NASDAQ:BLFS BioLife Solutions Q4 2024 Earnings Report Earnings HistoryForecast Notable Labs EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.26Consensus EPS -$0.06Beat/MissBeat by +$0.32One Year Ago EPS-$0.21Notable Labs Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$22.71 millionExpected Revenue$21.73 millionBeat/MissBeat by +$985.00 thousandYoY Revenue GrowthN/ANotable Labs Announcement DetailsQuarterQ4 2024Date3/3/2025TimeBefore Market OpensConference Call DateMonday, March 3, 2025Conference Call Time8:00AM ETConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptPress Release (8-K)Annual Report (10-K)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfilePowered by Notable Labs Q4 2024 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrMarch 3, 2025 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 10 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the BioLife Solutions Q4 twenty twenty four Shareholder and Analytics Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question and answer session. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. Operator00:00:18I would now like to turn the conference call over to Troy Wikterman, Chief Financial Officer of BioLife Solutions. Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:25Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the BioLife Solutions twenty twenty four fourth quarter earnings conference call. On this call, we will cover business highlights, financial performance for the quarter and full year 2024 and present 2025 revenue guidance. Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing our financial results and operational highlights for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 and 2025 revenue guidance, which is available at biolifesolutions.com. As a reminder, during this call, we will make forward looking statements. Speaker 100:01:01These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that can be found in our SEC filings. These statements speak only as of the date given, and we undertake no obligation to update them. We will also speak to non GAAP or adjusted results. Reconciliations of GAAP to non GAAP or adjusted financial metrics are included in the press release we issued this afternoon. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Rod DeGrieve, Chairman and CEO of BioLife. Speaker 200:01:28Thanks, Troy. Good morning and thank you for joining us for BioLife's fourth quarter and full year twenty twenty four conference call. Twenty twenty four was a pivotal year for BioLife. Over the last twelve months, we strategically reshaped our portfolio establishing BioLife as a leading pure play enabler of cell and gene therapies, strengthening our long term growth trajectory and unleashing the attractive financial profile of our streamlined operations. We executed in our core business evidenced by quarterly sequential cell processing revenue growth, including Q4, bringing us to five consecutive quarters of growth and exceeding the high end of our already raised full year guidance for that platform. Speaker 200:02:13In parallel, we repositioned the company and optimized our portfolio, divesting non core product lines to drive gross margin and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion. By completing the sale of two freezer product lines and our bio storage business, we not only emerged much more focused operationally, but also with a stronger and cleaner balance sheet, which when combined with positive cash flow from operations makes us self sufficient. I believe we are better positioned today than at any other time in our long history. A summary look at our 2024 results from continuing operations when compared with our as reported results in 2023 highlights the positive and material impact to our go forward financial profile these divestitures have had. Although total revenue in 2024 was $82,000,000 dollars compared with $143,000,000 in 2023 due to divestitures, our GAAP gross margin doubled from 31% in 'twenty three to 62% in 'twenty four, which generated absolute GAAP gross margin dollars of $51,000,000 compared with $44,000,000 in 2023. Speaker 200:03:29Our adjusted EBITDA in 2024 was positive $16,000,000 or 19% of revenue compared with negative $5,000,000 in 2023. We also doubled our cash balance with the sale of non core assets ending 2024 with $109,000,000 in cash compared with $45,000,000 in 2023, while also paying down $5,000,000 of principal on our $20,000,000 year end 2023 bank debt. We have a strong foundation in place, are self sufficient and well positioned strategically and financially moving into 2025. Moving to the fourth quarter results, our cell processing platform revenue was $20,300,000 up 7% over Q3 and a year over year increase of 37%. For the full year, cell processing revenue totaled $74,000,000 a record high, increasing 12% when compared to 23% driven by high single digit growth in biopreservation media or BPM and higher percentage growth in our other tools, although from a much smaller base. Speaker 200:04:39In Q4 and for the full year, our top 20 customers continue to represent approximately 80% of our BPM revenue with about 40% coming from distribution versus 60% direct. Approximately 36% of total BPM revenue came from those customers with commercial therapy with the caveat that a portion of that demand is likely going to clinical pipeline programs and process development validation versus patient dosing. These metrics are in general consistent with what we saw in 2023. At the end of 2024, our BPM was utilized in a total of 17 unique cell and gene therapies and during the year we had a combined total of 17 unique therapy approvals, geographic expansions, additional indications or earlier lines of treatment. As we have previously stated, we believe our BPM products are utilized in 70 plus percent of relevant commercially sponsored CGT trials in The U. Speaker 200:05:42S. And at this point, we have not been able to identify any commercial freeze media used in this set of clinical trials. So, homebrew formulation continues to remain the only form of competition. To drive sustained growth in our cell processing business, cell processing business, a key commercial priority this year is to continue to deepen our relationship with existing BPM customers, both in commercial and clinical trial settings, while leveraging those partnerships to create cross sell opportunities and increase adoption of our broader cell processing portfolio. For instance, while our CELSIO vials are already incorporated in an established commercial therapy and utilized in numerous clinical trials, there is a significant opportunity to scale these products over time. Speaker 200:06:30We see this as a significant mid to long term growth lever as additional products integrated into commercial therapies can materially enhance our revenue potential. Said differently, if these products are specked into a commercial therapy, they can increase our revenue per patient dose by a factor of two to three x compared to our BPM products alone. As we enter 2025, we are cautiously optimistic that the modest improvement in the underlying industry fundamentals that emerged in 2024 will continue. Respect to the 2025 guidance we issued this morning, we anticipate an acceleration of growth when compared to the 8% realized in 2024. We expect total 2025 revenue of $95,500,000 to $99,000,000 representing growth of 16% to 20% compared to 2024 with growth primarily driven by our cell processing platform. Speaker 200:07:29We anticipate that cell processing revenue will grow between 18% to 21% to 86,500,000 to $89,000,000 largely due to projected increases in BPM sales to our commercial CGT customers. We expect this in turn will drive solid adjusted EBITDA margin expansion for the full year. Now, I'll hand the call over to Troy, who will provide an overview of our full 2024 results and 2025 guidance. Troy? Speaker 100:07:59Thank you, Rod. Today, we will be reviewing current and prior period financials from continuing operations for Q4 twenty twenty four, which excludes financial results from Sterling, CySafe and CBS. We reported total Q4 revenue of $22,700,000 representing an increase of 31% year over year. The year over year increase was primarily related to a 37% increase in our cell processing platform. EVO and SAW platform revenue for Q4 was $2,400,000 a decrease of $200,000 or 8% from the same period in 2023. Speaker 100:08:37GAAP gross margins for Q4 twenty twenty four was 60% compared with 53% in Q4 twenty twenty three. Adjusted gross margins for the fourth quarter was 63% compared with 63% in the prior year. Adjusted gross margin was in line with prior year due to an increase in revenues offset by product and customer mix. GAAP operating expenses for Q4 twenty twenty four were $24,800,000 versus $24,400,000 in Q4 twenty twenty three. Adjusted operating expenses for Q4 twenty twenty four totaled $15,000,000 compared with $15,400,000 in the prior year. Speaker 100:09:18GAAP operating loss for Q4 twenty twenty four was $2,100,000 versus $7,600,000 in the prior year. Our adjusted operating loss for the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four was $700,000 compared with $5,100,000 in Q4 twenty twenty three. Our GAAP net loss was $2,000,000 in Q4 or $0.04 per share compared to $7,200,000 or $0.16 per share in the prior year. The decrease in operating loss and GAAP net loss was primarily due to increased revenue and decreased personnel costs, including stock based comp. This was partially offset by an increase in performance based bonus accrual in addition to increased accounting fees related to divestitures and socks. Speaker 100:10:03Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four was $4,000,000 compared with $3,700,000 in the prior year. Our adjusted EBITDA increased primarily due to higher revenue, partially offset by $900,000 increase in SOX consulting and accounting related fees due to divestitures, which we expect to be lower in future periods after Q1 twenty twenty five. Turning to our balance sheet. Our cash and marketable securities balance at 12/31/2024, was $109,200,000 compared with $34,100,000 at 09/30/2024 and $52,300,000 at 12/31/2023. Taking into consideration our adjusted EBITDA of $4,000,000 our increase in cash during Q4 twenty twenty four was primarily related to the divestitures of CySafe and CBS. Speaker 100:10:57Our SVB long term debt balance at 12/31/2024 was $15,000,000 compared to $20,000,000 at 12/31/2023 with quarterly repayments of 2,500,000 moving forward. Turning to 2025 revenue guidance. Total revenue is expected to be $95,500,000 to $99,000,000 reflecting an overall growth of 16% to 20% over 2024. Our cell processing platform is expected to contribute $86,500,000 to $89,000,000 or 18% to 21% growth over 2024. Our EVO and THA platform is expected to contribute $9,000,000 to $10,000,000 or 3% to 15% growth over 2024. Speaker 100:11:44We expect adjusted gross margin for the full year to be in the mid-60s, a reduction in GAAP net loss and expansion in adjusted EBITDA margin in 2025 due to higher expected revenue, partially offset by increases in R and D expenses related to development projects. Finally, in terms of our share count, as of 02/24/2025, we had 47,000,000 shares issued and outstanding and 49,000,000 shares on a fully diluted basis. Now, I'll turn the call back to the operator to open up for questions. Operator00:12:19Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. And today's first question comes from Matt Stanten at Jefferies. Please go ahead. Speaker 300:12:43Hey, thanks. Maybe first one just on the margins, particularly the EBITDA margins. Any kind of finer point you can put around the continued expansion? I think you talked about the improving top line and mix dynamics there, but also some investment dollars into R and D. So can you talk a little bit about the pacing of that continued expansion through the year? Speaker 300:13:04And then any color maybe where we might look to exit the year here in 'twenty five on the EBITDA margins? Thanks. Speaker 100:13:12Yes, sure, Matt. I'll take that one. So, if you look at some of the commentary we made in the earnings call, there was abnormal, I'd say, more one time in nature type costs in G and A being related to SOX and the divestiture accounting costs thereof, which we'll see some leakage of that in Q1. But if you take that Q4 number as a good jumping off point for 2025 for SG and A, that would be a good jumping off point. And then for R and D, we didn't mention some development projects we're working on. Speaker 100:13:41So, if you take that Q4 twenty twenty three baseline for R and D, that would be a better baseline than Q4 twenty twenty four due to those development projects. And then as far as EBITDA margin expansion, yes, we would expect that pretty steady throughout 2025 as far as increasing compared to 2024 into that mid-20s that we mentioned. Speaker 300:14:07Okay. Thanks. That's helpful. And then, Rod, you talked about the revenue opportunity to increase two to three x by cross selling the portfolio beyond just media. Obviously, that doesn't happen overnight. Speaker 300:14:20It sounds like it's a big focus in 2025. Can you just kind of talk about either the products or the customers where you're seeing the most potential to do that? And when we can maybe start to see some of the benefits of that cross selling of the portfolio over time here? Thanks. Speaker 200:14:36Sure. Well, thanks for recognizing that it definitely takes some time, right, because our media market position is so strong and so large that for us to start to come close to that is going to take multiple years. That said, we have a commercial customer, large company that utilizes both cryostore and our cryo sealed vials in their approved therapy. And that's to us the poster child of what something should look like. On top of that, they are evaluating our automated fill system as they are focused on automating in a closed system, their manufacturing process. Speaker 200:15:16They are looking at that piece of hardware, which really drives a lot of consumables as well. So, it's really about targeting the clinical trial customers that we have, directing the half a dozen sales force salespeople that we have to those accounts and put a focused push on introducing those products. We do have opportunity in our later stage commercial customers and the one I mentioned is one example. There's another one where we have good traction on a cryo case evaluation, which again was introduced last year, not for their commercial product because as with the media, as you get further down the clinical development chain to a commercial product, then you end up making it extremely difficult and costly to make a switch like that, particularly on a container for the end product for the final drug product. So, we are in discussions with them about introducing cryostor into their commercial into their clinical pipeline, which is not insignificant. Speaker 200:16:17So, we're going to attack it from both sides, the early stage where it's less expensive and easier to switch and on the pipeline for the commercial therapy customers. Speaker 100:16:27And just to clarify, Rod meant to say Cryocase not CryoStor for the detox. Thank you. Cryocase, yes. Speaker 300:16:34Okay. Thank you. Speaker 100:16:36Does that make sense? Speaker 300:16:38Yes. That's helpful. Appreciate it guys. Speaker 100:16:41Great. Operator00:16:41Thank you. And our next question comes from Anna Snabkowski with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:16:49Hi, this is Anna on for Paul Knight. I want to ask on the momentum you are seeing in cell processing platform. You mentioned this is the fifth quarter of consecutive growth. So maybe just a little bit into what is driving this growth and increased visibility. Is it any one approved therapy or is it the overall health of the industry improving? Speaker 200:17:15Thanks. You bet, Anna. Thanks. So, we're seeing on the start with the non approved therapy. So, the clinical trial group of customers is slightly ahead and we expect slight growth there. Speaker 200:17:30Distribution, we expect to see some growth, but the fundamental driver we see for biopreservation media and cell processing general in '25 is that group of 17 commercial customers that we have in our base. That's where the bulk of the revenue growth is going to come from in 2025. Speaker 400:17:55Perfect. And then could we get an update on your outlook over the long term in terms of adjusted EBITDA margins now that we've moved past certain product lines and the pro form a business is coming into focus? Speaker 100:18:11Yes, sure. So, like we said, for the full year in 2025, we'd expect mid-20s for adjusted EBITDA. And then going outward, it's really highly dependent on media growth. As you know, there's a tremendous flow through on the revenue for media. So, we could model out media growth at certain percentage points with that flow through of call it 65 on revenue to get to an expanded EBITDA margin with not huge increases in OpEx. Speaker 100:18:37So, if you do model that out, you can get to the 30s, call it, in 2026 timeframe towards the end of twenty twenty six, middle of '20 '20 '6. Speaker 400:18:49Thank you. Operator00:18:52Thank you. And our next question comes from Chad Wojciechowski with TD Cowen. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:18:59Hey, guys. Yes, I just wanted to dig in on sort of media growth and maybe less so for 2025 as you're mentioning it's going to be approved therapies driving growth. But just at a higher level, when you look at like catalysts and clinical trials as some of these newer modalities are expanding into larger indications. Could you just speak to maybe how media is used differently between like a gene therapy, a CAR T or like a Till based therapy and kind of how BioLife is positioned to benefit respectively? Speaker 200:19:33Yes, it's a good question. I think that really the product works across most cell types. In some instances, better in some than others. That said, I think that the difference between the modalities and the cell type really comes down to the amount of cryostor used per dose. And so, when you look at iovant to zamtagb, which I think specifically states that they use cryostor, I would say that they are the largest user per dose of cryostor versus a CAR T, which would use less. Speaker 200:20:11So, it really comes down to the volume per dose. And we're many of our customers seem to think that that's really confidential information. So, it's sometimes difficult to get exactly how much of our products is used per dose, which is why I made the comments I did there earlier. Whereas, Aptag B, for instance, in their FDA insert pretty well, you could back into how much cryostore is used very clearly. Speaker 500:20:40Got it. And then just on the non media cell processing tools that you're trying to cross sell, if homebrew is really the only alternative for media, which has just created this dominant brand, could you speak to sort of the competitive profile of some of these other products? And what dynamics do you expect to come across just when trying to cross sell? Thanks for the questions guys. Speaker 200:21:05Sure. I think on the let's talk about self sealed vials. So, the vials there are competitive vials out there. West comes to mind. They're a larger company. Speaker 200:21:18Our vials have certain attributes with respect to the materials used, the freezing profile, etcetera, when you have that frozen down with the final therapy. On the cryo case side, that's clearly a direct competitor to cryo bags. And they are very well established and no doubt the most used final dose container. And in that regard, it comes down to the benefits of our cryo case, which include an easier to work with form factor, particularly prior to freezing and reduction or mitigation of shattering the dose if it's dropped in a frozen state. So, there's no question that we're up against some well entrenched, I guess, products product lines. Speaker 200:22:13And we feel pretty comfortable that the benefits that our products yield in combination with the push toward automation, which is another nice benefit that the cryo case has relative to automating versus a bag. We think that those things over time will drive adoption in addition to the fact that we are a credible supplier to these large commercial therapy companies as well as a lot of earlier stage companies. Operator00:22:45Thank you. And our next question today comes from Matt Hewitt with Craig Hallum Capital Group. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:22:52Good morning and congratulations on a strong finish to the year. Maybe first up, when you're talking about the growth this year, how much of that, if any, is related to some price increases? We've heard several companies here report over the past couple of weeks talk about implementing some price increases, call it, CPI adjustments, whatever. Are you including some of that into your model? Speaker 200:23:18Yes. We do have our base price increase, which is sort of mid single digits, lower than previous years baked into that. And in addition to that, we've been on a push to alter some of the distribution and direct relationships that we have from a pricing standpoint, given that they're legacy. Those won't really kick in six. So, pricing is definitely a factor, but the bulk of it is coming from the demand side in terms of volume. Speaker 600:23:52That's great. And then maybe kind of a follow-up to that. As you look to grow the vials and the rest of the product portfolio, given your strength with the media products, is there a way for you from a pricing perspective to kind of bundle the whole portfolio together? And maybe you're giving a little bit here, but you're taking more there and ultimately it's a win win for everybody? Speaker 200:24:18Yes, it's a good question as well. I think that those opportunities exist. I think that the decisions around, for example, utilizing Cryo Case, it really goes beyond just the price, because the benefits of using it would outweigh any kind of real price increase. And the fact of the matter is it may even be equal to or lower ASP per, let's say, per final dose on the container by switching to us. So, we don't really feel the need to be discounting. Speaker 200:24:56In fact, what we're trying to do is go the other way and have the pricing that we have on our product line reflect the premium products that they truly are. Speaker 600:25:06That makes complete sense. Congratulations again on a strong year and must feel good looking out to this year and not necessarily having some of the distractions you were dealing with last year. So congratulations. Speaker 100:25:18Thank you, Matt. Thanks, Matt. Operator00:25:21Thank you. And our next question today comes from Thomas Flat with Lake Street. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:25:26Hey, guys. Appreciate you taking Speaker 800:25:27the questions. Rod, just keeping in mind all the things you've noted about potential growth opportunities, particularly with the cross selling. If you were to look at that 18% to 20% growth rate you guided for 2025, where do you think that can go kind of in maybe not in an ideal world, but do you see that accelerating beyond that 21%? Speaker 200:25:48I think over time, it can. It's going to depend again, given that media represents approximately 90% of the cell processing line at this point in time, it really is going to be driven for the next few years at least. The bulk of the growth is going to be driven by biopreservation media and that really is dependent on the cadence of approvals and the overall demand for these therapies down the road. So, that's number one. And that's really not in our control. Speaker 200:26:17What's in our control is to make sure that we're in as many clinical trials as we can be as they come online. I think with respect to Sextant, the growth there will be higher over time and really it is going to take us, I would say, twenty four to thirty six months to get well established to the point where as these therapies move through the clinical journey and the volume increases not just for media, but for these other tools, then you're going to start to see an acceleration of revenue growth rates beyond I think where we are today. So, I still I think we're about twenty four to thirty six months away from kind of any material change in growth rate would be what I would say. Speaker 800:26:59Got it. I appreciate that. And then just on the business itself, now that you've been a couple of months past the deals in November, any more changes to the middle of the P and L that we should anticipate either positively or negatively? Speaker 100:27:15No. The comments I made earlier is still Stan, Thomas. Because those financials, as you would know, are all continuing basis, right? So that does strip out any of the divestiture entities from those financials as well as up some people that went with those divestitures. So, it's a good baseline as I mentioned for Q4 twenty twenty four annualized for SG and A and then R and D, we will be putting more money into R and D this year compared to 2024. Speaker 800:27:43Got it. Appreciate it. Thank you. Speaker 100:27:46Thanks, Thomas. Operator00:27:48Thank you. And our next question comes from Yi Chen at H. C. Wainwright. Please go ahead. Speaker 900:27:55Good morning. This is Eduardo on for Yi. I guess related to customer expansion, I had a question regarding any potential catalyst from your clients. Naturally, they get massive approvals or label expansions that would be really relevant for your guys' projections? Speaker 200:28:11Correct. It's really from the clinical trial customer base that we have. It's movement through the from Phase I to Phase II, etcetera, right? On the commercial side, once they're commercial, it's both time in terms of adoption, let's just say in The United States, but then there are those other factors, geographic expansion around the world, movement of the line of treatments, those things are equally important to us in terms of the overall growth rate and adoption of those therapies as time goes by. Also, a lot of the therapies end up several years later getting additional indications using the same drug and that also opens up that pool of patients. Speaker 900:28:58Right. And do you guys have visibility on whether or not any of those milestones or inflection points are happening in 2025 for your clients? Speaker 200:29:07Yes. We think right now that we have visibility to what we believe are about eight of those of any one of those things happening in 2025. We track that as well as we can. The information is a bit opaque. And we're actually working with a third party consultant to try to more formalize a review of that on an every six month basis as opposed to trying to track it internally, which I think has given us less than fulsome data. Speaker 200:29:38So, I think we'll get better at that. But right now, what we're seeing is about eight over the next twelve months in or the year of 2025, I should say. Speaker 900:29:47Got it. That's really helpful. And I know the clinical trial component of revenue isn't that significant, but just curious if you guys anticipate any complications with grant funding freezes potentially. I don't know if any of the clinical trials that your customers are running are dependent on government funding, but if you anticipate any complications associated with funding freezes? Speaker 200:30:12Yes, not at this point. We're aware of the uncertainty around NIH funding. I think that to the extent that there could be an impact of that, I would say that it shows up on the distribution side of our business. We have two large distributors. I think they're very much focused on academic institution, early research. Speaker 200:30:36Those folks might have might be impacted by all of this. But in terms of our overall revenue, when we talk to those two distributors, we don't get any sense that they're concerned about it at this point. That may change throughout the year. But right now, I think it would come from a bit of a softening of demand on the distribution side versus the direct side. Most of our direct customers are privately funded. Speaker 900:31:03Got it. That's helpful. And then finally, I'm curious strategy for EVO and SAW. And if there's any potential, if you have bundling products, you talked a little bit previously about kind of bundling packages with cell processing. I'm curious if these two would also fit into a strategy there to kind of increase your footprint with those products and services as well? Speaker 200:31:25Yes. So, on the thaw side, our thaw device definitely could be viewed as almost a reverse razor razor blade in the sense that it is designed now and has been modified to accept a cell seal vial product line, our own product line for automated thaw. So, you could look at it almost as a it's a nice add on if you're using our Celsius vials. It could be yet another just benefit of doing so. And it could also be thought of as a razor razor blade scenario in terms of if it gets placed, it can drive in some way, although I would say it's pretty soft indirect way, the utilization or the adoption of the Krauseal. Speaker 200:32:13On the EVO side of things, very little chance. The people that are making decisions around utilizing EVO are very different than Speaker 100:32:20the people that would be utilizing Speaker 200:32:23the CellSeal or other products, including thaw. The decision makers are very different. So, there's very little opportunity to do that. Speaker 300:32:33Got it. Speaker 900:32:33That's really helpful. Thanks. Speaker 200:32:36Okay. Operator00:32:37Thank you. And our next question comes from Michael Okunovich with Maxim Group. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:32:44Hey, guys. Thank you so much for taking my questions today. Congratulations on all the progress. Speaker 100:32:49Thank you. Speaker 700:32:52I just would like to see if we could drill down a little bit. You mentioned that you're looking at a bit more R and D spend going forward versus the fourth quarter. So could you provide just a little bit more color on how you're planning to allocate additional spend? Is this more is this for new products or more just continued improvements on your existing product line? Speaker 200:33:13Yes, it's really about expanding the consumable set of products that we have and acquired from Sexton. That would be the cryo case to do some additional work on that relative to some customer feedback. It would be modifying the cryo case for our own internal use on the front end. In other words, shipping our cryo store product out in a cryo case. There are various benefits to that. Speaker 200:33:41It's about increasing the consumable line of products that are associated with our CT5 automated fill device. So, it's really, I would say, product line expansion as opposed to new products per se. Speaker 700:33:59Okay. Thank you for that. And then just I want to see if you could remind us of your involvement with any mesenchymal stem cell based products. I know that Mesoblast historically hasn't been a customer, but there has been a lot of gains of traction in that space. So any additional color with your involvement could be helpful here. Speaker 200:34:19Yes. I don't know if I can give you any in real time, but I can certainly follow-up with you on that after the fact. I'll sit with our folks that have managed the clinical trial side of things and have a chat with them and come back to you on that, Michael. Speaker 700:34:33Certainly. Thank you very much for taking my questions. And once again, congrats on the progress. Speaker 200:34:38Thanks very much. Operator00:34:40And this concludes our question and answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Rod DeGrieve for closing remarks. Speaker 200:34:48Thank you, Rocco. In closing, 2024 was a year of strategic transformation and solid operational execution for BioLife. We see 2025 as an opportunity to solidify and leverage our market leading position as an enabler of CGT therapies and position the company for long term sustainable growth in both revenue and profitability. Thank you for your time this morning and we look forward to updating you as we move through the year as well as seeing some of you at the Cowen conference this week and other conferences throughout the year. Thank you. Operator00:35:22Thank you. This concludes today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderfulRead morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallNotable Labs Q4 202400:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsPress Release(8-K)Annual report(10-K) Notable Labs Earnings HeadlinesNotable Labs, Ltd. (NTBLQ)February 13, 2025 | finance.yahoo.comNotable Labs Pauses Implementation of Cancer Drug Volasertib Study, Announces LayoffsSeptember 20, 2024 | marketwatch.comTrump to unlock 15-figure fortune for America (May 3rd) ?We were shown this map by former Presidential Advisor, Jim Rickards, one of the most politically connected men in America. Rickards has spent his fifty-year career in the innermost circles of the U.S. government and banking. And he believes Trump could soon release this frozen asset to the public. April 21, 2025 | Paradigm Press (Ad)Notable Labs (NTBL) was downgraded to a Hold Rating at JMP SecuritiesSeptember 20, 2024 | markets.businessinsider.comNotable Labs to Present Data on September 4th at SOHO 2024August 29, 2024 | globenewswire.comNotable Labs Announces CEO TransitionAugust 27, 2024 | finance.yahoo.comSee More Notable Labs Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Notable Labs? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Notable Labs and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Notable LabsNotable Labs (NASDAQ:NTBL), a clinical-stage platform therapeutics company, develops predictive precision medicines for patients with cancer. 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There are 10 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the BioLife Solutions Q4 twenty twenty four Shareholder and Analytics Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question and answer session. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. Operator00:00:18I would now like to turn the conference call over to Troy Wikterman, Chief Financial Officer of BioLife Solutions. Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:25Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the BioLife Solutions twenty twenty four fourth quarter earnings conference call. On this call, we will cover business highlights, financial performance for the quarter and full year 2024 and present 2025 revenue guidance. Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing our financial results and operational highlights for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 and 2025 revenue guidance, which is available at biolifesolutions.com. As a reminder, during this call, we will make forward looking statements. Speaker 100:01:01These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that can be found in our SEC filings. These statements speak only as of the date given, and we undertake no obligation to update them. We will also speak to non GAAP or adjusted results. Reconciliations of GAAP to non GAAP or adjusted financial metrics are included in the press release we issued this afternoon. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Rod DeGrieve, Chairman and CEO of BioLife. Speaker 200:01:28Thanks, Troy. Good morning and thank you for joining us for BioLife's fourth quarter and full year twenty twenty four conference call. Twenty twenty four was a pivotal year for BioLife. Over the last twelve months, we strategically reshaped our portfolio establishing BioLife as a leading pure play enabler of cell and gene therapies, strengthening our long term growth trajectory and unleashing the attractive financial profile of our streamlined operations. We executed in our core business evidenced by quarterly sequential cell processing revenue growth, including Q4, bringing us to five consecutive quarters of growth and exceeding the high end of our already raised full year guidance for that platform. Speaker 200:02:13In parallel, we repositioned the company and optimized our portfolio, divesting non core product lines to drive gross margin and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion. By completing the sale of two freezer product lines and our bio storage business, we not only emerged much more focused operationally, but also with a stronger and cleaner balance sheet, which when combined with positive cash flow from operations makes us self sufficient. I believe we are better positioned today than at any other time in our long history. A summary look at our 2024 results from continuing operations when compared with our as reported results in 2023 highlights the positive and material impact to our go forward financial profile these divestitures have had. Although total revenue in 2024 was $82,000,000 dollars compared with $143,000,000 in 2023 due to divestitures, our GAAP gross margin doubled from 31% in 'twenty three to 62% in 'twenty four, which generated absolute GAAP gross margin dollars of $51,000,000 compared with $44,000,000 in 2023. Speaker 200:03:29Our adjusted EBITDA in 2024 was positive $16,000,000 or 19% of revenue compared with negative $5,000,000 in 2023. We also doubled our cash balance with the sale of non core assets ending 2024 with $109,000,000 in cash compared with $45,000,000 in 2023, while also paying down $5,000,000 of principal on our $20,000,000 year end 2023 bank debt. We have a strong foundation in place, are self sufficient and well positioned strategically and financially moving into 2025. Moving to the fourth quarter results, our cell processing platform revenue was $20,300,000 up 7% over Q3 and a year over year increase of 37%. For the full year, cell processing revenue totaled $74,000,000 a record high, increasing 12% when compared to 23% driven by high single digit growth in biopreservation media or BPM and higher percentage growth in our other tools, although from a much smaller base. Speaker 200:04:39In Q4 and for the full year, our top 20 customers continue to represent approximately 80% of our BPM revenue with about 40% coming from distribution versus 60% direct. Approximately 36% of total BPM revenue came from those customers with commercial therapy with the caveat that a portion of that demand is likely going to clinical pipeline programs and process development validation versus patient dosing. These metrics are in general consistent with what we saw in 2023. At the end of 2024, our BPM was utilized in a total of 17 unique cell and gene therapies and during the year we had a combined total of 17 unique therapy approvals, geographic expansions, additional indications or earlier lines of treatment. As we have previously stated, we believe our BPM products are utilized in 70 plus percent of relevant commercially sponsored CGT trials in The U. Speaker 200:05:42S. And at this point, we have not been able to identify any commercial freeze media used in this set of clinical trials. So, homebrew formulation continues to remain the only form of competition. To drive sustained growth in our cell processing business, cell processing business, a key commercial priority this year is to continue to deepen our relationship with existing BPM customers, both in commercial and clinical trial settings, while leveraging those partnerships to create cross sell opportunities and increase adoption of our broader cell processing portfolio. For instance, while our CELSIO vials are already incorporated in an established commercial therapy and utilized in numerous clinical trials, there is a significant opportunity to scale these products over time. Speaker 200:06:30We see this as a significant mid to long term growth lever as additional products integrated into commercial therapies can materially enhance our revenue potential. Said differently, if these products are specked into a commercial therapy, they can increase our revenue per patient dose by a factor of two to three x compared to our BPM products alone. As we enter 2025, we are cautiously optimistic that the modest improvement in the underlying industry fundamentals that emerged in 2024 will continue. Respect to the 2025 guidance we issued this morning, we anticipate an acceleration of growth when compared to the 8% realized in 2024. We expect total 2025 revenue of $95,500,000 to $99,000,000 representing growth of 16% to 20% compared to 2024 with growth primarily driven by our cell processing platform. Speaker 200:07:29We anticipate that cell processing revenue will grow between 18% to 21% to 86,500,000 to $89,000,000 largely due to projected increases in BPM sales to our commercial CGT customers. We expect this in turn will drive solid adjusted EBITDA margin expansion for the full year. Now, I'll hand the call over to Troy, who will provide an overview of our full 2024 results and 2025 guidance. Troy? Speaker 100:07:59Thank you, Rod. Today, we will be reviewing current and prior period financials from continuing operations for Q4 twenty twenty four, which excludes financial results from Sterling, CySafe and CBS. We reported total Q4 revenue of $22,700,000 representing an increase of 31% year over year. The year over year increase was primarily related to a 37% increase in our cell processing platform. EVO and SAW platform revenue for Q4 was $2,400,000 a decrease of $200,000 or 8% from the same period in 2023. Speaker 100:08:37GAAP gross margins for Q4 twenty twenty four was 60% compared with 53% in Q4 twenty twenty three. Adjusted gross margins for the fourth quarter was 63% compared with 63% in the prior year. Adjusted gross margin was in line with prior year due to an increase in revenues offset by product and customer mix. GAAP operating expenses for Q4 twenty twenty four were $24,800,000 versus $24,400,000 in Q4 twenty twenty three. Adjusted operating expenses for Q4 twenty twenty four totaled $15,000,000 compared with $15,400,000 in the prior year. Speaker 100:09:18GAAP operating loss for Q4 twenty twenty four was $2,100,000 versus $7,600,000 in the prior year. Our adjusted operating loss for the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four was $700,000 compared with $5,100,000 in Q4 twenty twenty three. Our GAAP net loss was $2,000,000 in Q4 or $0.04 per share compared to $7,200,000 or $0.16 per share in the prior year. The decrease in operating loss and GAAP net loss was primarily due to increased revenue and decreased personnel costs, including stock based comp. This was partially offset by an increase in performance based bonus accrual in addition to increased accounting fees related to divestitures and socks. Speaker 100:10:03Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four was $4,000,000 compared with $3,700,000 in the prior year. Our adjusted EBITDA increased primarily due to higher revenue, partially offset by $900,000 increase in SOX consulting and accounting related fees due to divestitures, which we expect to be lower in future periods after Q1 twenty twenty five. Turning to our balance sheet. Our cash and marketable securities balance at 12/31/2024, was $109,200,000 compared with $34,100,000 at 09/30/2024 and $52,300,000 at 12/31/2023. Taking into consideration our adjusted EBITDA of $4,000,000 our increase in cash during Q4 twenty twenty four was primarily related to the divestitures of CySafe and CBS. Speaker 100:10:57Our SVB long term debt balance at 12/31/2024 was $15,000,000 compared to $20,000,000 at 12/31/2023 with quarterly repayments of 2,500,000 moving forward. Turning to 2025 revenue guidance. Total revenue is expected to be $95,500,000 to $99,000,000 reflecting an overall growth of 16% to 20% over 2024. Our cell processing platform is expected to contribute $86,500,000 to $89,000,000 or 18% to 21% growth over 2024. Our EVO and THA platform is expected to contribute $9,000,000 to $10,000,000 or 3% to 15% growth over 2024. Speaker 100:11:44We expect adjusted gross margin for the full year to be in the mid-60s, a reduction in GAAP net loss and expansion in adjusted EBITDA margin in 2025 due to higher expected revenue, partially offset by increases in R and D expenses related to development projects. Finally, in terms of our share count, as of 02/24/2025, we had 47,000,000 shares issued and outstanding and 49,000,000 shares on a fully diluted basis. Now, I'll turn the call back to the operator to open up for questions. Operator00:12:19Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. And today's first question comes from Matt Stanten at Jefferies. Please go ahead. Speaker 300:12:43Hey, thanks. Maybe first one just on the margins, particularly the EBITDA margins. Any kind of finer point you can put around the continued expansion? I think you talked about the improving top line and mix dynamics there, but also some investment dollars into R and D. So can you talk a little bit about the pacing of that continued expansion through the year? Speaker 300:13:04And then any color maybe where we might look to exit the year here in 'twenty five on the EBITDA margins? Thanks. Speaker 100:13:12Yes, sure, Matt. I'll take that one. So, if you look at some of the commentary we made in the earnings call, there was abnormal, I'd say, more one time in nature type costs in G and A being related to SOX and the divestiture accounting costs thereof, which we'll see some leakage of that in Q1. But if you take that Q4 number as a good jumping off point for 2025 for SG and A, that would be a good jumping off point. And then for R and D, we didn't mention some development projects we're working on. Speaker 100:13:41So, if you take that Q4 twenty twenty three baseline for R and D, that would be a better baseline than Q4 twenty twenty four due to those development projects. And then as far as EBITDA margin expansion, yes, we would expect that pretty steady throughout 2025 as far as increasing compared to 2024 into that mid-20s that we mentioned. Speaker 300:14:07Okay. Thanks. That's helpful. And then, Rod, you talked about the revenue opportunity to increase two to three x by cross selling the portfolio beyond just media. Obviously, that doesn't happen overnight. Speaker 300:14:20It sounds like it's a big focus in 2025. Can you just kind of talk about either the products or the customers where you're seeing the most potential to do that? And when we can maybe start to see some of the benefits of that cross selling of the portfolio over time here? Thanks. Speaker 200:14:36Sure. Well, thanks for recognizing that it definitely takes some time, right, because our media market position is so strong and so large that for us to start to come close to that is going to take multiple years. That said, we have a commercial customer, large company that utilizes both cryostore and our cryo sealed vials in their approved therapy. And that's to us the poster child of what something should look like. On top of that, they are evaluating our automated fill system as they are focused on automating in a closed system, their manufacturing process. Speaker 200:15:16They are looking at that piece of hardware, which really drives a lot of consumables as well. So, it's really about targeting the clinical trial customers that we have, directing the half a dozen sales force salespeople that we have to those accounts and put a focused push on introducing those products. We do have opportunity in our later stage commercial customers and the one I mentioned is one example. There's another one where we have good traction on a cryo case evaluation, which again was introduced last year, not for their commercial product because as with the media, as you get further down the clinical development chain to a commercial product, then you end up making it extremely difficult and costly to make a switch like that, particularly on a container for the end product for the final drug product. So, we are in discussions with them about introducing cryostor into their commercial into their clinical pipeline, which is not insignificant. Speaker 200:16:17So, we're going to attack it from both sides, the early stage where it's less expensive and easier to switch and on the pipeline for the commercial therapy customers. Speaker 100:16:27And just to clarify, Rod meant to say Cryocase not CryoStor for the detox. Thank you. Cryocase, yes. Speaker 300:16:34Okay. Thank you. Speaker 100:16:36Does that make sense? Speaker 300:16:38Yes. That's helpful. Appreciate it guys. Speaker 100:16:41Great. Operator00:16:41Thank you. And our next question comes from Anna Snabkowski with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:16:49Hi, this is Anna on for Paul Knight. I want to ask on the momentum you are seeing in cell processing platform. You mentioned this is the fifth quarter of consecutive growth. So maybe just a little bit into what is driving this growth and increased visibility. Is it any one approved therapy or is it the overall health of the industry improving? Speaker 200:17:15Thanks. You bet, Anna. Thanks. So, we're seeing on the start with the non approved therapy. So, the clinical trial group of customers is slightly ahead and we expect slight growth there. Speaker 200:17:30Distribution, we expect to see some growth, but the fundamental driver we see for biopreservation media and cell processing general in '25 is that group of 17 commercial customers that we have in our base. That's where the bulk of the revenue growth is going to come from in 2025. Speaker 400:17:55Perfect. And then could we get an update on your outlook over the long term in terms of adjusted EBITDA margins now that we've moved past certain product lines and the pro form a business is coming into focus? Speaker 100:18:11Yes, sure. So, like we said, for the full year in 2025, we'd expect mid-20s for adjusted EBITDA. And then going outward, it's really highly dependent on media growth. As you know, there's a tremendous flow through on the revenue for media. So, we could model out media growth at certain percentage points with that flow through of call it 65 on revenue to get to an expanded EBITDA margin with not huge increases in OpEx. Speaker 100:18:37So, if you do model that out, you can get to the 30s, call it, in 2026 timeframe towards the end of twenty twenty six, middle of '20 '20 '6. Speaker 400:18:49Thank you. Operator00:18:52Thank you. And our next question comes from Chad Wojciechowski with TD Cowen. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:18:59Hey, guys. Yes, I just wanted to dig in on sort of media growth and maybe less so for 2025 as you're mentioning it's going to be approved therapies driving growth. But just at a higher level, when you look at like catalysts and clinical trials as some of these newer modalities are expanding into larger indications. Could you just speak to maybe how media is used differently between like a gene therapy, a CAR T or like a Till based therapy and kind of how BioLife is positioned to benefit respectively? Speaker 200:19:33Yes, it's a good question. I think that really the product works across most cell types. In some instances, better in some than others. That said, I think that the difference between the modalities and the cell type really comes down to the amount of cryostor used per dose. And so, when you look at iovant to zamtagb, which I think specifically states that they use cryostor, I would say that they are the largest user per dose of cryostor versus a CAR T, which would use less. Speaker 200:20:11So, it really comes down to the volume per dose. And we're many of our customers seem to think that that's really confidential information. So, it's sometimes difficult to get exactly how much of our products is used per dose, which is why I made the comments I did there earlier. Whereas, Aptag B, for instance, in their FDA insert pretty well, you could back into how much cryostore is used very clearly. Speaker 500:20:40Got it. And then just on the non media cell processing tools that you're trying to cross sell, if homebrew is really the only alternative for media, which has just created this dominant brand, could you speak to sort of the competitive profile of some of these other products? And what dynamics do you expect to come across just when trying to cross sell? Thanks for the questions guys. Speaker 200:21:05Sure. I think on the let's talk about self sealed vials. So, the vials there are competitive vials out there. West comes to mind. They're a larger company. Speaker 200:21:18Our vials have certain attributes with respect to the materials used, the freezing profile, etcetera, when you have that frozen down with the final therapy. On the cryo case side, that's clearly a direct competitor to cryo bags. And they are very well established and no doubt the most used final dose container. And in that regard, it comes down to the benefits of our cryo case, which include an easier to work with form factor, particularly prior to freezing and reduction or mitigation of shattering the dose if it's dropped in a frozen state. So, there's no question that we're up against some well entrenched, I guess, products product lines. Speaker 200:22:13And we feel pretty comfortable that the benefits that our products yield in combination with the push toward automation, which is another nice benefit that the cryo case has relative to automating versus a bag. We think that those things over time will drive adoption in addition to the fact that we are a credible supplier to these large commercial therapy companies as well as a lot of earlier stage companies. Operator00:22:45Thank you. And our next question today comes from Matt Hewitt with Craig Hallum Capital Group. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:22:52Good morning and congratulations on a strong finish to the year. Maybe first up, when you're talking about the growth this year, how much of that, if any, is related to some price increases? We've heard several companies here report over the past couple of weeks talk about implementing some price increases, call it, CPI adjustments, whatever. Are you including some of that into your model? Speaker 200:23:18Yes. We do have our base price increase, which is sort of mid single digits, lower than previous years baked into that. And in addition to that, we've been on a push to alter some of the distribution and direct relationships that we have from a pricing standpoint, given that they're legacy. Those won't really kick in six. So, pricing is definitely a factor, but the bulk of it is coming from the demand side in terms of volume. Speaker 600:23:52That's great. And then maybe kind of a follow-up to that. As you look to grow the vials and the rest of the product portfolio, given your strength with the media products, is there a way for you from a pricing perspective to kind of bundle the whole portfolio together? And maybe you're giving a little bit here, but you're taking more there and ultimately it's a win win for everybody? Speaker 200:24:18Yes, it's a good question as well. I think that those opportunities exist. I think that the decisions around, for example, utilizing Cryo Case, it really goes beyond just the price, because the benefits of using it would outweigh any kind of real price increase. And the fact of the matter is it may even be equal to or lower ASP per, let's say, per final dose on the container by switching to us. So, we don't really feel the need to be discounting. Speaker 200:24:56In fact, what we're trying to do is go the other way and have the pricing that we have on our product line reflect the premium products that they truly are. Speaker 600:25:06That makes complete sense. Congratulations again on a strong year and must feel good looking out to this year and not necessarily having some of the distractions you were dealing with last year. So congratulations. Speaker 100:25:18Thank you, Matt. Thanks, Matt. Operator00:25:21Thank you. And our next question today comes from Thomas Flat with Lake Street. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:25:26Hey, guys. Appreciate you taking Speaker 800:25:27the questions. Rod, just keeping in mind all the things you've noted about potential growth opportunities, particularly with the cross selling. If you were to look at that 18% to 20% growth rate you guided for 2025, where do you think that can go kind of in maybe not in an ideal world, but do you see that accelerating beyond that 21%? Speaker 200:25:48I think over time, it can. It's going to depend again, given that media represents approximately 90% of the cell processing line at this point in time, it really is going to be driven for the next few years at least. The bulk of the growth is going to be driven by biopreservation media and that really is dependent on the cadence of approvals and the overall demand for these therapies down the road. So, that's number one. And that's really not in our control. Speaker 200:26:17What's in our control is to make sure that we're in as many clinical trials as we can be as they come online. I think with respect to Sextant, the growth there will be higher over time and really it is going to take us, I would say, twenty four to thirty six months to get well established to the point where as these therapies move through the clinical journey and the volume increases not just for media, but for these other tools, then you're going to start to see an acceleration of revenue growth rates beyond I think where we are today. So, I still I think we're about twenty four to thirty six months away from kind of any material change in growth rate would be what I would say. Speaker 800:26:59Got it. I appreciate that. And then just on the business itself, now that you've been a couple of months past the deals in November, any more changes to the middle of the P and L that we should anticipate either positively or negatively? Speaker 100:27:15No. The comments I made earlier is still Stan, Thomas. Because those financials, as you would know, are all continuing basis, right? So that does strip out any of the divestiture entities from those financials as well as up some people that went with those divestitures. So, it's a good baseline as I mentioned for Q4 twenty twenty four annualized for SG and A and then R and D, we will be putting more money into R and D this year compared to 2024. Speaker 800:27:43Got it. Appreciate it. Thank you. Speaker 100:27:46Thanks, Thomas. Operator00:27:48Thank you. And our next question comes from Yi Chen at H. C. Wainwright. Please go ahead. Speaker 900:27:55Good morning. This is Eduardo on for Yi. I guess related to customer expansion, I had a question regarding any potential catalyst from your clients. Naturally, they get massive approvals or label expansions that would be really relevant for your guys' projections? Speaker 200:28:11Correct. It's really from the clinical trial customer base that we have. It's movement through the from Phase I to Phase II, etcetera, right? On the commercial side, once they're commercial, it's both time in terms of adoption, let's just say in The United States, but then there are those other factors, geographic expansion around the world, movement of the line of treatments, those things are equally important to us in terms of the overall growth rate and adoption of those therapies as time goes by. Also, a lot of the therapies end up several years later getting additional indications using the same drug and that also opens up that pool of patients. Speaker 900:28:58Right. And do you guys have visibility on whether or not any of those milestones or inflection points are happening in 2025 for your clients? Speaker 200:29:07Yes. We think right now that we have visibility to what we believe are about eight of those of any one of those things happening in 2025. We track that as well as we can. The information is a bit opaque. And we're actually working with a third party consultant to try to more formalize a review of that on an every six month basis as opposed to trying to track it internally, which I think has given us less than fulsome data. Speaker 200:29:38So, I think we'll get better at that. But right now, what we're seeing is about eight over the next twelve months in or the year of 2025, I should say. Speaker 900:29:47Got it. That's really helpful. And I know the clinical trial component of revenue isn't that significant, but just curious if you guys anticipate any complications with grant funding freezes potentially. I don't know if any of the clinical trials that your customers are running are dependent on government funding, but if you anticipate any complications associated with funding freezes? Speaker 200:30:12Yes, not at this point. We're aware of the uncertainty around NIH funding. I think that to the extent that there could be an impact of that, I would say that it shows up on the distribution side of our business. We have two large distributors. I think they're very much focused on academic institution, early research. Speaker 200:30:36Those folks might have might be impacted by all of this. But in terms of our overall revenue, when we talk to those two distributors, we don't get any sense that they're concerned about it at this point. That may change throughout the year. But right now, I think it would come from a bit of a softening of demand on the distribution side versus the direct side. Most of our direct customers are privately funded. Speaker 900:31:03Got it. That's helpful. And then finally, I'm curious strategy for EVO and SAW. And if there's any potential, if you have bundling products, you talked a little bit previously about kind of bundling packages with cell processing. I'm curious if these two would also fit into a strategy there to kind of increase your footprint with those products and services as well? Speaker 200:31:25Yes. So, on the thaw side, our thaw device definitely could be viewed as almost a reverse razor razor blade in the sense that it is designed now and has been modified to accept a cell seal vial product line, our own product line for automated thaw. So, you could look at it almost as a it's a nice add on if you're using our Celsius vials. It could be yet another just benefit of doing so. And it could also be thought of as a razor razor blade scenario in terms of if it gets placed, it can drive in some way, although I would say it's pretty soft indirect way, the utilization or the adoption of the Krauseal. Speaker 200:32:13On the EVO side of things, very little chance. The people that are making decisions around utilizing EVO are very different than Speaker 100:32:20the people that would be utilizing Speaker 200:32:23the CellSeal or other products, including thaw. The decision makers are very different. So, there's very little opportunity to do that. Speaker 300:32:33Got it. Speaker 900:32:33That's really helpful. Thanks. Speaker 200:32:36Okay. Operator00:32:37Thank you. And our next question comes from Michael Okunovich with Maxim Group. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:32:44Hey, guys. Thank you so much for taking my questions today. Congratulations on all the progress. Speaker 100:32:49Thank you. Speaker 700:32:52I just would like to see if we could drill down a little bit. You mentioned that you're looking at a bit more R and D spend going forward versus the fourth quarter. So could you provide just a little bit more color on how you're planning to allocate additional spend? Is this more is this for new products or more just continued improvements on your existing product line? Speaker 200:33:13Yes, it's really about expanding the consumable set of products that we have and acquired from Sexton. That would be the cryo case to do some additional work on that relative to some customer feedback. It would be modifying the cryo case for our own internal use on the front end. In other words, shipping our cryo store product out in a cryo case. There are various benefits to that. Speaker 200:33:41It's about increasing the consumable line of products that are associated with our CT5 automated fill device. So, it's really, I would say, product line expansion as opposed to new products per se. Speaker 700:33:59Okay. Thank you for that. And then just I want to see if you could remind us of your involvement with any mesenchymal stem cell based products. I know that Mesoblast historically hasn't been a customer, but there has been a lot of gains of traction in that space. So any additional color with your involvement could be helpful here. Speaker 200:34:19Yes. I don't know if I can give you any in real time, but I can certainly follow-up with you on that after the fact. I'll sit with our folks that have managed the clinical trial side of things and have a chat with them and come back to you on that, Michael. Speaker 700:34:33Certainly. Thank you very much for taking my questions. And once again, congrats on the progress. Speaker 200:34:38Thanks very much. Operator00:34:40And this concludes our question and answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Rod DeGrieve for closing remarks. Speaker 200:34:48Thank you, Rocco. In closing, 2024 was a year of strategic transformation and solid operational execution for BioLife. We see 2025 as an opportunity to solidify and leverage our market leading position as an enabler of CGT therapies and position the company for long term sustainable growth in both revenue and profitability. Thank you for your time this morning and we look forward to updating you as we move through the year as well as seeing some of you at the Cowen conference this week and other conferences throughout the year. Thank you. Operator00:35:22Thank you. This concludes today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderfulRead morePowered by