CORRECTING and REPLACING AbCellera Reports Q1 2021 Business Results

May 15, 2021 Off By BusinessWire

 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$ABCL #antibodies–In the release dated May 13, 2021, the “Program starts, cumulative” figure for the period ended March 31, 2021 in both the Key Business Metrics table and the following paragraph should read 54 instead of 52. The resulting percent change from the prior period (“Change %) in the table should read 15% instead of 11%.

The corrected release reads: 

ABCELLERA REPORTS Q1 2021 BUSINESS RESULTS

  • Total revenue of $203 million, up from $5 million in Q1 2020
  • Total programs under contract of 119, up 63% year-over-year
  • EPS of $0.43 (basic) and $0.37 (diluted) compared to $0.01 loss per share in Q1 2020

AbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL), a technology company with a centralized operating system for next-generation antibody discovery, today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2021.

“Our partnership business continued to thrive in the first quarter of 2021, expanding our diversified program portfolio through collaborations with both new and existing partners,” said Carl Hansen, Ph.D., President and CEO of AbCellera. “Royalty revenue from our COVID-19 program continues to provide us with non-dilutive funding, bolstering our strong cash position as we execute on our long-term growth strategies.”

Q1 2021 Business Highlights

  • Earned $203 million in total revenue, including $178 million in milestones and royalties.
  • Generated $117 million in net earnings, up from a $2 million loss in Q1 2020.
  • Expanded partnership business by 16 programs within the quarter, a 23% increase in the rate of growth from 13 new programs added in the same period in 2020.
  • Achieved cumulative total of 119 programs under contract with 29 partners.
  • Bamlanivimab alone and bamlanivimab together with etesevimab have been authorized under emergency/special use pathways by more than 15 countries worldwide. In the US, bamlanivimab alone is no longer authorized for emergency use, and Lilly has transitioned to exclusively supplying bamlanivimab together with etesevimab to treat COVID-19 in high-risk patients.
  • Identified a second therapeutic antibody for COVID-19, LY-CoV1404, which advanced into clinical trials in April 2021.
  • Appointed Ester Falconer, Ph.D., to Chief Technology Officer.

Key Business Metrics

Metric

March 31,

2020

March 31,

2021

Change %

Number of discovery partners

24

29

21%

Programs under contract, cumulative

73

119

63%

Program starts, cumulative

47

54

15%

Programs in the clinic

1

N/M

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had 119 discovery programs (up 63% from 73 on March 31, 2020) that are either completed, in progress, or under contract with 29 partners (up from 24 on March 31, 2020). The Company has started discovery on a cumulative total of 54 of these programs (up from 47 on March 31, 2020).

Discussion of Q1 2021 Financial Results

 

Three months ended March 31,

Change

 

2020

2021

Amount

%

 

(in thousands, except percentages)

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research fees

$

4,657

$

3,986

$

(671

)

-14

%

Licensing revenue

 

 

20,259

 

20,259

 

N/A

 

Milestone payments

 

 

7,000

 

7,000

 

N/A

 

Royalty revenue

 

 

171,496

 

171,496

 

N/A

 

Total revenue

$

4,657

$

202,741

$

198,084

 

4253

%

  • Revenue – Total revenue was $202.7 million, up from $4.7 million in Q1 2020. Sales of bamlanivimab generated earned royalties of $171.5 million and $7.0 million for first sales in Europe. Licensing revenue of $20.3 million is a new line on the income statement and originated from the recently acquired Trianni humanized rodent platform. The partnership business produced research fees of $4.0 million, $0.7 million less than in Q1 2020.
  • Royalty Fees – Royalty fees to the National Institutes of Health on bamlanivimab were $20.0 million.
  • Research & Development (R&D) Expenses – R&D expenses were $12.4 million, compared to $4.1 million in Q1 2020, reflecting continuing strong investments in the capacity and capabilities of AbCellera’s discovery and development platform.
  • Sales & Marketing (S&M) Expenses – S&M expenses were $2.6 million, compared to $0.4 million in Q1 2020.
  • General & Administrative (G&A) Expenses – G&A expenses were $6.4 million, compared to $1.7 million in 2020, with the increase driven by investments to support the growth of the company and operations as a listed company.
  • Net Earnings – Net earnings were $117.2 million, or $0.43 per share and $0.37 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively, compared to a net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.01 per share on both a basic and diluted basis in Q1 2020.
  • Liquidity – $686 million of cash and cash equivalents and $193 million in accrued accounts receivable.

Conference Call and Webcast

AbCellera will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss these results today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

The live webcast of the earnings conference call can be accessed on the Events and Presentations section of AbCellera’s Investor Relations website. A replay of the webcast will be available through the same link following the conference call.

About AbCellera Biologics Inc.

AbCellera is a technology company that searches, decodes, and analyzes natural immune systems to find antibodies that its partners can develop into drugs to prevent and treat disease. AbCellera partners with drug developers of all sizes, from large pharmaceutical to small biotechnology companies, empowering them to move quickly, reduce costs, and tackle the toughest problems in drug development. To learn more, please visit us at www.abcellera.com.

Definition of Key Business Metrics

We regularly review the following key business metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions. We believe that the following metrics are important to understand our current business. These metrics may change or may be substituted for additional or different metrics as our business develops. For example, as our business matures and to the extent programs are discontinued, we anticipate updating these metrics to reflect such changes.

Number of discovery partners represents the unique number of partners with whom we have executed partnership contracts. We view this metric as an indication of the competitiveness of our technology stack and our current level of market penetration. The metric also relates to our opportunities to secure programs under contract.

Programs under contract represent the number of antibody development programs that are under contract for delivery of discovery research activities. A program under contract is counted when a contract is executed with a partner under which we commit to discover antibodies against one selected target. A target is any relevant antigen for which a partner seeks our support in developing binding antibodies. We view this metric as an indication of commercial success and technological competitiveness. It further relates to revenue from technology access fees. The cumulative number of programs under contract with downstream participation is related to our ability to generate future revenue from milestone payments and royalties.

Program starts represent the number of unique programs under contract for which we have commenced the discovery effort. The discovery effort commences on the later of (i) the day on which we receive sufficient reagents to start discovery of antibodies against a target and (ii) the day on which the kick-off meeting for the program is held. We view this metric as an indication of our operational capacity to execute on programs under contract. It is also an indication of the selection and initiation of discovery projects by our partners and the resulting near-term potential to earn research fees. Cumulatively, program starts with downstream participation indicate our total opportunities to earn downstream revenue from milestone fees and royalties in the mid- to long-term.

Programs in the clinic represent the count of unique programs for which an Investigational New Drug, or IND, New Animal Drug or Pre-Market Approval, or PMA, application, or equivalents under other regulatory regimes, has been filed based on an antibody that was discovered by us. Where the date of such application is not known to us, the date of the first public announcement of clinical trials will be used instead for the purpose of this metric. We view this metric as an indication of our near- and mid-term potential revenue from milestone fees and potential royalty payments in the long term.

AbCellera Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. All statements contained in this release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our ability to develop, commercialize and achieve market acceptance of our current and planned products and services, our research and development efforts, and other matters regarding our business strategies, use of capital, results of operations and financial position, and plans and objectives for future operations.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are described under “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in the documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. We caution you that forward-looking statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. As a result, the forward-looking statements may not prove to be accurate. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law.

AbCellera Biologics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations

(Unaudited)

(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share data)

 

 

 

Three months ended March 31,

 

 

2020

 

2021

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research fees

 

$

4,657

 

 

$

3,986

Licensing revenue

 

 

 

 

 

20,259

Milestone payments

 

 

 

 

 

7,000

Royalty revenue

 

 

 

 

 

171,496

Total revenue

 

 

4,657

 

 

 

202,741

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Royalty fees

 

 

 

 

 

20,010

Research and development(1)

 

 

4,118

 

 

 

12,352

Sales and marketing(1)

 

 

437

 

 

 

2,578

General and administrative(1)

 

 

1,650

 

 

 

6,422

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

574

 

 

 

3,305

Total operating expenses

 

 

6,779

 

 

 

44,667

Income (loss) from operations

 

 

(2,122

)

 

 

158,074

Other (income) expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other (income) expense

 

 

1,001

 

 

 

(265

)

Grants and incentives

 

 

(1,030

)

 

 

(3,148

)

Total other income

 

 

(29

)

 

 

(3,413

)

Net earnings (loss) before income tax

 

 

(2,093

)

 

 

161,487

Provision for income tax

 

 

 

 

 

44,266

Net earnings (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) for the period

 

$

(2,093

)

 

$

117,221

Net earnings (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

(0.01

)

 

$

0.43

Diluted

 

$

(0.01

)

 

$

0.37

Weighted-average common shares outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

151,859,924

 

 

 

269,697,212

Diluted

 

 

151,859,924

 

 

 

320,282,747

 

(1) Exclusive of depreciation and amortization

 

AbCellera Biologics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet

(Unaudited)

(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars except share data)

 

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

 

March 31, 2021

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

594,116

 

 

$

685,795

Accounts receivable

 

 

903

 

 

 

23,371

Accrued accounts receivable

 

 

212,336

 

 

 

193,071

Other current assets

 

 

5,970

 

 

 

5,745

Total current assets

 

 

813,325

 

 

 

907,982

Long term assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

17,923

 

 

 

34,618

Intangible assets

 

 

115,153

 

 

 

112,688

Goodwill

 

 

31,500

 

 

 

31,500

Investments in and loans to equity accounted investees

 

 

19,247

 

 

 

32,187

Other long-term assets

 

 

8,388

 

 

 

9,548

Total long-term assets

 

 

192,211

 

 

 

220,541

Total assets

 

$

1,005,536

 

 

$

1,128,523

Liabilities and shareholders’ equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable and other liabilities

 

$

20,195

 

 

$

13,287

Current portion of contingent consideration payable

 

 

13,411

 

 

 

13,762

Income taxes payable

 

 

36,152

 

 

 

30,030

Accrued royalties payable

 

 

27,143

 

 

 

20,010

Deferred revenue

 

 

6,589

 

 

 

11,306

Total current liabilities

 

 

103,490

 

 

 

88,395

Long-term liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating lease liability

 

 

3,715

 

 

 

16,973

Deferred revenue and grant funding

 

 

25,894

 

 

 

28,730

Contingent consideration payable

 

 

9,148

 

 

 

9,378

Deferred tax liability

 

 

26,161

 

 

 

26,992

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

6,620

 

 

 

931

Total long-term liabilities

 

 

71,538

 

 

 

83,004

Total liabilities

 

 

175,028

 

 

 

171,399

Commitments and contingencies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shareholders’ equity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common shares: no par value, unlimited authorized shares at December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021: 269,497,768 and 270,925,930 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021 respectively

 

 

710,387

 

 

 

711,139

Additional paid-in capital

 

 

5,919

 

 

 

14,562

Accumulated earnings

 

 

114,202

 

 

 

231,423

Total shareholders’ equity

 

 

830,508

 

 

 

957,124

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

 

$

1,005,536

 

 

$

1,128,523

AbCellera Biologics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

Three months ended March 31,

 

 

2020

 

2021

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

(2,093

)

 

$

117,221

 

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation of property and equipment

 

 

415

 

 

 

840

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

 

158

 

 

 

2,465

 

Amortization of operating lease right-of-use-assets

 

 

73

 

 

 

661

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

1,237

 

 

 

5,427

 

Deferred tax expense

 

 

 

 

 

623

 

Other

 

 

(28

)

 

 

(191

)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts and accrued research fees receivable

 

 

(26,611

)

 

 

(30,073

)

Accrued royalties receivable

 

 

 

 

 

26,861

 

Income taxes payable

 

 

 

 

 

(6,123

)

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

 

(156

)

 

 

(5,194

)

Deferred revenue

 

 

27,676

 

 

 

6,086

 

Accrued royalties payable

 

 

 

 

 

(7,134

)

Other assets and liabilities

 

 

(1,435

)

 

 

(1,924

)

Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities

 

 

(764

)

 

 

109,545

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchases of property and equipment

 

 

(583

)

 

 

(3,644

)

Purchase of intangible assets

 

 

(5,000

)

 

 

 

Investment in equity investees

 

 

 

 

 

(12,195

)

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

(5,583

)

 

 

(15,839

)

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repayment of long-term debt

 

 

(2,033

)

 

 

(1,716

)

Proceeds from long-term debt

 

 

16,171

 

 

 

 

Payment of deferred financing fees

 

 

(799

)

 

 

 

Short-term borrowings

 

 

(387

)

 

 

 

Issuance of common shares pursuant to exercise of stock options

 

 

124

 

 

 

173

 

Proceeds from issuance of preferred shares – series A2 financing

 

 

74,662

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

 

 

87,738

 

 

 

(1,543

)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

 

 

 

 

 

 

(484

)

Increase in cash and cash equivalents

 

 

81,391

 

 

 

91,679

 

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

 

 

7,553

 

 

 

594,116

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

 

$

88,944

 

 

$

685,795

 

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property plant and equipment in accounts payable

 

 

95

 

 

 

423

 

Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease obligation

 

741

 

 

 

14,188

Purchase of intangible assets in exchange for in-licensing agreement payable

 

 

9,060

 

 

 

 

Source: AbCellera Biologics Inc.

Contacts

Inquiries
Media: Jessica Yingling, Ph.D.; [email protected], +1(236)521-6774

Business Development: Kevin Heyries, Ph.D.; [email protected], +1(604)559-9005

Investor Relations: Melanie Solomon; [email protected], +1(778)729-9116