results are the main risks.
The materials list revenue of 590 million yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 120 million yuan for the first three quarters of 2026, up 2.0% and 17.7% year on year respectively. However, Sealand Securities' table forecasts full-year 2026 attributable net profit of 97 million yuan, below the stated figure for the first three quarters; the two figures conflict in timing or scope.