• Revenue: $0.7 million for the fourth quarter.
• Research and Development Expenses: $18.4 million for the fourth quarter, up from $12.3 million in the prior year period.
• Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses: $8.8 million for the fourth quarter, down from $9.3 million in the prior year period.
• Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Short-term Investments: $112.4 million as of December 31, 2024.
• Full-Year Cash Usage: Approximately $72 million, below the projected $75 million.
• Additional Funding: $40 million raised through a strategic collaboration with AMD and an at-the-market facility.
• Financial Outlook: Existing cash expected to fund operations into the first half of 2027.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with ABSI.

Release Date: March 18, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Absci Corp (NASDAQ:ABSI) successfully executed across all aspects of its business in 2024, including advancing proprietary internal programs and adding four new partners.
• The company unveiled its potentially category-defining ABS-201 program, targeting the prolactin receptor for androgenic alopecia, with promising pre-clinical data.
• Absci Corp's collaboration with AMD provides optimized compute solutions, enhancing performance and reducing costs for complex biological modeling.
• The company demonstrated significant advancements in its AI-integrated drug creation platform, showcasing breakthroughs in de novo antibody design.
• Absci Corp ended the year with a strong financial position, having raised an additional $40 million, extending its cash runway into the first half of 2027.

Negative Points

• Revenue for the fourth quarter was only $0.7 million, indicating limited financial growth from partnered programs.
• Research and development expenses increased significantly to $18.4 million, driven by internal program advancements and stock compensation expenses.
• The company plans to stop providing exact numbers of expected new partners, which may reduce transparency for investors.
• Absci Corp's cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments decreased from $127.1 million to $112.4 million by the end of the year.
• The company faces competition in the androgenic alopecia market, with no real innovation in nearly 30 years, posing challenges for ABS-201's market entry.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Does Absci plan to conduct additional pre-clinical studies with ABS-101 and ABS-201, and will investors see the results? A: Christian Stegmann, SVP of Drug Creation, stated that for ABS-101, they are wrapping up IND-enabling work and plan to disclose full toxicology data at a scientific conference. For ABS-201, they are in the IND-enabling phase and will disclose data during this process, also preferably at a scientific conference.

Q: Can you provide more details on the partnered programs and updates on their progress? A: Sean McClain, CEO, mentioned that they are focused on executing a large pharma platform deal this year and are in discussions about potentially out-licensing ABS-101. The focus is on transactions that bring significant upfront payments and validate the platform, allowing for a diversified portfolio.

Q: What are the design and endpoints for the planned phase 1 trial of ABS-201? A: Sean McClain explained that they plan to start with a single ascending dose (SAD) study followed by a multiple ascending dose (MAD) study, aiming for proof of concept. Christian Stegmann added that endpoints for androgenic alopecia are well-accepted and measured with a trickle scan device, which is non-invasive and computer-assisted.

Q: How did the achievements in binding to the caldera region of HIV influence pharma discussions? A: Sean McClain confirmed that this case study has been a significant driver in discussions with large pharma, illustrating their ability to target difficult epitopes, which is crucial for securing partnerships.

Q: How is Absci positioning its anti-TL1A program to compete with recent positive data from Sanofi and Teva in ulcerative colitis? A: Christian Stegmann noted that while the Sanofi-Teva data is impressive, ABS-101 may have the potential to dose higher than competitors, which could lead to additional efficacy. They are exploring this avenue to see if higher dosing can overcome any ceiling effect in efficacy.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.