# Reagents and high-purity lab chemicals: Cycles

No spot market, just list prices and research budgets

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/cycles/

What this tab covers How its prices and margins move: past booms and busts with price levels, the spread or margin that the industry watches, the drivers of the cycle and the metrics to track.

Reagent prices are list prices that rise a few percent a year; there is no spot market. The cycle shows in supplier revenue: Covid testing, vaccine and bioprocessing demand lifted sales in 2020-2022, then customers destocked in 2023-2024. Research budgets, pharma R&D and biotech funding set demand. Supply shocks are rare but sharp when a by-product such as acetonitrile runs short. The floor is low because packaging and testing dominate cost; the ceiling is customers' willingness to switch qualified suppliers.
 The spread to watch **Not applicable**

Reagent prices are many times bulk chemical prices; track supplier gross margins (Merck Life Science, Thermo Fisher Laboratory Products, Avantor) instead.

#### Booms and busts

1. 2008-2009

Acrylonitrile plants cut output in the recession, and acetonitrile, their by-product and the main HPLC solvent, ran short worldwide.

HPLC-grade acetonitrile prices rose several-fold (indicative)

2. 2020-2022

Covid testing, vaccines and bioprocessing created a reagent boom.

Avantor revenue about $7.51 billion (2022); Thermo Fisher about $44.9 billion (2022) (indicative)

3. 2023-2024

Destocking by bioprocessing and pharma customers and weaker biotech funding.

Avantor revenue about $6.97 billion (2023), $6.78 billion (2024) and $6.55 billion (2025, Avantor results); Thermo Fisher about $42.9 billion in both years (indicative)

4. 2025-2026

US academic funding cuts weighed on research demand while pharma QC and Asia grew (indicative).

market $30.87 billion (2025) to $32.28 billion (2026e) (MRFR)

#### What drives the cycle

- **Research and pharma R&D budgets.** Academic and pharma labs are two-thirds of demand.
- **Regulated testing.** GMP, food and environmental testing rules specify grades and certified standards.
- **Biotech funding cycle.** Venture funding drives small biotech reagent purchases.
- **By-product supply.** Acetonitrile follows acrylonitrile output.

#### Metrics to track

| Metric | Why it matters | Where to track it |
|---|---|---|
| **Merck Life Science, Thermo Fisher and Avantor organic growth** | demand trend | quarterly results |
| **NIH and national research budgets** | academic demand | government budget documents |
| **Acrylonitrile operating rates** | acetonitrile supply | ICIS, Argus (indicative) |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/links/index.md)