AbCellera Biologics Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• AbCellera says it has completed its transition to a vertically integrated, clinical-stage biotech, finishing platform investments and substantially completing a clinical manufacturing facility while shifting focus from platform buildout to executing its proprietary pipeline.
• The most important near-term catalyst is ABCL635’s Phase 2 readout in Q3 2026; management calls a positive result “highly de‑risking” with potential blockbuster attributes (comparable efficacy to Linzess/Veozah, differentiated safety, once‑monthly dosing), while a negative readout would delay the company’s move to late‑stage development.
• AbCellera finished 2025 with roughly $560 million cash and ~$140 million committed government funding (~$700 million total liquidity), reported $75 million revenue and a $146 million net loss for the year, and says it has sufficient liquidity to fund operations well beyond the next three years as it prioritizes advancing lead clinical programs.

AbCellera Biologics NASDAQ: ABCL used its full-year 2025 business update call to emphasize that it has completed its transition toward becoming a vertically integrated, clinical-stage biotech and is now shifting focus from platform buildout to pipeline execution. President and CEO Dr. Carl Hansen said the company delivered on four priorities set at the start of 2025: initiating Phase 1 trials for its first two internal programs, nominating new development candidates, completing platform investments, and starting activities at its new clinical manufacturing facility.

Pipeline progress and upcoming clinical catalysts

Hansen said AbCellera began 2025 with two preclinical programs—ABCL635 and ABCL575—and ended the year with both in clinical testing. In January, the company announced ABCL635 had advanced into a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study. AbCellera also added two new programs in 2025: ABCL688, an antibody drug candidate for an undisclosed autoimmune indication, and ABCL386, a potential first-in-class oncology antibody nominated as a development candidate in the fourth quarter.

Both ABCL688 and ABCL386 are in IND-enabling activities, and AbCellera expects to submit INDs or CTAs and initiate Phase 1/2 studies in patients in 2027. Beyond the first four internal programs, Hansen said the company has more than 20 programs in discovery and anticipates advancing a fifth program into IND-enabling activities in the first half of 2026.

The company highlighted ABCL635’s Phase 2 readout as its most important expected disclosure in 2026, anticipated in the third quarter. Management said a positive outcome could be “highly de-risking” and help determine whether AbCellera has “our first winner.” Hansen described a target product profile for ABCL635 that includes efficacy at least comparable to Linzess and Veozah, a differentiated safety profile, and once-monthly subcutaneous self-injection for dosing convenience—attributes he said could support “blockbuster potential.”

Management also addressed development risk. Hansen said the company had identified a key scientific risk around achieving sufficient target engagement of KNDy neurons in the infundibular nucleus, but based on biomarker data from the Phase 1 portion of the study, AbCellera believes ABCL635 can achieve high target engagement, increasing its estimated probability of success. He added that the largest remaining uncertainty is incomplete understanding of the biology of hot flashes, which the Phase 2 portion is intended to answer. If the Phase 2 readout is positive, AbCellera intends to move ABCL635 quickly into late-stage development; if negative, management said progression to a late-stage clinical company would be delayed, while the company continues advancing other first-in-class opportunities.

On the expected Q3 data package, Chief Medical Officer Sarah Noonberg said AbCellera plans to release Phase 1 safety and target engagement data at the same time as Phase 2 results. In response to an analyst question, Noonberg outlined that the Phase 1 portion includes single-ascending-dose and multiple-ascending-dose components, with the multiple-ascending-dose portion using three doses spaced four weeks apart. She said the key placebo-controlled Phase 2 proof-of-concept readout will be at four weeks and will include measures typical of Phase 3 studies, including hot flash frequency and severity, with preliminary quality-of-life assessments.

ABCL635 positioning in oncology-related hot flashes

Noonberg also discussed potential expansion of ABCL635 into hot flashes associated with cancer treatment. She said AbCellera sees opportunity in breast cancer patients receiving aromatase inhibitors or tamoxifen and experiencing severe hot flashes, including those undergoing oophorectomy, as well as in prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy or other androgen receptor pathway inhibitors.

Regarding competitive positioning, Noonberg said AbCellera’s base case assumes that even with equivalent efficacy, there is “huge room for differentiation” through safety—specifically aiming for “lack of a liver signal” and avoiding liver monitoring requirements associated with “the other two small molecules”—as well as the convenience of once-monthly dosing. She added the company sees potential upside for improved efficacy through deeper and more sustained target engagement, which will need to be assessed in Phase 2 and, more importantly, Phase 3 studies.

ABCL575 and the OX40 ligand class

On ABCL575, which targets OX40 ligand, Hansen said AbCellera has long held conviction in the class, describing an immune effect that may be slower to emerge but durable. He said the safety profile could make the target attractive for combinations and noted the company is thinking internally about combinations while also having discussions with external parties that may have assets that could be combined. For the near term, he said the strategy is unchanged as ABCL575 remains in Phase 1, with a readout expected at the end of the year.

Noonberg addressed recent developments in the OX40 ligand class, including Sanofi’s efficacy disclosures and a reported event of Kaposi’s sarcoma. She said AbCellera is following the space closely and characterized the safety event as “not necessarily unexpected” and “not inconsistent” with what has been reported for JAK inhibitors. She said the company’s investment thesis for ABCL575 has not changed, and that AbCellera remains committed to advancing the program to a Phase 1 readout and being Phase 2-ready, while continuing to evaluate partnering opportunities. Hansen added that AbCellera’s view has been that OX40 ligand therapies in atopic dermatitis would likely be second line to Dupixent, and he said the Sanofi data supports that perspective, while also suggesting broader indication potential and combination utility.

Partner program activity and financial results

Chief Financial Officer Andrew Booth said AbCellera ended 2025 with approximately $560 million in cash and equivalents and roughly $140 million in available committed government funding, totaling around $700 million in available liquidity. He also noted the company has additional potential liquidity through ownership of other Vancouver-based real estate and its GMP facility, financed off-balance-sheet.

Booth said the company started work on one additional partner-initiated program in the fourth quarter, bringing the cumulative total to 104 programs with downstream participation. However, he said AbCellera will stop reporting partner-initiated program starts quarterly in 2026 as it focuses on its proprietary pipeline, while continuing to report progressions of molecules into the clinic quarterly.

Among other updates, Booth said Arsenal Bio received IND authorization for AB3028, a molecule discovered using licensed Trianni technology, bringing the cumulative number of molecules to have reached the clinic to 19. He also noted that Invetx advanced an undisclosed animal health molecule into pivotal studies.

Booth provided a snapshot of partner program progression as of Dec. 31: AbCellera was actively leading or co-leading 14 programs; for 84 programs, the company completed its scope of work and transferred antibody sequences and data to partners. He said AbCellera believes partners are actively progressing 34 of those 84 programs. Of 48 programs actively progressing overall (including those still with AbCellera), management believes 37 are in discovery, five in preclinical development, and six have reached clinical development. Booth said attrition has been consistent with expectations, with roughly half of all programs started with downstream participation still progressing.

For the year, revenue was $75 million, including $27 million from partnered program work and $47 million from licensing and royalty payments, compared with about $29 million in 2024. Booth said $36 million of licensing and royalty revenue stemmed from settling patent infringement claims against Bruker. Research and development expenses were $187 million, about $20 million higher than the prior year, reflecting internal program investment, while SG&A expenses were about $83 million compared with roughly $86 million in 2024; both years included costs related to the Bruker litigation. AbCellera reported a net loss of roughly $146 million, compared with a loss of about $163 million last year, or a loss of $0.49 per share on a basic and diluted basis.

Operating activities used approximately $130 million in 2025. Booth said the company invested predominantly in property, plant, and equipment to establish clinical manufacturing capabilities, a project he described as now “substantially complete,” with investments partially offset by government contributions. He said the clinical manufacturing facility is intended to provide supply chain control, flexibility, accelerated timelines, and improved IP protection compared with outsourced manufacturing.

Looking ahead, Hansen said key 2026 priorities include top-line readouts for ABCL635 Phase 2 and ABCL575 Phase 1 studies, advancing ABCL688 and ABCL386 through IND-enabling activities, and adding one new development candidate. Booth added that 2026 operating cash usage will prioritize advancing lead programs through clinical studies, completing IND-enabling work for ABCL688 and ABCL386, and building a preclinical pipeline, while reiterating that the company believes it has sufficient liquidity to fund “well beyond the next 3 years” of pipeline investments.

About AbCellera Biologics NASDAQ: ABCL

AbCellera Biologics Inc NASDAQ: ABCL is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies. The company's technology platform integrates single-cell screening, microfluidics, high-throughput sequencing and artificial intelligence to rapidly identify and optimize antibody candidates against a wide range of disease targets. By combining experimental data with machine learning, AbCellera accelerates early-stage drug discovery and improves the efficiency of lead candidate selection.

AbCellera primarily operates through partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, offering its antibody discovery services on a fee-for-service and milestone-driven basis.

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