Our presentation today, including our earnings press release and SEC filings issued earlier today, are available on our Investor Relations website. The information we provide about our antibody therapy pipeline is for the benefit of the investment community and is not intended to be promotional. I'm also pleased to announce that we have added a third program to our pipeline by advancing ABCL688 into IND-enabling studies. These include continuing to build our pipeline by advancing at least one more development candidate into IND-enabling studies, completing platform and infrastructure investments, and starting to use these capabilities in clinical manufacturing.

As I mentioned on the last earnings call, we believe the main scientific risk for ABCL635 is whether or not we can achieve sufficient target engagement. In addition to our clinical programs, we continue to allocate significant resources to internal discovery to build out our pipeline. It is the third program in our pipeline and the second program derived from our GPCR and ion channel platform. Turning to revenue and expenses, revenue for the quarter was approximately $17 million, comprising research fees relating to work on partner programs and amounts related to licensing.

This compares to revenue of $7 million in the same quarter of 2024. With respect to research fee revenue, as we have mentioned in the past, we expect these to continue to trend lower as we are increasingly focused on internal and co-development programs. Looking at earnings, we are reporting a net loss of roughly $35 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $37 million in the same quarter of last year. In terms of earnings per share, this result works out to a loss of $0.12 per share on a basic and diluted basis.

What went well
  • Received Health Canada authorization to initiate AbCellera's first two clinical trials (ABCL635 and ABCL575) and began dosing in the ABCL635 Phase 1 trial for moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms, completing the transition from a platform company to a clinical-stage biotech first committed to in 2023.
  • Advanced a third internal program, ABCL688 (an undisclosed autoimmune indication and the second candidate from the GPCR/ion-channel platform), into IND-enabling studies.
  • Revenue rose to ~$17 million from ~$7 million a year earlier, including a $10 million Trianni humanized-rodent platform licensing fee.
  • Ended the quarter with ~$580 million in cash and equivalents and ~$750 million in total available liquidity (including ~$170 million of committed government funding).
  • Net loss narrowed to ~$35 million from ~$37 million, and R&D expense declined ~$2 million to ~$39 million.
  • Reached a cumulative 102 partner-initiated programs with downstream participation and 18 molecules to have reached the clinic.
What went wrong
  • The $10 million Trianni licensing fee was a one-off earnout to former Trianni shareholders and is not expected to recur; management reiterated that research-fee revenue will keep trending lower as focus shifts to internal programs.
  • The company remained deeply loss-making, with a ~$35 million quarterly net loss and ~$44 million of operating cash used in the first half of 2025.
  • ABCL575's Phase 1 trial had not yet begun dosing at quarter-end (authorization received in May; trial opened in July with dosing expected in Q3).
  • The primary scientific risk for ABCL635 - achieving sufficient NK3R target engagement - remained unproven pending biomarker and proof-of-concept data.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
ABCL635 initial safety & efficacy (proof-of-concept) dataMid-2026On track for mid-2026
ABCL575 Phase 1 first dosingQ3 2025Trial opened in July; first participants expected to be dosed in Q3 2025
ABCL688 IND submissionMid-2026IND submission intended for mid-2026
Clinical manufacturing facility onlineEnd of 2025On track to come online at the end of 2025
Liquidity runwayMulti-yearSufficient liquidity to fund well beyond the next three years of increasing pipeline investment

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Total revenue +$10M to ~$17M $10M Trianni licensing fee plus research fees on partner programs
R&D expense -$2M to ~$39M Timing of larger program-specific expenses (higher in Q2 2024)
G&A expense ~$19M (vs ~$20M) Includes ongoing IP-defense (Bruker litigation) costs
Net loss ~$35M (vs ~$37M); EPS -$0.12 Lower R&D and higher one-time licensing revenue
Total available liquidity ~$750M ~$580M cash/securities plus ~$170M committed government funding

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
Platform-to-pipeline transitionCommitted in 2023 to become a clinical-stage biotechTransition completed - first two internal molecules dosing in the clinic
ABCL635 (NK3R antagonist, VMS)Preclinical development candidatePhase 1 dosing begun; potential first-in-class non-hormonal antibody; main risk is target engagement, addressed via biomarker/POC design
ABCL575 (OX40L, atopic dermatitis)PreclinicalCTA granted; ~67-day predicted human half-life supports potential dosing once every six months
Pipeline expansionTwo programsThird program (ABCL688) added into IND-enabling studies

Q&A Summary

What will the FDA and regulators focus on in evaluating ABCL635?
Hansen said the NK3R class now has a well-trodden path (fezolinetant, elinzanetant); the key questions are efficacy and safety. As an antibody that does not target NK1R, ABCL635 is expected to avoid the somnolence seen in the class, and because antibodies are not liver-metabolized and NK3R has little hepatic expression, he does not expect the class's liver-toxicity signal - though this must be shown in trials.
Details of the ABCL635 trial design and patient numbers?
The single-ascending-dose portion enrolls healthy men and postmenopausal women; the multiple-ascending-dose portion enrolls only postmenopausal women; combined SAD+MAD is roughly 56-60 participants, followed by up to 80 patients in the proof-of-concept phase (postmenopausal women with moderate-to-severe VMS).
Was the elevated partnership/licensing revenue this quarter repeatable?
Booth said no - the $10 million was a one-off payment tied to a Trianni acquisition earnout, offset by a corresponding change in contingent consideration on the balance sheet, and not expected to recur.
How large is the ABCL635 market given the debate over hormone therapy?
Hansen said ABCL635 is an alternative, not a substitute, to menopausal hormone therapy; roughly 20% of eligible women have contraindications or cannot tolerate MHT, plus others who prefer non-hormonal options, leaving a very large addressable U.S. population - capturing a small share would make the drug a success.

More on AbCellera Biologics Inc.

Reported 2025-08-07 · figures from the AbCellera Biologics Inc. Q2 2025 earnings call.

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