You should refer to the company's first quarter 2026 earnings release for information and reconciliation of historical non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures. The increase was driven primarily by normal quarter-to-quarter variability in customer ordering with underlying demand broadly stable. Taken together with the upcoming data expected from LOTIS-7 and the indolent lymphoma studies, we expect to accelerate our revenue growth trajectory starting in 2027. This increase reflects a shift in the allocation of certain personnel costs due to a change in focus from research and development activities to commercial manufacturing activities.

As Ameet noted, we're managing our costs carefully, and we remain disciplined in our capital allocation towards potential value creation while driving efficiencies. We have achieved solid commercial performance while maintaining our strict capital discipline as we look forward to multiple anticipated value-creating catalysts, beginning with the expected LOTIS-5 readout. We are excited about delivering on our strategy and confident we can drive significant potential long-term growth starting in 2027. Maybe first, commercially, the $20 million in 1Q, it's about 15% growth annually.

I know you mentioned ordering pattern, but it just seems a more growth than we've seen in recent quarters. We have to do earnings, of course, but we haven't been engaging with analysts or investors since April 1. It's a reallocation of those expenses into cost of goods and we capitalize one time inventory, but the cost of goods are gonna increase because of this fixed cost and now it's getting allocated. We expect this year to be largely in line with what the previous years are and only see a revenue trajectory increase next year.

What went well
  • First-quarter net product revenue rose to $20.0 million from $17.4 million a year earlier (about 15% product growth), the second consecutive quarter above $20 million, with underlying demand described as broadly stable.
  • Cost discipline continued: non-GAAP total operating expenses fell 13% year over year to $42.9 million, GAAP net loss narrowed to $33 million ($0.21 per share) from $38.6 million ($0.36), and non-GAAP adjusted net loss improved to $19.7 million from $24 million.
  • The company ended the quarter with $231 million of cash, maintaining an expected runway at least into 2028.
  • The pivotal LOTIS-5 top-line readout was confirmed on track for before the end of June 2026, the nearest major catalyst, and LOTIS-7 enrollment of roughly 100 patients was on track to complete in Q2 with full data by year-end.
  • The last independent data monitoring committee (IDMC) safety review, in the prior fall, recommended proceeding with LOTIS-5 as designed.
What went wrong
  • Total revenue declined year over year because licensing and royalty revenue was lower -- the prior-year period included a $5 million partner milestone -- which masked the underlying product growth.
  • Cost of product sales rose $1.6 million to $3.6 million on a reallocation of certain personnel from R&D to commercial manufacturing, a structural increase that will persist in future quarters.
  • The company entered a prolonged quiet/blackout period from April 1 until the LOTIS-5 disclosure, halting investor and analyst engagement and potentially forcing it to cancel conference participation.
  • Management cautioned it was 'too soon to call a trend' on the two strong revenue quarters, keeping full-year expectations broadly in line with prior years.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
LOTIS-5 top-lineBefore end of June 2026On track; will disclose primary PFS (median PFS, hazard ratio), mature secondary endpoints, an overall-survival read (mature or trend) and top-line safety; publication by year-end 2026
LOTIS-5 regulatoryH1 2027 / mid-2027sBLA submission by year-end 2026 (assuming positive data); compendia inclusion H1 2027; confirmatory approval to follow (~mid-2027)
LOTIS-7End of 2026Enrollment to complete in Q2 2026; full data at a medical meeting by end of 2026; then pursue compendia and assess regulatory strategy
Indolent lymphoma dataEnd 2026 - mid 2027Lead-investigator conference data; regulatory/compendia strategies to be assessed
2026 revenueFY2026Expected broadly in line with prior years; revenue trajectory increase expected in 2027
Cost of product salesForwardStructurally higher going forward due to the R&D-to-manufacturing personnel reallocation; R&D expected to keep declining

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Net product revenue +15% (to $20.0M from $17.4M) Normal quarter-to-quarter ordering variability with broadly stable underlying demand; second straight quarter above $20M.
Total revenue Down year over year Lower licensing and royalty revenue -- the prior-year quarter included a $5 million partner milestone -- offsetting product growth.
GAAP net loss Narrowed to $33M / $0.21 (from $38.6M / $0.36) Reduced R&D expense, plus more weighted-average shares outstanding lowering the per-share loss.
Non-GAAP adjusted net loss Improved to $19.7M (from $24M) Lower R&D expense and continued cost discipline.
Non-GAAP operating expenses -13% (to $42.9M) Primarily lower R&D expense.
Cost of product sales +$1.6M (to $3.6M) Reallocation of personnel from R&D to commercial manufacturing; an ongoing structural increase.
Cash and equivalents $231M (from $261.3M at Dec 31, 2025) Operating cash use during the quarter; runway maintained at least into 2028.

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
LOTIS-5 readout imminentQ2 2026 catalystConfirmed for before end of June; the readout, if positive, is the key event unlocking ZYNLONTA's lifecycle-management value.
Quiet period / blindnessApproaching readoutCompany blinded to data and in a blackout period since April 1, limiting investor engagement and potentially conference participation until disclosure.
Commercial momentum vs. trendTwo strong quartersSecond consecutive quarter above $20M encouraging, but management calls it too soon to raise the range given historical quarterly variability.
Margin/cost mix shiftCost reallocationR&D expense keeps declining while cost of product sales steps up structurally as personnel shift to commercial manufacturing.
Growth deferred to 2027Inflection timingNo revenue impact expected in 2026; the trajectory increase is expected from 2027 with LOTIS-5 approval and compendia inclusion.

Q&A Summary

Maury Raycroft (Jefferies) asked whether the LOTIS-5 database is locked, when the 262 events would be reached, and what drives the unblinding.
Management said it remains completely blinded and the database is not yet locked; once locked and the statistical analysis is complete it will disclose top-line data, and it reiterated it is on track to share results in the second quarter without commenting on the exact event timing.
Michael Schmidt (Guggenheim) asked what is driving the ~15% revenue growth and how much of the LOTIS-5 result would be disclosed at top-line.
Management attributed the print to good execution and normal ordering variability (Q3 low, Q4 and Q1 higher) rather than a confirmed trend, and said the top-line release would include the primary endpoint (median PFS, hazard ratio), key secondary endpoints and top-line safety, with detailed sub-analyses reserved for later publication.
Eric Schmidt (Cantor) asked whether the quiet period has begun, how mature overall survival would be at the PFS readout, and whether the higher cost of goods will persist.
Management said it has been in a quiet period since April 1 (engaging only for earnings), will provide whatever overall-survival information it has alongside mature PFS without pre-committing to OS maturity, and CFO Jose Carmona confirmed the R&D-to-manufacturing cost reallocation will continue to raise cost of goods in future quarters.
Sudan Loganathan (Stephens) asked about the immediate impact of a positive LOTIS-5 readout ahead of compendia and the incremental value of the indolent-lymphoma IITs.
Management said a positive readout would trigger an sBLA (four-to-five months to submit) targeting approval in 2027 and a publication/compendia path, with no revenue impact in 2026 since promotion only begins after approval; the MZL and FL IIT full datasets are expected between end-2026 and mid-2027, followed by publications and compendia submissions.

More on ADC Therapeutics SA

Reported 2026-05-04 · figures from the ADC Therapeutics SA Q1 2026 earnings call.

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