After five years of explosive growth, one of China’s leading providers of outsourced drug services delivered an earnings bombshell last week and had to scramble to contain the damage.

WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. (2269.HK) was a high-flying star during the biotech boom years and the rush for Covid remedies. But last Monday it suddenly issued a statement about its full-year earnings falling short of expectations amid leaner times for the drugs industry. WuXi Bio’s share price went into freefall, plummeting 32.5% in a week and wiping more than HK$37.4 billion ($4.79 billion) off the company’s value.

“This year is the hardest year in the history of WuXi Bio, and we have never experienced this kind of winter,” said CEO Chen Zhisheng. The numbers were indeed chilling for investors.