Comments from Fredrik Olsson, Chief Executive Officer

Sales increased by about 8% in the second quarter. The slower growth during the quarter should be viewed in light of sales to gene therapy of approximately SEK 3 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue in gene therapy and bioprocess are volatile in nature in the short term, although a more even distribution across individual quarters can be expected as more projects accumulate over time. Sales in the core business within Analytics continued to show robust growth and increased by 31%. Sales revenue also increased in the antibody business and we see increased activity in the service business, where the inflow of projects is increasing once again after a period with subdued customer activity because of the pandemic.

During the quarter we launched four new products on the market within different parts of our offering to our customers. We have expanded our antibody labeling technology with yet another product for quantitative and specific labeling of antibodies. At the end of the quarter, new enzyme products were launched for use within both glycan and protein analysis, as well as a new antibody product for use in gene therapy together with our Xork enzyme. We are actively engaged in business development within several gene therapy applications for Xork together with our partner Selecta Biosciences.

Both the quarter and the first half of the year have been characterized by continued expansion of our sales and marketing organization, as well as a long-awaited return to physical marketing activities such as scientific conferences and fairs. Expansion of the sales organization and intensified marketing activities are progressing according to our plan, with an expected increase in expenses compared with the corresponding period last year. Along with successful product launches that have created a broader customer offering, the investments in our sales organization represent an important aspect of our growth strategy and expected growth. 

Recently we entered into a service agreement with evitria, a leading player in the development of recombinant antibodies for the biopharma market. Under this agreement we will expand our operations to include a service business that offers fast and cost-effective LC-MS analysis of antibodies, based on automation in combination with our unique enzymes. We view the agreement with evitria as a starting point for offering automated LC-MS analysis as a service to biopharma industry customers, where the underlying trend of outsourcing research and development activities continues to grow.

We have also recently signed a multi-year license and supply agreement with a new customer in our bioprocess business for the use of our enzyme technology during the development and manufacture of a new biological drug. The agreement further strengthens us in our ambitions in the bioprocess area and we are grateful for the trust our customers have in Genovis as a supplier of new technology to the biopharma industry.

At the end of the quarter, we experienced certain challenges in the supply of raw materials for parts of the product range, which may have a temporary effect on our ability to deliver and fulfil orders. Even if external geopolitical factors currently represent an element of uncertainty, our current assessment is that our business opportunities and operational ability are good, and the beginning of the third quarter shows robust customer activity and continued growth.

I would like to warmly thank my colleagues at Genovis who, in addition to developing four new products and ensuring that our growing product portfolio is available for fast delivery, welcomed new employees and integrated them into our growing team.

This disclosure contains information that Genovis AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, on 12-08-2022 08:00 CET.