Niagen Bioscience Inc (NAGE) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to ChromaDex Corporation's Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Julian and I'll be your conference operator today. (Operator Instructions) And as a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. This afternoon, ChromaDex issued a news release announcing the company's financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022. If you have not reviewed this information, both are available within the Investor Relations section of ChromaDex's website at www.chromadex.com.

女士們，先生們，感謝您的支持，歡迎來到 ChromaDex 公司 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。我叫 Julian，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線員。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，正在錄製此電話會議。今天下午，ChromaDex 發布了一份新聞稿，宣布了公司 2022 年第四季度的財務業績。如果您尚未查看此信息，則可以在 ChromaDex 網站 www.chromadex.com 的投資者關係部分找到這兩個信息。

I would now like to turn the conference call over to Tom Shumaker, LifeSci Advisors, Agency IR Counsel for ChromaDex. Please go ahead, Mr. Shumaker.

我現在想把電話會議轉給 Tom Shumaker，LifeSci Advisors，ChromaDex 的代理 IR 顧問。請繼續，Shumaker 先生。

Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to ChromaDex Corporation's fourth quarter 2022 results investor call. With us today are ChromaDex's Chief Executive Officer, Rob Fried; Chief Financial Officer, Brianna Gerber and Senior Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Dr. Andrew Shao, who will join the call for Q&A.

謝謝。下午好，歡迎來到 ChromaDex 公司 2022 年第四季度業績投資者電話會議。今天和我們在一起的是 ChromaDex 的首席執行官 Rob Fried；首席財務官 Brianna Gerber 和科學與法規事務高級副總裁 Andrew Shao 博士將加入電話問答環節。

Today's conference call may include forward-looking statements, including statements related to ChromaDex's research and development and clinical trial plans and the timing and results of such trials, the timing of future regulatory filings, the expansion of the sale of Tru Niagen in new markets, business development opportunities, future financial results, cash needs, operating performance, investor interest and business prospects and opportunities, as well as anticipated results of operations.

今天的電話會議可能包括前瞻性陳述，包括與 ChromaDex 的研發和臨床試驗計劃以及此類試驗的時間和結果、未來監管備案的時間、Tru Niagen 在新市場的銷售擴大等相關的陳述，業務發展機會、未來財務業績、現金需求、經營業績、投資者興趣和業務前景和機會，以及預期的經營業績。

Forward-looking statements represent only the company's estimates on the date of this conference call and are not intended to give any assurance as to actual future results. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause ChromaDex's actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements. These risk factors include those contained in ChromaDex's Annual Report on Form 10-K most recently filed with the SEC, including the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as inflationary and adverse economic conditions on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

前瞻性陳述僅代表公司在本次電話會議召開之日的估計，並不旨在對未來的實際結果提供任何保證。由於前瞻性陳述涉及尚未發生的事項，因此這些陳述本身就存在風險和不確定性。許多因素可能導致 ChromaDex 的實際活動或結果與前瞻性陳述中預期的活動和結果存在重大差異。這些風險因素包括 ChromaDex 最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格年度報告中包含的那些因素，包括 COVID-19 大流行的影響，以及通貨膨脹和不利的經濟狀況對我們業務、經營業績、財務狀況的影響和現金流量。

Please note that the company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this conference call to conform with the forward-looking statements, actual results or to changes in its expectations. In addition, certain of the financial information presented in this call references non-GAAP financial measures. The company's earnings presentation and earnings press release, which were issued this afternoon and are available on the company's website presents reconciliations to the appropriate GAAP measures. Finally, this conference call is being recorded via webcast. The webcast will be available at the Investor Relations section of our website at www.chromadex.com.

請注意，公司不承擔在本次電話會議日期後更新任何前瞻性陳述以符合前瞻性陳述、實際結果或預期變化的義務。此外，本次電話會議中提供的某些財務信息引用了非 GAAP 財務指標。公司的收益報告和收益新聞稿於今天下午發布，可在公司網站上查閱，介紹了與適當的 GAAP 措施的對賬。最後，本次電話會議將通過網絡直播進行錄製。該網絡廣播將在我們網站 www.chromadex.com 的投資者關係部分提供。

With that, it's my pleasure to turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Rob Fried.

因此，我很高興將電話轉給我們的首席執行官 Rob Fried。

Thank you, Tom. Good afternoon, everyone and thank you very much for joining us on our investor call today, it's good to be with you again. I'm pleased to report that we delivered our best ever quarterly revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022, $21 million, up 18% year-over-year and 23% sequentially. Furthermore, as promised, we achieved positive adjusted EBITDA, defined as EBITDA without share-based compensation and severance, of approximately $400,000 for the quarter.

謝謝你，湯姆。大家下午好，非常感謝你們今天加入我們的投資者電話會議，很高興再次和你們在一起。我很高興地報告，我們在 2022 年第四季度實現了有史以來最好的季度收入，達到 2100 萬美元，同比增長 18%，環比增長 23%。此外，正如所承諾的那樣，本季度我們實現了約 400,000 美元的正調整 EBITDA（定義為沒有基於股份的補償和遣散費的 EBITDA）。

We believe it is important for enterprises to prioritize profitability, as well as growth at all times. But given today's challenging macroeconomic environment, frugality is particularly important. We have a trusted quality brand in Tru Niagen and a portfolio of protected NAD precursors, especially Niagen, that can endure turbulent times.

我們認為，企業始終將盈利能力和增長放在首位非常重要。但鑑於當今充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境，節儉尤為重要。我們在 Tru Niagen 中擁有值得信賴的優質品牌和一系列受保護的 NAD 前體，尤其是 Niagen，它們可以經受住動盪時期。

The Tru Niagen brand is based on strong science and in truth, is the safest, most researched, indeed the best product in the fast-growing NAD marketplace. On our last earnings call, we reached the market on major events that occurred in the fourth quarter reporting period, including the signing of an amended long-term supply agreement with Nestle Health Science, which expanded their rights to sell Niagen in multi ingredient formulations. It included a $2 million upfront purchase.

Tru Niagen 品牌以強大的科學為基礎，事實上，它是快速增長的 NAD 市場中最安全、研究最多、確實最好的產品。在我們上次的財報電話會議上，我們就第四季度報告期內發生的重大事件向市場通報，包括與雀巢健康科學公司簽署經修訂的長期供應協議，擴大了他們在多成分配方中銷售 Niagen 的權利。其中包括 200 萬美元的預付款。

We also formed a ChromaDex Asia joint-venture, our operating entity in China that is working with Sinopharm Xingsha, broadening the Tru Niagen's penetration in the region. Alongside these two major events, Nestle and our existing strategic investors collectively invested $7.7 million, net of fees into ChromaDex and we are very grateful for this vote of confidence. We end the year with over $20 million in cash and no debt.

我們還成立了 ChromaDex Asia 合資企業，這是我們在中國的運營實體，與國藥興沙合作，擴大 Tru Niagen 在該地區的滲透率。除了這兩項重大事件外，雀巢和我們現有的戰略投資者共同向 ChromaDex 投資了 770 萬美元（扣除費用），我們非常感謝這次信任投票。我們以超過 2000 萬美元的現金和無債務結束了這一年。

Brianna will provide detailed financial shortly, but in the second half of the year, which coincided with her promotion to CFO, we have dramatically improved our management of operating expenses and this discipline will continue in 2023. The fourth quarter selling and marketing as a percent of net sales was down to approximately 30%, as compared to approximately 49% in the year-ago period. Legal expense was significantly lower, a trend that was evident throughout the year as well. As we've said, litigation is largely behind us and we continue to build upon and protect our extensive long-term intellectual property portfolio, which was noted in my letter to shareholders last month.

Brianna 將很快提供詳細的財務信息，但在今年下半年，恰逢她晉升為首席財務官，我們顯著改善了運營費用的管理，這一紀律將在 2023 年繼續。第四季度銷售和營銷百分比淨銷售額下降至約 30%，而去年同期約為 49%。法律費用顯著降低，這一趨勢在全年也很明顯。正如我們所說，訴訟基本上已經過去，我們將繼續建立和保護我們廣泛的長期知識產權組合，我在上個月給股東的信中提到了這一點。

G&A in the fourth quarter was also down approximately $500,000 year-over-year. In that shareholder letter, I cited a series of new critical patents that we were able to obtain last year, which in combination with existing IP and patents from W.R. Grace who supplies NR to ChromaDex exclusively. We expect to protect them off for at least the next 10 years. Two of ChromaDexs' recently granted patents protect methods of making NR in various salt forms. A third recently granted patent covers a crystal form of NR (inaudible) chloride, NR [MCL]. While the previously granted patent in 2018 covers a crystal form of NR triacetate chloride, NRT. NR MCL and NRT are important intermediates in the production of the final ingredient, NR chloride.

第四季度的 G&A 也同比下降了約 500,000 美元。在那封股東信中，我引用了我們去年獲得的一系列新的關鍵專利，這些專利與現有的知識產權和 W.R.Grace 的專利相結合，W.R.Grace 獨家向 ChromaDex 供應 NR。我們希望至少在未來 10 年內保護它們。 ChromaDexs 最近授予的兩項專利保護了各種鹽形式的天然天然橡膠的製造方法。最近授予的第三項專利涵蓋了 NR（聽不清）氯化物的結晶形式，NR [MCL]。而先前於 2018 年授予的專利涵蓋了 NR 三乙酸鹽 NRT 的結晶形式。 NR MCL 和 NRT 是生產最終成分 NR 氯化物的重要中間體。

Despite these important financial and strategic improvements, our primary objective has not changed to keep building and growing our trusted global brand, Tru Niagen. We did have some challenges in the fourth quarter, there was a decline in our direct website sales in-part due to scaling back our acquisition spend. We were addressing this by revamping our website design and functionality and by optimizing our customer acquisition strategy. We were also impacted by an inaccurate press release from a university attempting to associate NR with cancer. This research article is in the top 5% of articles of its kind due to the media coverage resulting from the misleading and sensationalist University press release. This according to an all metric rating that measures attention for published studies.

儘管有這些重要的財務和戰略改進，但我們的主要目標並未改變，即繼續打造和發展我們值得信賴的全球品牌 Tru Niagen。我們在第四季度確實遇到了一些挑戰，我們的直接網站銷售額有所下降，部分原因是我們縮減了收購支出。我們通過改進我們的網站設計和功能以及優化我們的客戶獲取策略來解決這個問題。我們還受到一所大學發布的不准確新聞稿的影響，該新聞稿試圖將 NR 與癌症聯繫起來。由於誤導性和聳人聽聞的大學新聞稿引起的媒體報導，這篇研究文章在同類文章中排名前 5%。這是根據衡量對已發表研究的關注度的所有指標評級得出的。

But I'm quite proud how the ChromaDex team responded to this misleading piece of PR. The ChromaDex employees and Scientific Advisory Board responded quickly by emphasizing the large body of scientific research that shows no such correlation. We also appreciated the widespread support from the research community, including one of the studies very own offers and publicly de announced universities coverage of this study has clicked (inaudible). In fact, the majority of the data shows that NR may be cancer preventative. Numerous published studies of NR at high-dose levels have also shown to be safe, along with studies on the safety of vitamin B3 in general over the past 70 years.

但我很自豪 ChromaDex 團隊如何回應這個誤導性的 PR。 ChromaDex 員工和科學顧問委員會迅速作出反應，強調大量科學研究表明沒有這種相關性。我們也感謝研究界的廣泛支持，包括一項研究自己提供的服務和公開宣布的大學對這項研究的報導已經點擊（聽不清）。事實上，大部分數據表明 NR 可能具有預防癌症的作用。許多已發表的高劑量 NR 研究以及過去 70 年來對維生素 B3 總體安全性的研究也證明是安全的。

An important Tru Niagen sales highlight was Watson, where revenues in the fourth quarter were up over 50% year-over-year and we are quite optimistic that we'll see more consistent sales from Watson now that China has ended it's 0 COVID policy. Brianna will provide a full-year 2023 revenue growth outlook that is appropriately conservative in the challenging macro environment. However, as I look at the landscape of upside potential, there is a realistic possibility that we could see significantly greater growth this year.

Tru Niagen 的一個重要銷售亮點是 Watson，其第四季度的收入同比增長超過 50%，我們非常樂觀地認為，既然中國已經結束了 0 COVID 政策，我們將看到 Watson 的銷售更加穩定。 Brianna 將提供 2023 年全年收入增長前景，該前景在充滿挑戰的宏觀環境中是適當保守的。然而，當我審視上升潛力的前景時，我們有可能在今年看到更大的增長。

Innovations that we have worked on for years are close to commercialization and we could see additional upside from new partners, new channels and new products. And we have several additional opportunities for growth. First, we have planned a significant brand awareness event scheduled for this month. This event might have an impact on EBITDA in this first-quarter, but we expect that to pay-off significantly during the year.

我們多年來致力於的創新接近商業化，我們可以從新合作夥伴、新渠道和新產品中看到更多的好處。我們還有幾個額外的增長機會。首先，我們計劃在本月舉行一次重要的品牌宣傳活動。這一事件可能會對第一季度的 EBITDA 產生影響，但我們預計這一年將產生顯著的回報。

We also believe that the FDA's recent decision to ban the marketing and sale of NMN will benefit Tru Niagen. With the FDA's decision, NMN cannot legally be sold or marketed as a dietary supplement in the US, since it was first investigated as a drug. Niagen is superior to NMN as an NAD precursor, but NMN has recently gained traction. Although no primary dietary supplement companies which we are aware are selling NMN in the US, there are large number of smaller players. But according to a study conducted by ChromaDex and republished by consumerlab.com, less than 40% of NMN sold on Amazon was accurately labels. And many NMN products had no NMN at all.

我們還認為，FDA 最近決定禁止 NMN 的營銷和銷售將使 Tru Niagen 受益。根據 FDA 的決定，NMN 不能作為膳食補充劑在美國合法銷售或營銷，因為它最初是作為藥物進行調查的。作為 NAD 前體，Niagen 優於 NMN，但 NMN 最近獲得了關注。儘管據我們所知，沒有一家初級膳食補充劑公司在美國銷售 NMN，但有大量規模較小的公司。但根據 ChromaDex 進行並由 consumerlab.com 重新發布的一項研究，在亞馬遜上銷售的 NMN 中只有不到 40% 的標籤是準確的。許多 NMN 產品根本就沒有 NMN。

Just to be clear, this FDA decision to ban NMN does not apply to our proprietary ingredient nicotinamide riboside or NR, patented Niagen. Speaking the science behind Niagen, our cumulative body of research is truly remarkable. When I joined the company as an Executive nearly six years ago, there was impressive preclinical data. But until you have the results of clinical studies, it is hard to assess the value of an ingredient like Niagen. The results have now 21 peer-reviewed published clinical studies have exceeded our expectations and proving that this is indeed a special ingredient.

需要明確的是，FDA 禁止 NMN 的這項決定不適用於我們的專有成分煙酰胺核苷或 NR，即獲得專利的 Niagen。說到 Niagen 背後的科學，我們積累的大量研究成果確實令人矚目。將近六年前，當我作為高管加入公司時，臨床前數據令人印象深刻。但在您獲得臨床研究結果之前，很難評估像 Niagen 這樣的成分的價值。現已發表的 21 項經過同行評審的臨床研究結果超出了我們的預期，並證明這確實是一種特殊成分。

Speaking of [Cert], it's objective is not only to support health benefit claim for our consumer product, but more broadly it is to advance our understanding of this ingredient, with potential applications beyond the supplement industry. As an example, we understand mechanistically that NR reduces systemic inflammation, it penetrates the blood-brain barrier and reduces inflammation in the cerebral spinal fluid. And as such, we are excited, but not surprised. When we see positive results of NR supplementation for patients with important neurological disorders.

說到 [Cert]，它的目的不僅是支持我們的消費品的健康益處聲明，更廣泛地說，它是為了提高我們對這種成分的理解，以及在補充劑行業之外的潛在應用。例如，我們從機制上理解 NR 可以減少全身炎症，它可以穿透血腦屏障並減少腦脊髓液中的炎症。因此，我們很興奮，但並不感到驚訝。當我們看到對患有重要神經系統疾病的患者補充 NR 的積極結果時。

Recently, a clinical study published in the peer-reviewed journal Aging Cell found NR oral supplementation significantly increased NAD levels in the brain and positively impacted neurodegenerative biomarkers. Studies like this, as well as more than 40 ongoing studies that largely focused on disease states highlight the value of the deep intellectual property portfolio and scientific expertise at ChromaDex, which is largely untapped today. I do not know of another dietary supplement company that has an innovation pipeline of next-generation NAD precursors that may have significant therapeutic or prophylactic value in the pharmaceutical arena, as does ChromaDex.

最近，發表在同行評審期刊《衰老細胞》(Aging Cell) 上的一項臨床研究發現，口服 NR 補充劑可顯著提高大腦中的 NAD 水平，並對神經退行性生物標誌物產生積極影響。像這樣的研究，以及 40 多項主要關注疾病狀態的正在進行的研究，突出了 ChromaDex 深厚的知識產權組合和科學專業知識的價值，這些知識在今天基本上尚未開發。我不知道還有哪家膳食補充劑公司擁有下一代 NAD 前體的創新管道，這些前體可能在製藥領域具有重要的治療或預防價值，就像 ChromaDex 一樣。

I would now like to turn the call over to Brianna to discuss the quarter's results in more detail and then answer Q&A and closing remarks. Thank you for your attention. Brianna, it's all yours.

我現在想把電話轉給 Brianna，更詳細地討論本季度的結果，然後回答問答和結束語。感謝您的關注。布麗安娜，都是你的。

Thank you, Rob. It's a pleasure to speak to our investors, partners and employees who have joined us today. ChromaDex delivered on our latest full-year 2022 financial outlook to investors across all metrics and we exceeded our targeted reduction in G&A expense. For the full-year, we delivered total net sales of $72 million, a 7% year-over-year increase including 8% growth in e-commerce. Gross margins of 59.4%, reflecting the strength of our business model as we navigated significant inflationary pressures across global supply chains.

謝謝你，羅布。很高興與今天加入我們的投資者、合作夥伴和員工交談。 ChromaDex 向所有指標的投資者提供了我們最新的 2022 年全年財務展望，我們超出了 G&A 費用減少的目標。全年，我們實現了 7200 萬美元的總淨銷售額，同比增長 7%，其中電子商務增長 8%。毛利率為 59.4%，反映了我們在應對全球供應鏈的巨大通脹壓力時的商業模式優勢。

Selling and marketing expense down approximately 270 basis-points as a percentage of net sales, an increase in R&D expense of $1 million and a decrease in general and administrative expense of $8.1 million year-over-year, better than our outlook of a $6 million to $8 million decline. The underlying business as measured by adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP metric posted a full-year loss of $10 million compared to a loss of $18.9 million for full-year 2021.

銷售和營銷費用占淨銷售額的百分比下降了約 270 個基點，研發費用增加了 100 萬美元，一般和管理費用同比減少了 810 萬美元，好於我們 600 萬美元的預期減少 800 萬美元。根據調整後的 EBITDA 衡量的基礎業務，這是一項非 GAAP 指標，全年虧損 1000 萬美元，而 2021 年全年虧損 1890 萬美元。

We have provided a reconciliation to the appropriate GAAP measure in our earnings release side. Going forward, we have decided to discontinue providing adjusted EBITDA excluding total legal expense, as we believe adjusted EBITDA is the more suitable metric to assess our current underlying performance. To underscore this, we delivered positive adjusted EBITDA of $0.4 million in the fourth quarter, a significant milestone for the company. Balance growth remains an important objective and our results stand as a testament to our amazing ChromaDex team who have committed to looking at our business differently.

我們在收益發布方面提供了對適當的 GAAP 措施的調節。展望未來，我們決定停止提供不包括總法律費用的調整後 EBITDA，因為我們認為調整後的 EBITDA 是評估我們當前基本業績的更合適的指標。為了強調這一點，我們在第四季度實現了 40 萬美元的正調整 EBITDA，這對公司來說是一個重要的里程碑。平衡增長仍然是一個重要目標，我們的結果證明了我們出色的 ChromaDex 團隊致力於以不同的方式看待我們的業務。

Moving forward, we have initiatives underway to continue to optimize the business, which will have a larger lasting impact in 2024 and beyond. With that, let's turn to the fourth quarter of 2022 financials. ChromaDex delivered a solid quarter with total net sales of $21 million, up 18% year-over-year, gross margin of 57.2% and selling and marketing expense of 29.5% of net sales, a significant improvement from 48.7% of net sales in the prior year quarter. The underlying business as measured by adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP metrics posted a profit of $0.4 million in the fourth quarter, an improvement of $3.8 million from the prior year quarter.

展望未來，我們正在採取措施繼續優化業務，這將在 2024 年及以後產生更大的持久影響。有了這個，讓我們轉向 2022 年第四季度的財務狀況。 ChromaDex 季度表現穩健，總淨銷售額為 2100 萬美元，同比增長 18%，毛利率為 57.2%，銷售和營銷費用占淨銷售額的 29.5%，較上年同期淨銷售額的 48.7% 有顯著改善上一季度。根據調整後的 EBITDA 衡量的基礎業務，非 GAAP 指標公佈第四季度利潤為 40 萬美元，比去年同期增加 380 萬美元。

Moving to the P&L details, as I said, total net sales were up 18% year-over-year compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, with 14% growth in Tru Niagen including flat sales in e-commerce and 67% growth in combined Watson and other B2B sales. Watson sales were driven by timing due to a catch-up in shipment from earlier quarters. They have also seen recent improvement in (inaudible) as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in Hong Kong, as well as China encouraging the return of some tourism.

至於損益細節，正如我所說，與 2021 年第四季度相比，總淨銷售額同比增長 18%，其中 Tru Niagen 增長 14%，其中電子商務銷售額持平，綜合銷售額增長 67% Watson 和其他 B2B 銷售。由於前幾個季度的出貨量赶超，Watson 的銷售受到時機的推動。隨著香港取消 COVID-19 限制以及中國鼓勵部分旅遊業回歸，他們最近也看到了（聽不清）的改善。

As I had mentioned last quarter, China cross border sales that were previously captured in e-commerce are now captured in Tru Niagen other B2B sales due to our wholesale agreement with Sinopharm versus direct sales model on these platforms previously. Niagen ingredient net sales were up 53% year-over-year, largely due to an upfront minimum purchase of $2 million from Nestle Health Science, as part of the newly amended supply agreement.

正如我上個季度提到的那樣，由於我們與 Sinopharm 的批發協議與之前在這些平台上的直銷模式相比，以前在電子商務中捕獲的中國跨境銷售現在在 Tru Niagen 其他 B2B 銷售中捕獲。 Niagen 成分淨銷售額同比增長 53%，這主要是由於作為新修訂的供應協議的一部分，從雀巢健康科學公司預付了 200 萬美元的最低採購額。

Gross margins declined by 400 basis points to 57.2% compared to 61.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decline in gross margin percentage is attributable to increases in supply chain headcount including higher wages and other inflationary pressures across the supply chain, as well as business mix, which was more pronounced in the fourth quarter. In 2023, we anticipate trending closer to the full-year 2022 gross margin, as business mix normalizes, so we are still contending with inflationary pressures that impact our P&L with a lag.

毛利率下降 400 個基點至 57.2%，而 2021 年第四季度為 61.2%。毛利率下降的原因是供應鏈員工人數增加，包括工資上漲和整個供應鏈的其他通脹壓力，以及業務組合，這在第四季度更為明顯。到 2023 年，隨著業務組合正常化，我們預計毛利率將接近 2022 年全年，因此我們仍在應對影響我們損益表的通脹壓力。

Selling and marketing expense as a percentage of net sales declined 1,920 basis points to 29.5% compared to 48.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, as we pivoted to spend on distribution channels and marketing campaigns with the higher short-term return on investment and a strong focus on conversion beginning in the third quarter of 2022. In the fourth quarter, our customer acquisition cost or CPA declined by 40% year-over-year.

銷售和營銷費用占淨銷售額的百分比從 2021 年第四季度的 48.7% 下降了 1,920 個基點至 29.5%，因為我們將重點放在分銷渠道和營銷活動上，具有更高的短期投資回報率和從 2022 年第三季度開始重點關注轉化率。第四季度，我們的客戶獲取成本或 CPA 同比下降 40%。

As reported, general and administrative expense decreased by $0.5 million primarily due to lower legal expense of $0.4 million. Finally, our operating loss improved by $3.9 million year-over-year, as higher sales and initiatives to optimize our spending across the organization were partially offset by lower gross margin and investments in R&D.

據報導，一般和行政費用減少了 50 萬美元，主要是由於法律費用減少了 40 萬美元。最後，我們的營業虧損同比減少了 390 萬美元，因為更高的銷售額和優化我們整個組織支出的舉措被較低的毛利率和研發投資部分抵消了。

Moving to the balance sheet and cash flow, our balance sheet remained strong. We ended the quarter with $20.4 million in cash. In October, we raised $7.7 million net of offering costs with a new investor Nestle Health Science and existing strategic investors in two separate transactions. We did not access our committed line-of-credit.

轉向資產負債表和現金流，我們的資產負債表依然強勁。我們以 2040 萬美元的現金結束了本季度。 10 月，我們通過兩筆單獨的交易與新投資者雀巢健康科學和現有戰略投資者籌集了 770 萬美元的淨發行成本。我們沒有獲得承諾的信用額度。

In the fourth quarter of 2022, our net cash used in operations was only $0.3 million versus a $4.9 million use of cash in the fourth quarter of 2021. The difference this quarter was primarily driven by a lower net loss, a decrease in inventory and increase in accounts payable due to timing of payments to our vendors, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable due to timing of orders and collections from our B2B customers, including the $2 million upfront minimum purchase from Nestle and higher purchases from Watson.

2022 年第四季度，我們用於運營的淨現金僅為 30 萬美元，而 2021 年第四季度為 490 萬美元。本季度的差異主要是由於淨虧損減少、庫存減少和增加由於向我們的供應商付款的時間而導致的應付賬款中，部分被由於我們的 B2B 客戶的訂單和收款時間而導致的應收賬款增加所抵消，包括從雀巢的 200 萬美元預付款最低購買量和從 Watson 的更高購買量。

We collected cash from these customers in the first quarter of 2023. We provided details on key P&L metrics for our 2023 full-year outlook in our earnings press release, along with the slide presentation. As it relates to full-year 2023 net sales, we expect at least 10% growth year-over-year, with a realistic possibility of significantly greater growth. In light of the uncertain macroeconomic environment, we are taking a conservative approach and only considering recurring steady revenue growth from our e-commerce business and established partnerships.

我們在 2023 年第一季度從這些客戶那裡收取了現金。我們在收益新聞稿和幻燈片演示中提供了 2023 年全年展望的關鍵損益指標的詳細信息。由於涉及到 2023 年全年淨銷售額，我們預計同比至少增長 10%，並且有可能實現更大的增長。鑑於不確定的宏觀經濟環境，我們採取保守的方法，只考慮我們的電子商務業務和已建立的合作夥伴關係的經常性穩定收入增長。

As Rob said, we see potential upside from new partnerships, channels and products in the pipeline. We anticipate that our gross margin will remain stable year-over-year, as cost savings initiatives and overall scale are expected to largely offset inflationary pressures. Further, we expect that selling and marketing expense will continue to decline as a percentage of net sales on a full year basis, as we pursue new focused customer acquisition strategies and further optimization beat quarterly volatility driven by the timing of targeted brand awareness campaign like the one Rob mentioned in the first quarter.

正如 Rob 所說，我們看到了新的合作夥伴關係、渠道和產品的潛在優勢。我們預計我們的毛利率將同比保持穩定，因為成本節約舉措和整體規模預計將在很大程度上抵消通脹壓力。此外，我們預計銷售和營銷費用佔全年淨銷售額的百分比將繼續下降，因為我們追求新的重點客戶獲取策略並進一步優化以克服由有針對性的品牌知名度活動的時間驅動的季度波動，例如Rob 在第一季度提到的一個。

We expect that R&D will be up year-over-year as we invest in new NAD precursor development related to our recently granted patents, as well as other innovation to drive future growth. Finally, we expect that reported G&A will be down $2 million to $3 million, driven by a reduction in severance and restructuring expense, lower share-based compensation, driven by a reduction in executive headcount and a reduction in other general expenses as we optimize all areas of our cost structure.

我們預計研發將同比增長，因為我們投資於與我們最近授予的專利相關的新 NAD 前體開發，以及其他推動未來增長的創新。最後，我們預計報告的 G&A 將下降 200 萬至 300 萬美元，這主要是由於遣散費和重組費用減少、基於股份的薪酬減少、高管人數減少和其他一般費用減少的推動，因為我們優化了所有我們成本結構的領域。

We recognize that disciplined expense management is only half of the equation to achieve sustainable profitability. The other half is growth. We are confident in a stable level of growth based on our existing business infrastructure, but we plan to make measured investments in growth this year. As Rob mentioned, we have one such brand building investment this month. The full expense for this event will be recognized in the current quarter, with sales upside that is realized over the next few quarters.

我們認識到，嚴格的費用管理只是實現可持續盈利能力的一半。另一半是增長。我們對基於現有業務基礎設施的穩定增長水平充滿信心，但我們計劃今年對增長進行有節制的投資。正如 Rob 提到的，我們本月有一項這樣的品牌建設投資。本次活動的全部費用將在本季度確認，未來幾個季度將實現銷售增長。

Overall, we expect to be close to adjusted EBITDA breakeven or better each quarter in 2023 with the exception of the first quarter due to this brand building investment. In summary, we've made meaningful progress in the last six months. We delivered on our immediate business and financial objectives and position the company for success in 2023. We are planning conservatively, but have many reasons to be optimistic based on initiatives and partnerships already in the pipeline. I'm incredibly proud of the ChromaDex team for their efforts to bring Tru Niagen and Niagen to market to date and I'm encouraged by our renewed focus on operational efficiency as we pursue growth.

總體而言，由於這項品牌建設投資，我們預計 2023 年每個季度都將接近調整後的 EBITDA 收支平衡或更好，但第一季度除外。總之，我們在過去六個月中取得了有意義的進展。我們實現了近期的業務和財務目標，並為公司在 2023 年取得成功做好了準備。我們的計劃比較保守，但基於已經在籌備中的舉措和合作夥伴關係，我們有很多理由感到樂觀。我為 ChromaDex 團隊努力將 Tru Niagen 和 Niagen 推向市場而感到無比自豪，我對我們在追求增長的過程中重新關注運營效率感到鼓舞。

Rob and I look forward to leading the company through the transition to a leaner and more focused organization that is positioned for continued innovation driven growth and profitability.

Rob 和我期待著帶領公司過渡到一個更精簡、更專注的組織，該組織定位於持續創新驅動的增長和盈利能力。

Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

接線員，我們現在準備好接受提問了。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Mitch Pinheiro from Sturdivant.

謝謝。 （操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Sturdivant 的 Mitch Pinheiro。

So I just want to -- your e-commerce business was flat year-over-year. And I just -- you talked about it in your remarks, Rob and I was just curious if you could dive a little deeper into what was going on in e-commerce in the fourth quarter and how it's looked so far in the beginning of this year?

所以我只想 - 你的電子商務業務同比持平。而且我只是 - 你在你的評論中談到了它，Rob 和我只是好奇你是否可以更深入地了解第四季度電子商務的情況以及它在本季度開始時的表現年？

Well, first, we were affected by that cancer press release. So we did notice an impact in conversions and in subscribers, but it seems to have recovered, it only lasted about six weeks. But I would say that overall, the for the -- at least the website business during the last year, maybe 1.5 years, there's been an inefficiency in our conversion rate and in our marketing spend. So we pulled back. We're seeing a much greater efficiency now, but we're not really hitting the gas pedal yet until we see a meaningful and stable improvement on return on ad spend like we've seen in other parts of the business.

好吧，首先，我們受到了那篇癌症新聞稿的影響。所以我們確實注意到對轉化率和訂閱者的影響，但它似乎已經恢復，它只持續了大約六週。但我要說的是，總的來說，至少在過去一年，也許是 1.5 年的網站業務中，我們的轉化率和營銷支出效率低下。所以我們退縮了。我們現在看到了更高的效率，但我們還沒有真正踩下油門，直到我們看到廣告支出回報率有了有意義和穩定的改善，就像我們在業務的其他部分看到的那樣。

We don't -- it's definitely not an indication of demand, it's just basic blocking and tackling. And yes, it looks a little better already.

我們沒有——這絕對不是需求的跡象，這只是基本的攔截和攔截。是的，它看起來已經好多了。

And so just on the conversion side, what led to the inefficient conversions? What type of things either weren't happening for you? Or is it just marketing messages were off?

那麼就轉換方面而言，是什麼導致了轉換效率低下？哪些類型的事情沒有發生在你身上？或者只是營銷信息被關閉了？

No, I don't think it was about marketing messaging. I think we made the decision to outsource some of the basic functionality in that business. And the enterprise to whom we had outsourced didn't have sufficient resources to do it, so the basic blocking and tackling of running an efficient basic e-commerce site dipped. There's landing pages, there's creative, there's AB testing, there's optimization, there's retention, there's a process that we've generally been pretty good at, but we have not been very good at for the last, I would say a year or maybe 1.5 year, although we've made some changes and I see improvements already. And my expectation is that, we'll see dramatic improvements this year.

不，我認為這與營銷信息無關。我認為我們決定外包該業務的一些基本功能。而我們外包給的企業沒有足夠的資源來做這件事，所以運行一個高效的基礎電子商務網站的基本阻塞和解決問題就減少了。有登陸頁面，有創意，有 AB 測試，有優化，有保留，有一個我們通常很擅長的過程，但我們最近不太擅長，我想說一年或者 1.5年，儘管我們做了一些改變，而且我已經看到了改進。我的期望是，我們今年會看到顯著的改善。

Just -- the -- with 10% revenue growth is the sort of the bottom end of the range, are you -- and I did hear I did hear your comments regarding your adjusted EBITDA being positive in the, I guess, the final three quarters. Are you going to be able -- at a 10% revenue level, can you get to adjusted EBITDA breakeven or better for the full year? Or do you need a little bit of help from the potential upside?

只是 - 10% 的收入增長是范圍的底端，是嗎 - 我確實聽到我確實聽到你關於調整後的 EBITDA 在最後三個中為正的評論宿舍。你是否能夠——在 10% 的收入水平下，你能否在全年調整後的 EBITDA 盈虧平衡或更好？或者您是否需要來自潛在優勢的一點幫助？

The answer to that is it depends on certain costs that are unknown right now. For example, we have prepared for litigation costs during this year, that may be unnecessary are likely to be unnecessary. And in the event that we do not invest in those litigation costs or royalty expenditures on certain patents, then yes, we get to EBITDA positive even at a 10% growth rate. There are other potential savings that we could see that would get us there. But you're probably right, if we fully load all the costs, we probably have to do a little bit better than 10%.

答案是它取決於目前未知的某些成本。比如今年我們準備了訴訟費用，可能是不必要的，也可能是不必要的。如果我們不投資於某些專利的訴訟成本或特許權使用費支出，那麼是的，即使以 10% 的增長率，我們的 EBITDA 也是正的。我們還可以看到其他潛在的節省，這將使我們實現目標。但你可能是對的，如果我們完全加載所有成本，我們可能必須做得比 10% 好一點。

Our next question comes from Jeff Van Sinderen from B. Riley.

我們的下一個問題來自 B. Riley 的 Jeff Van Sinderen。

So Rob, I'm wondering if you can speak a little bit more about the new patents you've been awarded, the significance of those and how that IP can be incorporated into your products, maybe give us a sense of the new product pipeline and time frame?

Rob，我想知道你是否可以多談談你獲得的新專利、這些專利的重要性以及如何將 IP 整合到你的產品中，也許可以讓我們了解一下新產品管道和時間框架？

The new patents which were awarded approximately a year ago, they are actually -- some of them are extensions of existing patents are really exciting for us because it's a combination of process patents, as well as composition of matter patents. And in combination with those, also other patents that we have and, of course, the Grace patent, we don't believe anybody can make nicotinamide riboside chloride without us. This patent, in some sense, did its job for 17 years. There's really only 3.5 years left on that patent. So we properly anticipated that and we built up a very, very strong moat around nicotinamide riboside in the interim period.

大約一年前授予的新專利，實際上 - 其中一些是現有專利的延伸，這對我們來說真的很令人興奮，因為它結合了工藝專利和物質專利的組合。結合這些，還有我們擁有的其他專利，當然還有 Grace 專利，我們相信沒有我們，任何人都無法製造煙酰胺核苷氯化物。從某種意義上說，這項專利已經發揮了 17 年的作用。該專利實際上只剩下 3.5 年了。因此，我們正確地預料到了這一點，並在過渡期間圍繞煙酰胺核苷建立了非常非常強大的護城河。

That's not to say that we are necessarily going to go full blown in suing people who are infringing, we're going to take it one step at a time and see how it goes. But we are very, very protected. Outside of nicotinamide riboside chloride, however, there are a number of analogs, not just those intermediate analogs, but other analogs like NAR and RH that we have been researching and working on that are also very protected from a patent standpoint at ChromaDex. And there are indications that some of these analogs could be even superior to nicotinamide riboside chloride.

這並不是說我們一定要全力以赴起訴侵權人，我們要一步一個腳印，看看進展如何。但是我們非常非常受到保護。然而，在煙酰胺核苷氯化物之外，還有許多類似物，不僅僅是那些中間體類似物，還有我們一直在研究和研究的其他類似物，如 NAR 和 RH，它們在 ChromaDex 的專利立場上也受到很好的保護。並且有跡象表明，其中一些類似物甚至可能優於菸酰胺核苷氯化物。

As far as those new things like NAR, RH are those in test mode at this point? Or when can we think about those being productized, kind of perhaps starting to generate some revenue?

至於像NAR、RH這樣的新東西，現在還處於測試模式嗎？或者我們什麼時候可以考慮將那些產品化，也許開始產生一些收入？

We hope that another analog will generate revenue at ChromaDex within a year. The process is fairly complicated, though, Jeff, because ChromaDex does not cut corners, as frustrating as that may be to some investors, we do it the right way. If needed, we will get an MDI. There is another company that infringed on the Dartmouth patent that's releasing a version of nicotinamide riboside. This company applied for an NDI was rejected by the FDA for the MDI. So they are selling an illegal product on the marketplace right now.

我們希望另一個類似物能在一年內為 ChromaDex 帶來收入。不過，Jeff，這個過程相當複雜，因為 ChromaDex 不會偷工減料，儘管這可能會讓一些投資者感到沮喪，但我們以正確的方式進行。如果需要，我們將獲得 MDI。還有另一家公司侵犯了達特茅斯的專利，該公司發布了一種煙酰胺核苷。該公司申請NDI被FDA拒絕申請MDI。所以他們現在在市場上銷售非法產品。

To our knowledge, they haven't disclosed that. I guess they're assuming that the FDA may not enforce it, that's not something ChromaDex would do. We get the proper regulatory approvals, we apply for the patents. We manufacture it in a very, very safe approved way. What we release in the market is first rate, first quality and safe. We advertise it in a way that's consistent with the research that's done. We know that that's inconsistent in the dietary supplement space, we know that it's more time -- it takes more time and it takes more expense, but it's the way we do it. There's a real foundation here.

據我們所知，他們沒有透露這一點。我猜他們假設 FDA 可能不會執行它，這不是 ChromaDex 會做的事情。我們獲得了適當的監管批准，我們申請了專利。我們以非常非常安全的認可方式製造它。我們投放市場的是一流的、質量第一的、安全的。我們以與已完成的研究一致的方式為其做廣告。我們知道這在膳食補充劑領域是不一致的，我們知道這需要更多的時間——需要更多的時間和更多的費用，但這就是我們這樣做的方式。這裡有一個真正的基礎。

So in the case of these other analogs, in the event that we decide to commercialize them as a food or a dietary supplement, remember, there is always the chance that we would develop them as a pharmaceutical product. But in the event that we commercialize it as a food or a dietary supplement, we are going through the proper toxicology processes, the proper regulatory processes, the proper scalable manufacturing processes before we release it as a product. But it is my hope that we will see another analog in the market within a year.

因此，對於這些其他類似物，如果我們決定將它們作為食品或膳食補充劑商業化，請記住，我們總是有機會將它們開發成藥品。但如果我們將其作為食品或膳食補充劑商業化，我們將在將其作為產品發布之前通過適當的毒理學過程、適當的監管過程、適當的可擴展製造過程。但我希望我們能在一年內在市場上看到另一個模擬產品。

And then if we can switch gears a little bit, just wanted to, I guess, get your thoughts on what you're anticipating with Nestle, Sinopharm, Watson, it sounds like Watson is starting to turn around for 2023. What's baked into your guidance from those for revenues greater than 10% growth? And then maybe what catalyst could potentially drive revenue to exceed that 10% level or substantially exceed, I think is how you put it?

然後，如果我們可以稍微換檔，我想，只是想了解您對雀巢、國藥、屈臣氏的預期，聽起來好像屈臣氏將在 2023 年開始好轉。那些收入增長超過 10% 的人的指導意見？然後也許什麼催化劑可能會推動收入超過 10% 的水平或大大超過，我想你是怎麼說的？

The 10% guidance is extremely conservative. We bake into a 0 revenue from Nestle, 0 additional revenue this year from Nestle. We are extremely conservative with Sino and the Watson projections are just what's contractual. Indeed, all of the assumptions around 10% are based on existing partners, based on the contracts that we have and conservative projections on our DTC business. That's why we think there's a very realistic chance that we will exceed 10%.

10% 的指導非常保守。我們將雀巢的收入設為 0，雀巢今年的額外收入為 0。我們對 Sino 非常保守，Watson 的預測只是合同規定的。事實上，所有約 10% 的假設都是基於現有合作夥伴，基於我們擁有的合同和對我們 DTC 業務的保守預測。這就是為什麼我們認為我們很有可能超過 10%。

And then just a follow-up on the e-com business, your direct DTC business. Are you -- at this point, has that business turned positive? Would you anticipate that to be positive in first quarter? Or how are you thinking about that one?

然後只是電子商務業務的跟進，您的直接 DTC 業務。你 - 在這一點上，該業務是否轉為積極？您預計第一季度會是積極的嗎？或者你是怎麼想的？

What do you mean by positive?

你說的積極是什麼意思？

I mean up year-over-year.

我的意思是同比增長。

Revenue overall?

整體收入？

Yes, revenue.

是的，收入。

Of course, we expect the DTC business to be quite a bit positive in the first quarter. Just remember, the DTC business has several components of it, one of which is Amazon, another which is Shopify, there are other international components to it. The one where there is a great opportunity is our -- what we call Shopify, it's basically our domestic website. That may not grow quarter-to-quarter, but we expect it to grow in the coming quarters.

當然，我們預計 DTC 業務在第一季度會相當積極。請記住，DTC 業務有幾個組成部分，其中一個是亞馬遜，另一個是 Shopify，還有其他國際組件。有很大機會的是我們的——我們稱之為 Shopify，它基本上是我們的國內網站。這可能不會按季度增長，但我們預計它會在未來幾個季度增長。

So just to clarify, the -- for your own website, I guess you're calling the Shopify website. That business, you're saying may right, that business might not grow in the first quarter, but you anticipate that...

所以澄清一下，對於您自己的網站，我猜您是在調用 Shopify 網站。您說的那項業務可能是正確的，該業務在第一季度可能不會增長，但您預計...

100% will grow, it might not grow in the first quarter, though.

100% 會增長，但第一季度可能不會增長。

Our next question comes from Ram Selvaraju from H.C. Wainwright.

我們的下一個問題來自 H.C. 的 Ram Selvaraju。溫賴特。

So if you could just sort of give us a bit more granularity on the changes in customer acquisition strategy that you're looking to make? And which ones do you expect to be the most impactful and why? And then the follow-up I have is, specifically, with respect to the decision-making process around choosing a pharmaceutical development path versus a supplement or a food path. And if we should expect such a selection process to conclude over the course of 2023. So if indeed, you're going to potentially go after an Rx product development approach with anything, perhaps even with one of these newer analogs, if you're going to reach conclusion of that decision-making process and disclosure of the target indication in question before the end of 2022.

那麼，您是否可以讓我們更詳細地了解您希望做出的客戶獲取策略的變化？您認為哪些最有影響力，為什麼？然後我的後續行動是，具體而言，關於選擇藥物開發路徑與補充劑或食品路徑的決策過程。如果我們應該期望這樣的選擇過程在 2023 年結束。因此，如果確實如此，您可能會採用 Rx 產品開發方法進行任何操作，甚至可能使用這些較新的類似物之一，如果您是將在 2022 年底之前完成決策過程並披露相關目標適應症。

So I'm going to answer in order that you asked. First, I'll answer the customer acquisition question and then I'll ask the -- answer the pharmaceutical question. The way we approach customer acquisition is largely based on the science. So as studies come out, we begin to understand better and better how nicotinamide riboside impacts consumers. Initially, it was all preclinical studies, now you're seeing a whole state of clinical studies.

所以我會按照你問的順序回答。首先，我會回答客戶獲取問題，然後我會問 - 回答製藥問題。我們獲取客戶的方式主要基於科學。因此，隨著研究的出現，我們開始越來越了解煙酰胺核苷如何影響消費者。最初，這都是臨床前研究，現在你看到的是整個臨床研究狀態。

And we understand fairly well now that it has a very serious and positive impact on a whole host of indications and structure function. You see liver, you see brain, you see cellular energy, there's quite a few. They all ladder up to aging, if you will. We break that down into individual cohort groups and then we target those cohort groups through customer acquisition, so you create creative materials that attack that appeal to cohort groups that are interested in, for example, cognition.

我們現在非常了解它對一系列適應症和結構功能具有非常嚴重和積極的影響。你看到肝臟，你看到大腦，你看到細胞能量，有很多。如果你願意的話，它們都會逐漸老化。我們將其分解為單獨的同類群組，然後我們通過客戶獲取來定位這些同類群組，因此您可以創建創意材料來攻擊那些對認知等感興趣的同類群組。

And then you create a series of ads that appeal to them and you target them and then you create a click path process for optimizing that sale. And we do it fairly well on several platforms and we used to do it better on our fundamental website. And we will in the coming weeks get back to that again. But over the last year or so, we adopted a strategy that is not optimized. And so that is our process.

然後你創建了一系列吸引他們的廣告並定位他們，然後你創建了一個點擊路徑流程來優化銷售。我們在幾個平台上做得相當好，過去我們在我們的基礎網站上做得更好。我們將在接下來的幾週內再次回到這一點。但是在過去一年左右的時間裡，我們採用了一種未優化的策略。這就是我們的流程。

Once you do that process, it's then just a sense of consistent measurement, which ones are converting, do we have to make minor changes to optimize them? Are any of them falling off, if so, do they -- and the ones that are converting with a reasonable return on ad spend that's paying off, then you hit the gas pedal hard and you spend more in those cohort groups. And those are the basic fundamental economics of running an e-commerce business. And we've done it fairly well, but we've done it less well of late. So it's an opportunity for us to improve it.

一旦你完成了這個過程，它就只是一種一致的測量，哪些正在轉換，我們是否需要做一些小的改變來優化它們？他們中的任何一個都在下降嗎？如果是的話，他們會嗎——以及那些正在以合理的廣告支出回報率進行轉化的人，然後你就會猛踩油門，在這些群體中花費更多。這些是經營電子商務業務的基本經濟學原理。我們做得相當好，但最近做得不太好。所以這是我們改進它的機會。

And my expectation is maybe not in the first quarter, but shortly thereafter, we're going to start seeing real growth. We did not take that growth into our projections, however. It's another reason why we are conservative with our projections, at least on the website. That's the acquisition strategy.

我的預期可能不是在第一季度，但此後不久，我們將開始看到真正的增長。然而，我們沒有將這種增長納入我們的預測。這是我們對預測持保守態度的另一個原因，至少在網站上是這樣。這就是收購策略。

The retention strategy, once you have them as a customer or as a subscriber, has to do with two things. One is regular communications and the other is, we find that people that take a sufficient amount of Tru Niagen, that's generally more than 100 milligrams, 300 plus who take it for more than a couple of months rarely cancel, because if they pay attention to the way the body is performing, they realize it's a meaningful difference.

一旦您將他們作為客戶或訂戶，保留策略就必須與兩件事有關。一個是定期溝通，另一個是，我們發現服用足量 Tru Niagen 的人，一般超過 100 毫克，服用超過幾個月的 300 多人很少取消，因為如果他們注意身體的表現方式，他們意識到這是一個有意義的差異。

We also noticed that people who take it for a period of time and stop notice the difference once they stop and then come back as customers. So Tru Niagen has a very, very strong retention rate for those that take it for a couple of months and take a sufficient dosage. And those are the two component pieces, acquisition and retention and that's how we approach it. We have found that aging works as a cohort group, cellular energy works as a cohort group and a growing cohort group for us is cognition. So if you have no follow-up question -- okay, great, so let me jump to the second question, which is pharmaceutical.

我們還注意到，服用一段時間後停止服用的人會注意到其中的差異，一旦他們停止服用，然後又作為顧客回來。所以 Tru Niagen 對於那些服用幾個月並服用足夠劑量的人來說具有非常非常強的保留率。這些是兩個組成部分，獲取和保留，這就是我們處理它的方式。我們發現衰老作為一個隊列組起作用，細胞能量作為一個隊列組起作用，而對我們來說，一個不斷增長的隊列組是認知。所以，如果你沒有後續問題——好吧，很好，那麼讓我跳到第二個問題，那就是製藥。

So you, in particular, have been very helpful for us in thinking about our pharmaceutical strategy because you consistently ask good and smart questions about that. Obviously, you know a lot about the space. When we -- when we release a product in the pharmaceutical space and we don't think it's an if, we think it's a win, we think it is part of our strategy at the company. It's important that it not be identical to the product that we're selling as a dietary supplement, not just in dose, but also in composition, in molecular structure.

因此，尤其是您，對我們思考我們的製藥戰略非常有幫助，因為您一直就此提出好的和聰明的問題。顯然，您對空間了解很多。當我們——當我們在製藥領域發布一種產品時，我們不認為這是一個如果，我們認為這是一場胜利，我們認為這是我們公司戰略的一部分。重要的是，它不能與我們作為膳食補充劑銷售的產品完全相同，不僅在劑量上，而且在成分和分子結構上。

So this is why some of the other analogs that we have are so valuable and why you and others know, this company is really two companies. It is a consumer company, but it is also a fairly significant R&D company for which the investment community has not yet embraced. But there is some ample R&D going on here for some very important indications, as you've seen in the studies. It's not just Parkinson's, it's not just Alzheimer's, there's many others, neurological, mitochondrial information is also a disease. There's quite a few puts and there is all these orphan diseases like Cockayne syndrome, which represent opportunities for us.

所以這就是為什麼我們擁有的其他一些類似物如此有價值，以及為什麼你和其他人都知道，這家公司實際上是兩家公司。它是一家消費品公司，但也是一家投資界尚未接受的相當重要的研發公司。但是，正如您在研究中看到的那樣，這裡正在進行一些非常重要的適應症的大量研發。不僅僅是帕金森病，不僅僅是老年癡呆症，還有很多其他的，神經系統的，線粒體信息也是一種疾病。有很多看跌期權，還有所有這些孤兒病，如 Cockayne 綜合症，這對我們來說是機會。

But that process takes a while and we've done quite good work in preclinical and Phase I and now in many cases, Phase II studies. Which one we'll pursue? Now of course, the company is not really fully financed or structured as a straight biotech R&D company. So the likelihood is that we will be working with a partner. And we do have frequent meetings with many biotech and pharmaceutical companies about this topic. And a lot has to do with what their interest is.

但是這個過程需要一段時間，我們在臨床前和 I 期以及現在許多情況下的 II 期研究中都做得很好。我們追求哪一個？當然，現在這家公司並沒有像一家純粹的生物技術研發公司那樣真正獲得充分的資金或結構。因此，我們很可能會與合作夥伴合作。我們確實經常與許多生物技術和製藥公司就此主題舉行會議。這與他們的興趣有很大關係。

I do expect us to do something in 2023 in the space structurally, in terms of pursuing a pharmaceutical strategy. It is likely to be one of the other analogs.

我確實希望我們在 2023 年在空間結構上做一些事情，在追求製藥戰略方面。它很可能是其他類似物之一。

Our next question comes from Jeff Cohen from Ladenburg Thalmann.

我們的下一個問題來自 Ladenburg Thalmann 的 Jeff Cohen。

This is actually Destiny on for Jeff. I hope everyone is doing well. Most of my questions have actually been answered, which is great. I am curious to know a bit more about the branding initiative or events that you mentioned. Could you give us a few more details on that, please?

這實際上是傑夫的命運。我希望每個人都做得很好。我的大部分問題實際上都得到了解答，這很棒。我很想知道更多關於您提到的品牌計劃或活動的信息。你能給我們更多的細節嗎？

If you recall a year ago, we endeavored to pursue a television campaign for about six weeks. And we created a television spot, which we tested and launched and it actually did quite well. The reason why we pulled back from that campaign is to a number of reasons, one of which is we all know what's happened in the economy in the last year and what's happened in the capital markets and the importance of being cash flow positive and focusing on the bottom line, as well as the top line. And it was doing well, but not well enough to pay for itself.

如果你還記得一年前，我們努力開展了大約六週的電視宣傳活動。我們製作了一個電視廣告，我們對其進行了測試和發布，實際上效果很好。我們退出該活動的原因有很多，其中之一是我們都知道去年經濟發生了什麼，資本市場發生了什麼，以及現金流為正和關注的重要性底線，以及頂線。它做得很好，但還不足以收回成本。

So we -- it's not that we are not going to pursue that strategy, we decided to pull back from what is a very expensive and aggressive strategy, mass retail plus television. At the right time, we will get back into it, but it's not now. But we understand that what we're sitting on with Tru Niagen at 20% growth annually, 10%, 20%, 30% growth is pretty good, but not good enough. A company that's doing $20 million a year with a product like this should be doing $200 million a year, a quarter. It's too good a product. It has too good an impact on people's health.

所以我們 - 並不是說我們不打算實施該戰略，我們決定退出一個非常昂貴和激進的戰略，即大眾零售加電視。在適當的時候，我們會重新投入其中，但不是現在。但我們知道，Tru Niagen 每年增長 20%、10%、20%、30% 的增長率相當不錯，但還不夠好。一家公司每年通過這樣的產品賺取 2000 萬美元，一個季度應該賺取 2 億美元。產品太好了。對人的健康影響太大了。

So we do need to take some shots. And yes, we're conservative, but we need to take our shots carefully. And we are going to take another shot in the coming weeks. And if that works, we're going to hit the gas pedal again on that. And then we have other shots that we're planning later on in the year. We recognize the upside potential. We just want to do it smartly and carefully.

所以我們確實需要拍一些照片。是的，我們很保守，但我們需要謹慎行事。我們將在接下來的幾週內再次拍攝。如果可行，我們將再次踩油門。然後我們計劃在今年晚些時候拍攝其他鏡頭。我們認識到上行潛力。我們只是想巧妙而謹慎地去做。

There's not much more that we can tell you about that specific opportunity right now. The reason for that is, look, we've learned a lot about this dietary supplement business and those of you that have been with us for the last few years have also seen there are a lot of different players out there, very few of whom actually do science or research, but a lot of whom like to steal other people's research or steal credit for it or infringe on patents, there are a lot of strategies out there. And we find that we are imitated quite a bit.

關於這個特定的機會，我們現在沒有更多可以告訴你的了。這樣做的原因是，看，我們已經了解了很多關於膳食補充劑業務的知識，過去幾年與我們一起工作的人也看到有很多不同的參與者，其中很少有人實際上從事科學研究，但其中很多人喜歡竊取他人的研究成果或竊取榮譽或侵犯專利權，因此有很多策略。我們發現我們被模仿了很多。

And when we try something, we find that quickly thereafter, a lot of people are following us either in message or in platform or in channel, in some cases, very aggressively. So we think it's important that we be in stealth mode until the campaign launches in the coming weeks and that's the only reason. But you'll see it and we have high hope for it, but we're not counting on it. We have nothing in the projections for it. We have very conservative projections for it, but we'll see. We think it has a good risk-reward profile. I can't really tell you much more than that right now.

當我們嘗試某事時，我們發現很快就會有很多人在消息、平台或渠道中關注我們，在某些情況下，非常積極。因此，我們認為在接下來的幾週活動啟動之前，我們處於隱身模式很重要，這是唯一的原因。但是你會看到它，我們對此寄予厚望，但我們並不指望它。我們對此沒有任何預測。我們對此有非常保守的預測，但我們會看到。我們認為它具有良好的風險回報率。我現在真的不能告訴你更多。

I'm excited to see it when it launches, so that will be great. I'll keep an eye out for it in the next couple of weeks. I just want to switch over to Watson for a second. I've heard you mention it in a couple of other people's questions or answers to their questions. Has the strategy there changed at all in terms of commercial efforts? Or are things staying pretty consistent like now that some of the restrictions have been lifted, is there more of a marketing push? Is there anything like that, that we should be thinking about going into 2023?

當它發佈時我很高興看到它，那會很棒。我會在接下來的幾週內密切關注它。我只想暫時切換到 Watson。我聽說你在其他幾個人的問題或對他們問題的回答中提到過它。就商業努力而言，那裡的戰略是否發生了變化？還是像現在取消了一些限制一樣，情況是否保持一致，是否有更多的營銷推動？有沒有類似的東西，我們應該考慮進入 2023 年？

The tactics are the same. It's -- they promote it aggressively in store and they do some marketing out of store. The only -- and the market is very -- it's very popular there, continues to be very popular there. The only strategic shift is that there is interest in Watson in expanding the product offering from the Tru Niagen brand. So there is the possibility that we'll see more than just Tru Niagen sold in store in Hong Kong.

戰術是一樣的。這是——他們在店內積極推廣，並在店外進行一些營銷。唯一的 - 市場非常 - 它在那裡非常受歡迎，在那裡繼續非常受歡迎。唯一的戰略轉變是 Watson 有興趣擴大 Tru Niagen 品牌的產品供應。因此，我們有可能在香港商店看到的不僅僅是 Tru Niagen。

Our next question comes from Sean McGowan from Roth MKM.

我們的下一個問題來自 Roth MKM 的 Sean McGowan。

Can you talk a little bit more about the impact of the mix shift that you referenced. Is that due to the strength in Watson? Is that what's causing that?

你能多談談你提到的混合轉變的影響嗎？是因為沃森的實力嗎？那是什麼原因造成的？

Gross margin, Sean, gross margin and business mix.

毛利率，肖恩，毛利率和業務組合。

Thanks, Brianna. Yes. That is the reason.

謝謝，布麗安娜。是的。這就是原因。

Okay. And when you talked about R&D spend being up, are you talking about it being up as a percent of sales or in dollar or both?

好的。當你談到研發支出增加時，你是在談論它佔銷售額的百分比還是以美元或兩者兼而有之？

That was in dollars, Sean.

那是美元，肖恩。

Brand awareness is all of that -- this event that you referenced and I appreciate not wanting to get the detail, but is all of that expense going to be shown in sales and marketing?

品牌知名度就是所有這些——你提到的這個事件我很感激不想了解細節，但是所有這些費用都會在銷售和營銷中顯示出來嗎？

Yes.

是的。

And I had a question about other brand awareness stuff, but I appreciate you wanted to keep that close to the best.

我有一個關於其他品牌知名度的問題，但我很感激你想讓它接近最好。

Our next question comes from Bill Dezellem from Tieton Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Tieton Capital 的 Bill Dezellem。

Would you please give us a more detailed update relative to Sinopharm and where they are at in their cross-border strategy and the other initiatives that they have?

您能否向我們提供有關國藥集團的更詳細的最新信息，以及他們在跨境戰略和其他舉措方面的進展情況？

Sinopharm is very methodical. We're very impressed with the quality of their work and the thoroughness of their work. We're not that impressed with the speed of their work. They've launched on two platforms, I think they plan to launch on two more platforms. They've been now at two conferences, presented at two conferences, there was one last week. I can't really -- there's really not that much more to say about it. The market is fairly large there. And NMN sales in China are still very significant cross-border.

國藥很有條理。他們的工作質量和徹底性給我們留下了深刻的印象。我們對他們的工作速度印像不深。他們已經在兩個平台上推出，我認為他們計劃在另外兩個平台上推出。他們現在參加了兩次會議，在兩次會議上發表，上周有一次。我真的不能——真的沒有太多可說的了。那裡的市場相當大。而NMN在中國的跨境銷量還是非常可觀的。

Sinopharm is also assisting us in obtaining blue-hat approval so we can do in-country sales. But it's a conservative estimate that we're giving them this year. We like them as partners, they're trusted partners, they're quality partners, but they're very methodical in their pursuits.

國藥集團也在協助我們獲得藍帽批准，以便我們可以進行國內銷售。但這是我們今年給他們的保守估計。我們喜歡他們作為合作夥伴，他們是值得信賴的合作夥伴，他們是優質合作夥伴，但他們的追求非常有條不紊。

Rob, would you please highlight what's happening with NMN in China? I had the impression that the authorities there were pushing back on some of the marketing practices for NMN. And I'm wondering what, if any, window of opportunity is that creating for Sino?

Rob，你能強調一下 NMN 在中國的情況嗎？我的印像是那裡的當局正在反對 NMN 的一些營銷做法。我想知道，如果有的話，為 Sino 創造的機會之窗是什麼？

It's not just Sino that's selling by the way cross-border into China, H&H is a deal we made that's also selling cross-border in China and H&H is actually doing quite well with Niagen into China. They're actually doing better than Sino already. Watson has also begun selling a little bit of cross-border into China of Tru Niagen. So we're seeing overall growth. NMN in general, yes, most -- there are literally hundreds of sellers in China selling cross-border into China. And the government has cracked down on claims, initially, they were making a lot of claims that were basically Tru Niagen claims, including companies advertising that Li Ka-shing was taking NMN, which is obviously not truly takes Tru Niagen.

不僅僅是 Sino 通過跨境銷售進入中國，H&H 是我們達成的一項交易，它也在中國進行跨境銷售，而 H&H 實際上在與 Niagen 進入中國方面做得很好。他們實際上已經比 Sino 做得更好了。屈臣氏也開始銷售一點點跨境進入中國的Tru Niagen。所以我們看到了整體增長。總的來說，NMN，是的，大多數——中國確實有數百名賣家向中國銷售跨境商品。並且政府已經打擊了索賠，最初，他們提出了很多基本上是 Tru Niagen 索賠的索賠，包括宣傳李嘉誠正在服用 NMN 的公司，這顯然不是真正服用 Tru Niagen。

And they have pulled back. However, the thing to understand is that NMN works. NMN is a precursor to NAD. It's just very inferior to Niagen. In fact, NMN is Niagen plus a phosphate group attached to the perimeter. So some companies in order to make NMN, they start with NR or Niagen and they literally add the phosphate on top of it. The problem with that phosphate is that it blocks transport into the cell. So once it's in the blood, once you consume NMN and it's circulating through the body, it doesn't have a way to enter cell. So within the body, the phosphate is pulled apart. And what is left is Niagen is nicotinamide riboside, which then gets upregulated into the cell and elevates NAD.

他們已經退縮了。但是，需要了解的是 NMN 是有效的。 NMN 是 NAD 的前身。只是比尼亞根差很多。事實上，NMN 是 Niagen 加上一個附著在周邊的磷酸基團。所以一些公司為了製造 NMN，他們從 NR 或 Niagen 開始，然後在上面添加磷酸鹽。磷酸鹽的問題在於它會阻止運輸到細胞中。所以一旦它進入血液，一旦你攝入 NMN 並且它在體內循環，它就無法進入細胞。所以在體內，磷酸鹽被拉開。剩下的是 Niagen 是煙酰胺核苷，然後它被上調進入細胞併升高 NAD。

So it's basically inefficient NR, but it does work. We believe that it works. We don't know if it's as safe as NR. There are some questions about that, but we do believe that it works. So it just doesn't work as well. So for that reason, with the passage of time, you're going to see studies come out that show that NMN has a positive benefit. It's never going to have as positive a benefit as Tru Niagen, but it will have a positive benefit.

所以它基本上是低效的 NR，但它確實有效。我們相信它有效。我們不知道它是否和 NR 一樣安全。對此存在一些疑問，但我們確實相信它有效。所以它只是不起作用。因此，出於這個原因，隨著時間的推移，你會看到研究表明 NMN 具有積極的好處。它永遠不會像 Tru Niagen 那樣帶來積極的好處，但它會帶來積極的好處。

So yes, there were some problems with claims in marketing in China, but we don't expect that to be a long-term problem as NMN studies come out. Now as you know, NMN is now banned in the United States. And so it's not an issue for us here, but it is an issue there in China that the market -- look, the market is already a very big market. The overall NAD market, I expect it to be 10s, if not even hundreds of billions of dollars in the future. At this point, there's so much research out there. But if you're on this call right now and you're not taking Tru Niagen or you don't understand the benefits of elevating NAD when your body is under any kind of physiological stress, you're not thinking properly because we now understand that elevating your NAD levels by taking Tru Niagen make you healthier.

所以是的，在中國的營銷宣傳中存在一些問題，但隨著 NMN 研究的出現，我們預計這不會成為一個長期問題。如您所知，NMN 現在在美國已被禁止。所以這對我們來說不是問題，但在中國市場是一個問題——看，這個市場已經是一個非常大的市場。整個 NAD 市場，我預計未來將達到 10 億美元，甚至數千億美元。在這一點上，那裡有很多研究。但是，如果你現在正在接聽這個電話，但你沒有服用 Tru Niagen，或者你不了解當你的身體處於任何生理壓力下時提高 NAD 的好處，你就沒有正確思考，因為我們現在明白了通過服用 Tru Niagen 提高您的 NAD 水平讓您更健康。

So I expect that NMN is going to be around in China for the long-term. The question is what percentage of the market does it have? Right now, we have a very small percentage, but a growing percentage of the market there between those three partners. We are hoping that soon Sino really gets aggressive and starts capturing a big chunk of the market. When they do, the upside potential is significant. But as I said, China works fairly slowly. They take one step at a time and we're planning for very, very low growth in 2023 and hopefully big growth in 2024. I hope that answers your question?

所以我預計 NMN 將長期存在於中國。問題是它的市場份額是多少？目前，我們的份額很小，但在這三個合作夥伴之間的市場份額越來越大。我們希望 Sino 很快就會真正變得積極進取並開始佔領很大一部分市場。當他們這樣做時，上行潛力是巨大的。但正如我所說，中國的工作相當緩慢。他們一步一個腳印，我們計劃在 2023 年實現非常非常低的增長，並希望在 2024 年實現大幅增長。我希望這能回答您的問題？

We have no further questions in queue. I would like to turn the call back over to Brianna Gerber for closing remarks.

隊列中沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回給 Brianna Gerber 作結束語。

Thank you, Julian. There will be a replay of this call beginning at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time today. The replay number is 1 (800) 770 2030, and the conference ID is 4126168. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today and for your continued support of ChromaDex.

謝謝你，朱利安。下午 4 點 30 分開始重播此電話會議。今天太平洋時間。重播號碼是1（800）770 2030，會議ID是4126168。感謝大家今天加入我們，感謝大家對ChromaDex的一貫支持。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。