Cibus Inc (CBUS) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Calyxt Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results and Corporate Update Conference Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions) Please also note this conference is being recorded today, November 3, 2022.

下午好，女士們，先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎來到 Calyxt 2022 年第三季度財務業績和公司更新電話會議和網絡廣播。 （操作員說明）另請注意，本次會議將於 2022 年 11 月 3 日今天錄製。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Bill Koschak, Calyxt Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

在這個時候，我想把會議交給 Calyxt 首席財務官 Bill Koschak。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, and good afternoon. This is Bill Koschak, the Chief Financial Officer of Calyxt. I would like to thank you for taking time to join us for Calyxt Third Quarter '22 Financial Results and Corporate Update Conference Call and Webcast. Presenting with me today is Michael A. Carr, our President and Chief Executive Officer. A press release detailing these results crossed the wire after today's market close and is available on our company's website, calyxt.com.

謝謝，下午好。我是 Calyxt 的首席財務官 Bill Koschak。我要感謝您抽出時間參加我們的 Calyxt 第三季度 '22 財務業績和公司更新電話會議和網絡廣播。今天與我一同出席的是我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Michael A. Carr。今天收盤後，一份詳述這些結果的新聞稿傳出，可在我們公司的網站 calyxt.com 上查閱。

Before we begin the conference call, I'd like to remind everyone that statements made on the call and webcast, including those regarding future financial results and future operational goals and industry prospects, are forward-looking and may be subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the call. Please refer to Calyxt's SEC filings for a list of associated risks.

在我們開始電話會議之前，我想提醒大家，電話會議和網絡廣播中的陳述，包括關於未來財務業績和未來運營目標和行業前景的陳述，是前瞻性的，可能會受到許多風險的影響以及可能導致實際結果與電話中描述的結果大不相同的不確定性。請參閱 Calyxt 向美國證券交易委員會提交的相關風險清單。

These remarks include a discussion of adjusted net loss and adjusted net loss per share. Both are non-GAAP financial measures. In Calyxt's press release and its filings with the SEC, each of which is posted on our website at calyxt.com, you will find additional disclosure regarding these non-GAAP financial measures. References to these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to GAAP financial measures and should not be considered a substitute for results that are presented in accordance with GAAP.

這些評論包括對調整後淨虧損和調整後每股淨虧損的討論。兩者都是非公認會計準則財務指標。在 Calyxt 的新聞稿及其提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中，每個文件都發佈在我們的網站 calyxt.com 上，您會發現有關這些非公認會計原則財務措施的更多披露。除了 GAAP 財務措施之外，還應考慮對這些非 GAAP 財務措施的引用，並且不應將其視為根據 GAAP 提供的結果的替代品。

Lastly, this conference call is being webcast. The webcast link is available in the Investor Relations section of calyxt.com.

最後，本次電話會議正在進行網絡直播。網絡廣播鏈接可在 calyxt.com 的投資者關係部分獲得。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Michael for his opening remarks. Michael?

在這個時候，我想把電話轉給邁克爾做開場白。邁克爾?

Thank you, Bill, and thank you for joining us on Calyxt's financial results and corporate update call today. Today, I would like to walk you through our progress over the past few months before turning the call over to Bill for a financial update.

謝謝你，比爾，感謝你今天參加 Calyxt 的財務業績和公司更新電話會議。今天，我想向您介紹我們過去幾個月的進展，然後再將電話轉給比爾以獲取財務更新。

Despite unprecedented headwinds in the capital markets and the macro economy and the resulting liquidity challenges for the company, we have made substantial progress across numerous fronts within the areas of business development, licensing, infrastructure partnership and the advancement of chemistries under development, specifically the successful engineering of a key ingredient used in personal care products and vaccines as well as accepting membership in an important Department of Defense-sponsored manufacturing initiative that opens the door for Calyxt to federal grants.

儘管資本市場和宏觀經濟面臨前所未有的逆風，以及由此給公司帶來的流動性挑戰，但我們在業務發展、許可、基礎設施合作夥伴關係和正在開發的化學品的進步等領域的眾多領域取得了實質性進展，特別是成功的設計用於個人護理產品和疫苗的關鍵成分，並接受國防部贊助的一項重要製造計劃的成員資格，該計劃為 Calyxt 獲得聯邦撥款打開了大門。

We announced on October 25 that we had made substantial technical progress by successfully using a Calyxt-engineered Plant Cell Matrix to produce squalene. Squalene is an important ingredient in many personal care products and vaccine adjuvants, including several strands of flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Traditionally sourced from shark liver, many companies who require the ingredient for their products have already begun to seek out alternative squalene sources that represent a more sustainable solution.

我們在 10 月 25 日宣布，通過成功使用 Calyxt 工程化植物細胞基質生產角鯊烯，我們取得了重大技術進步。角鯊烯是許多個人護理產品和疫苗佐劑的重要成分，包括多種流感和 COVID-19 疫苗。傳統上來自鯊魚肝，許多需要其產品成分的公司已經開始尋找代表更可持續解決方案的替代角鯊烯來源。

With increasing demand for natural ingredients in cosmetics, along with the urgency to develop more vaccines that are effective at boosting immune response, the global squalene market represents a significant and growing market opportunity. Furthermore, the production of squalene validates the promise of our platform to engineer plant metabolism to produce innovative high-value plant-based chemistries for use in our customers' materials and products across the end markets of cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.

隨著對化妝品中天然成分的需求不斷增加，以及開發更多有效增強免疫反應的疫苗的緊迫性，全球角鯊烯市場代表了一個重要且不斷增長的市場機會。此外，角鯊烯的生產驗證了我們平台的承諾，即設計植物新陳代謝以生產創新的高價值植物基化學品，用於我們客戶在藥妝品、營養品和藥品終端市場的材料和產品中。

In the third quarter of 2022, we received 37 new chemistries from potential customers for evaluation, bringing the total number of chemistries cumulatively evaluated for development with our PlantSpring platform and for production in our BioFactory to 132. Of the 132 chemistries, 43 have met our target product profile criteria and are subject to further evaluation and discussion with potential customers. Additionally, the evaluated chemistries include several that were identified by potential customers as having been unsuccessfully attempted by others in the synthetic biology industry.

2022 年第三季度，我們收到了來自潛在客戶的 37 種新化學品進行評估，使我們的 PlantSpring 平台開發和生物工廠生產評估的化學品總數達到 132 種。在 132 種化學品中，有 43 種符合我們的要求目標產品概況標準，並有待與潛在客戶進一步評估和討論。此外，評估的化學品包括被潛在客戶確定為合成生物學行業其他人未成功嘗試的幾種化學品。

Our current customer projects under development remain on track. We continue to progress the pilot project for a major consumer packaged goods company with delivery of the plant-based chemistry expected by early 2023. This delivery has the potential to lead to a development agreement for this and potentially other chemistries.

我們目前正在開發的客戶項目仍在進行中。我們繼續推進一家大型消費品公司的試點項目，預計將在 2023 年初交付植物基化學品。此次交付有可能促成該化學品以及可能的其他化學品的開發協議。

Similarly, the development of our soybean-based palm oil alternative plant trait continues to progress, and we expect to achieve the first $100,000 milestone payment as early as the fourth quarter of 2022. The overall project is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, at which time the second milestone payment of $100,000 would be due.

同樣，我們基於大豆的棕櫚油替代植物性狀的開發也在繼續取得進展，我們預計最早在 2022 年第四季度實現第一個 100,000 美元的里程碑付款。整個項目計劃於今年第一季度完成。 2024 年，屆時將支付第二筆 100,000 美元的里程碑付款。

We also announced and signed an agreement with our first infrastructure partner, Evologic Technologies, to further develop and scale our PCM technology platform. The agreement supports the continued build-out of our plant-based synthetic biology capabilities and will power our speed-to-scale strategy and supports our ability to meet the growing interest in high-quality sustainable ingredients across the cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical markets. Evologic's contract development and manufacturing services based on its proprietary bioprocesses platform and technology supports companies like ours who are delivering unique and sustainable bioproducts. We anticipate sending the first PCM that will produce an engineered plant-based chemistry squalene to Evologic for scaling in the fourth quarter of 2022.

我們還宣布並與我們的第一個基礎設施合作夥伴 Evologic Technologies 簽署了一項協議，以進一步開發和擴展我們的 PCM 技術平台。該協議支持我們基於植物的合成生物學能力的持續建設，並將推動我們的快速規模化戰略，並支持我們滿足藥妝、保健品和製藥市場對高質量可持續成分日益增長的興趣的能力。 Evologic 基於其專有的生物工藝平台和技術的合同開發和製造服務支持像我們這樣提供獨特和可持續生物產品的公司。我們預計將在 2022 年第四季度向 Evologic 發送第一個將生產工程植物化學角鯊烯的 PCM 以進行擴展。

I would also like to note that we accepted membership to BioMADE, a Department of Defense-sponsored, or DoD, manufacturing innovation initiative. As a result, Calyxt is now part of a network comprised of synthetic biology companies, including Ginkgo Bioworks and Amyris, top-tier academic institutions, research-focused, not-for-profits, and the United States government agencies dedicated to innovating and growing the bioeconomy. Membership also enables us to apply for federal government grants to advance research in plant-based biomanufacturing. We are very pleased to be a member of this organization and to potentially advance research for the DoD in the area of plant-based sustainable solutions.

我還想指出，我們接受了 BioMADE 的成員資格，BioMADE 是國防部贊助的，或 DoD，製造創新計劃。因此，Calyxt 現在是由合成生物學公司（包括 Ginkgo Bioworks 和 Amyris）、頂級學術機構、以研究為重點的非營利組織以及致力於創新和發展的美國政府機構組成的網絡的一部分生物經濟。會員資格還使我們能夠申請聯邦政府撥款，以推進基於植物的生物製造的研究。我們很高興成為該組織的成員，並有可能推動國防部在植物可持續解決方案領域的研究。

We had a truly productive quarter, and the team continues to make substantial progress despite challenging global macroeconomic dynamics and unprecedented headwinds in the capital markets. At the end of September, our Board of Directors announced that it is evaluating a full range of potential strategic alternatives and that it has to engage Canaccord Genuity as an adviser. This effort is ongoing, and it demonstrates Calyxt's commitment to optimizing value for shareholders. We unequivocally believe in the potential of our technology. The progress we have made across multiple fronts over the past several months demonstrates our momentum and provides important validation of the work we do.

我們度過了一個真正富有成效的季度，儘管全球宏觀經濟動態充滿挑戰，資本市場面臨前所未有的逆風，但團隊繼續取得重大進展。 9 月底，我們的董事會宣布正在評估一系列潛在的戰略選擇，並且必須聘請 Canaccord Genuity 作為顧問。這項工作正在進行中，它表明 Calyxt 致力於為股東優化價值。我們毫不含糊地相信我們技術的潛力。過去幾個月我們在多個方面取得的進展證明了我們的勢頭，並為我們所做的工作提供了重要的驗證。

I'd like to now turn the call over to Bill, who will cover our third quarter financial results. Bill?

我現在想把電話轉給比爾，他將負責我們第三季度的財務業績。賬單？

Thank you, Michael. Earlier today, we issued a press release describing our third quarter '22 financial results. We also filed our Form 10-Q for the quarter this afternoon. For additional details about our financials for third quarter '22, please refer to our press release or filings with the SEC.

謝謝你，邁克爾。今天早些時候，我們發布了一份新聞稿，描述了我們 22 年第三季度的財務業績。今天下午，我們還提交了本季度的 10-Q 表格。有關我們 22 年第三季度財務狀況的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們的新聞稿或提交給 SEC 的文件。

I'd like to make a few comments on our cash and cash burn. We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $7.2 million as of September 30, 2022. Calyxt continues to be focused on the effective use of our cash resources, and we have reduced our costs while we execute on our near-term milestones, achieving the lowest burn rate our company has seen in recent years. Our cash burn in the third quarter of 2022 was $4.7 million, $1.2 million less than the second quarter of 2022.

我想對我們的現金和現金消耗發表一些評論。截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日，我們在本季度末的現金和現金等價物為 720 萬美元。Calyxt 繼續專注於有效利用我們的現金資源，我們在執行近期里程碑的同時降低了成本，實現了我們公司近年來看到的最低燃燒率。我們在 2022 年第三季度的現金消耗為 470 萬美元，比 2022 年第二季度減少了 120 萬美元。

I am pleased to report that in early November, Calyxt reached a settlement with one of its technology vendors regarding alleged intellectual property infringement. As a result of the settlement, Calyxt will receive $750,000 upon execution of an amended master services agreement, or MSA, and another $750,000 by January 31, 2023. The execution of the MSA is anticipated to occur in the fourth quarter of 2022. Calyxt will also receive reductions in contractual payments for a period of time.

我很高興地報告，11 月初，Calyxt 與其技術供應商之一就涉嫌侵犯知識產權達成了和解。作為和解的結果，Calyxt 將在執行修訂後的主服務協議 (MSA) 後收到 750,000 美元，並在 2023 年 1 月 31 日之前收到另外 750,000 美元。MSA 的執行預計將在 2022 年第四季度進行。Calyxt 將還可以在一段時間內減少合同付款。

The results of our cost-saving efforts, which are ongoing and include discretionary actions in management's control and the legal settlement, have provided cash runway into the second quarter of 2023. This projection includes only committed customer cash from development agreements and technology and plant trait licensing. And accordingly, the cash runway could be extended into future periods.

我們正在進行的成本節約努力的結果，包括管理層控制中的酌情行動和法律解決，為 2023 年第二季度提供了現金跑道。該預測僅包括來自開發協議和技術和工廠特性的承諾客戶現金許可。因此，現金跑道可以延伸到未來時期。

In addition, on October 3, 2022, we entered into an amendment to our open market sale agreement with Jefferies that enables us, subject to a maximum sale of up to 1/3 of Calyxt's public float in any 12-month period, to offer and sell up to 15,661,000 shares of our common stock. Since October 3, Calyxt has issued 2.0 million shares of its common stock, raising $0.1 million of proceeds net of offering fees and expenses. As a result of the issuance of these shares, Cellectis, once Calyxt's majority shareholder, now has an ownership percentage of 49.1%, which enables us to pursue additional government grant programs as an incremental source of financing.

此外，2022 年 10 月 3 日，我們與 Jefferies 簽訂了對公開市場銷售協議的修訂，使我們能夠在任何 12 個月內最多出售 Calyxt 公眾持股量的 1/3 的情況下，提供並出售最多 15,661,000 股我們的普通股。自 10 月 3 日以來，Calyxt 已發行 200 萬股普通股，在扣除發行費用和支出後籌集了 10 萬美元的收益。由於發行這些股份，曾是 Calyxt 大股東的 Cellectis 現在擁有 49.1% 的所有權百分比，這使我們能夠尋求額外的政府撥款計劃作為增量融資來源。

This concludes our call today. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us or our Investor Relations firm, Argot Partners, and we will be happy to help you. Thank you for joining us on our call today.

我們今天的電話到此結束。如果您還有其他問題，請隨時聯繫我們或我們的投資者關係公司 Argot Partners，我們將很樂意為您提供幫助。感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。

Thank you very much for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

非常感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開線路。