Codexis reports loss of US$7m in Q1
Revenue increased by 18% to $8m after significant growth in core biocatalyst R&D revenues and product sales
Codexis, a Redwood, CA, US-based producer of industrial enzymes, reported a loss of US$7m in the first quarter of 2016, compared with a net loss of $5.6m in the same quarter of 2015.
Revenue was $8m, an increase of 18% compared with the same period last year.
John Nicols, President and CEO, said: 'Double-digit sales growth was delivered across both biocatalyst product and R&D revenue categories, the latter elevated by achieving and recording a success fee as a second milestone payment from our collaboration with a major biopharmaceuticals company.
'We delivered on critical strategic growth initiatives in these early months of 2016. To start, we have proven our ability to execute a CodeEvolver technology transfer, having recently completed a transfer with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) ahead of schedule,' added Nicols. 'We will record the associated $7.5m milestone payment in the second quarter of 2016.'
The firm also completed two projects in the quarter, one that helped Codexis to prioritise its next therapeutic drug candidates and a second that sharpened its entry into a new market.
'We view both of these as prudent investments in high-value opportunities to leverage our CodeEvolver platform technology and accelerate our future growth,' said Nicols.
Biocatalyst research and development revenues for the quarter increased 61% to $3.5m from $2.2m in the prior-year period. Biocatalyst product sales for the first quarter of 2016 increased 22% to $3.7m from $3.1m for the prior-year period, reflecting an increase in enzyme sales to Merck offset by a significant order in the prior-year quarter from a food industry customer.
Revenue from the revenue-sharing arrangement with Exela PharmSci for sales of argatroban injectable drug was $0.7m.
Gross profit as a percentage of total revenues for the first quarter of 2016 was 69% compared with 79% for the first quarter of 2015, with the decrease due to a shift in product mix.
Research and development (R&D) expenses were $5.7m in Q1 2016 compared with $5.3m in the prior-year period.
Going forward, Codexis expects total revenues of $46m–$49m for the full year, representing growth of 10–17% over 2015.
This revenue guidance assumes the recognition of $7.5m and $8.0m in milestone payments related to the company’s non-exclusive licensing agreements with GSK and Merck.
Codexis earned the milestone payment from GSK during the second quarter of 2016 following the successful completion of the CodeEvolver technology transfer.