AbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL), a technology company with a centralized operating system for next-generation antibody discovery, today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2021. All financial information in this press release is reported in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

“We continue to execute on our long-term business strategy and have achieved another quarter of strong business development and growth in the key metric of program starts,” said Carl Hansen, Ph.D., CEO and President of AbCellera. “Our focus remains on the following top priorities: execution of our partnership business, forward integration of the platform to support all antibody drug discovery activities for the submission of an Investigational New Drug application, and investments in data science to increase the speed and scalability of our tech stack.”

Q3 2021 Business Summary

• Earned $5.5 million in total revenue.
• Incurred net loss of $21.4 million, compared to a net loss of $2.7 million in Q3 2020.
• Added 17 programs under contract and two new partners, resulting in a cumulative total of 155 programs under contract with 35 different partners.
• Started discovery on nine programs, bringing the cumulative number of program starts to 69.
• Confirmed one new molecule advanced into the clinic, bringing the cumulative total to five.
• Acquired TetraGenetics to expand capabilities for high-value transmembrane protein targets.

Key Business Metrics

AbCellera added 17 discovery programs in Q3 to reach a cumulative total of 155 discovery programs as of September 30, 2021 (up 65% from 94 on September 30, 2020), that are either completed, in progress, or under contract with 35 different partners (up from 26 on September 30, 2020). AbCellera started discovery on an additional nine programs in Q3 to reach a cumulative total of 69 program starts (up from 51 on September 30, 2020). AbCellera's partners advanced one additional molecule into the clinic in Q3 2021, bringing the cumulative total to five.

Discussion of Q3 2021 Financial Results

• Revenue – Total revenue was $5.5 million, compared to $9.4 million in Q3 2020, which is attributable to the reduction of milestone payments associated with COVID-19 treatments. Royalties associated with bamlanivimab were $0.2 million due to a temporary pause in usage until September 2, 2021 by the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the Food and Drug Administration. Shipments from existing U.S. supply then resumed on a weekly basis, and subsequent to the end of the quarter, Eli Lilly reported that the U.S. government has ordered 614,000 additional doses of bamlanivimab with etesevimab to be delivered by January 31, 2022. The partnership business produced research fees of $5.1 million, compared to $4.4 million in Q3 2020. Licensing revenue was $0.2 million.
• Research & Development (R&D) Expenses – R&D expenses were $17.5 million, compared to $7.5 million in Q3 2020, reflecting continuing investments in the capacity and capabilities of AbCellera’s discovery and development platform.
• Sales & Marketing (S&M) Expenses – S&M expenses were $1.2 million, compared to $0.6 million in Q3 2020.
• General & Administrative (G&A) Expenses – G&A expenses were $11.3 million, compared to $3.0 million in Q3 2020, with the increase driven primarily by investments to support the growth of the company, non-cash stock-based compensation in line with publicly listed companies, and protecting intellectual property.
• Net Loss – Net loss was $21.4 million, or ($0.08) per share on both a basic and diluted basis compared to a net loss of $2.7 million, or ($0.02) per share on a basic and diluted basis, in Q3 2020.
• Liquidity – $753.5 million of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities and $43.6 million in accounts and accrued 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 Standard Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard 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. For more information, please visit 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.

Molecules in the clinic represent the count of unique molecules for which an Investigational New Drug, or IND, New Animal Drug, or equivalent under other regulatory regimes, application has been approved based on an antibody that was discovered either by us or by a partner using licensed AbCellera technology. Where the date of such application approval is not known to us, the date of the first public announcement of a clinical trial will be used 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.

Source: AbCellera Biologics Inc.

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