Codexis reports a strong financial and operational performance in third quarter
Earned milestone payments of US$11.5m from GSK and Merck for use of its CodeEvolver technology
Protein engineering specialist Codexis reported a 'strong financial and operational performance' in the third quarter of 2015, with revenue exceeding US$17m and net income more than $5m.
President and CEO John Nicols said the firm earned combined payments totalling $11.5m from GSK and Merck after achieving milestones for its CodeEvolver protein engineering platform technology.
'Our ability to enter into and advance such licensing agreements is a critical component of our overall growth strategy,' said Nicols. 'At present, both programmes with these major pharmaceutical companies are progressing well and according to plan.'
He added: 'We are delighted with our financial results and the successful advancements of our collaboration arrangements during the quarter and throughout the year. Accordingly, we are updating our 2015 financial guidance by increasing our gross margin outlook to a range of 80–85%, while affirming our expectation for revenues to be in the range of $41–44m.'
Biocatalyst research and development revenue for the quarter increased 332% to $14.5m, compared with $3.4m in the previous-year period, largely due to milestones from GSK and Merck.
Biocatalyst product sales were $1.8m, compared with $2.6m for the prior-year period, a decrease attributed to a $0.8m sale to one of its food industry customers in the third quarter of last year. Revenue from the arrangement with Exela PharmSci for sales of argatroban injectable drug declined by $0.5m as a result of increased generic competition.
Total revenues for the nine months ended 30 September were $30.2m, an increase of 43% from $21.1m for the same period in 2014. This included $19.2m in biocatalyst research and development revenue, $6.9m in biocatalyst product sales and $4.1m from the revenue-sharing arrangement with Exela.
The net loss for the first nine months of 2015 narrowed to $5.5m, compared with a net loss of $19.4m for the first nine months of 2014.