Executives at eXoZymes (NASDAQ:EXOZ) used the company’s latest investor call to outline how management is prioritizing a narrower set of commercial opportunities, led by its NCT program and a cannabinoid pipeline, while preparing for a new financing round and continuing to develop its cell-free biomanufacturing platform.
Management says 2025 marked a strategic refocus toward asset ownership
Company leadership described 2025 as a year of “focus, scaling up and execution,” saying eXoZymes shifted from pursuing a broad set of potential partnerships to advancing select projects further internally.
During the call, management repeatedly emphasized the perceived advantages of cell-free biomanufacturing over traditional cell-based approaches, pointing to speed from concept to pilot, the ability to generate “tech transfer packages,” and performance metrics such as purity and feedstock-to-product conversion.
NCTx commercialization plan centers on nutraceutical launch and longer-term pharma upside
Damien Perriman, Chief Commercial Officer, presented an “accelerator strategy” for NCT through a commercial vehicle called NCTx, which he said is “currently owned and controlled by eXoZymes” and represents the company’s “first product innovation” focused on consumer health outcomes.
Perriman framed NCT as a naturally occurring molecule and described it as “the only known potent agonist for HNF4α,” which he called a “master metabolic regulator.” He said NCT has historically been difficult to commercialize because it exists only in trace amounts in nature and has been “almost impossible to access” at useful scale.
According to Perriman, eXoZymes’ platform enables production of NCT “quickly, affordably, and at scale,” with “greater than 99% food and pharma grade purity.” He contrasted conventional production methods that generate multiple byproducts with cell-free production that can yield a “single clean product.”
On positioning, Perriman said NCT “works in a fundamentally different way than GLP-1 based therapies,” stating it targets a different receptor and “does not act as an appetite suppressant.” He said NCTx is initially advancing nutraceutical formulations aimed at fat oxidation and “supporting healthy span,” while also planning work on “pharma-grade analogs” to explore HNF4α activation in chronic disease settings.
He also laid out a go-to-market approach centered on an “ecosystem of partners” across direct-to-consumer branding, white-label, and business-to-business ingredient sales. Perriman said the company’s multi-channel strategy supports a trajectory of “6 million bottles within 5 years,” with longer-range expectations of “8 million consumers served by year 10.” He added that NCTx intends to remain “asset light” using contract manufacturing and aiming for high gross margins.
Near-term work cited by Perriman included process optimization, “human use studies to elevate marketing impact,” completion of a GRAS regulatory dossier, and moving into contract manufacturing operations “at the end of the year” to be “2027 product launch ready.”
Company highlights Cayman Chemical pilot and outlines next scale-up milestones
Management described NCT as a key proof point for the platform. Executives said NCT has been studied for decades but did not become a commercial success because it could not be manufactured at scale. The company said it used NCT in 2025 as an example of the value that can be unlocked by its biosolutions and scaling approach.
In discussing scale-up, management highlighted its work with Cayman Chemical, describing it as evidence that eXoZymes can transfer its process to an external organization and maintain performance. The company said the Cayman engagement demonstrated tech transferability and scale-up and that Cayman was able to produce material despite “a few hiccups,” while keeping the process within specifications.
Executives said the project reached kilo scale, yielding “more than half a kilo of ultra-pure NCT.” Management said the company is now moving from making the system work to optimizing economics—“better, faster, cheaper”—with a focus on maximizing profit margins.
In Q&A, Perriman said Cayman “has been an incredible partner” and suggested there may be future work together, but emphasized that commercialization will require a broader network of contract manufacturing organizations for both scale and supply continuity. He outlined 2026 milestones, including:
- Incorporating Cayman learnings into process optimization
- Robustness testing to handle deviations and “shocks”
- Supply chain validation and a two-phase CMO RFP process
- Cross-validation and preparation of a tech transfer package enabling larger-scale operation
He added that “scale up is not a game of perfection, it’s a game of preparedness,” saying the company is working with manufacturing and supply chain consultants as it moves toward commercial production in 2027.
Cannabinoids, santalene, and platform development remain active programs
Tyler Korman, Chief Scientific Officer, said NCT is not the company’s only focus and provided updates on other programs.
On cannabinoids, Korman said the company’s internal scientific case has “only gotten stronger” and argued the platform offers advantages by avoiding the compliance complexity of producing scheduled substances in living organisms. He said eXoZymes can produce target cannabinoids “in our chosen form,” and he highlighted the company’s interest in both rare cannabinoids and “new to nature cannabinoid analogues.” Korman said eXoZymes recently submitted a provisional patent application covering a number of new-to-nature cannabinoid analogs.
He also said enzyme engineering is increasingly informed by “AI-assisted enzyme engineering tools,” which he described as a core part of work across programs.
In Q&A, Korman said the company has made both rare cannabinoids and new-to-nature analogs. However, he added that under current regulations the company remains focused on “pharma opportunities” for cannabinoid assets, while continuing to monitor regulatory changes.
On santalene, Korman said the program is progressing “exactly as planned” under a multi-year grant and is hitting technical milestones on schedule. He described santalene as a precursor to sandalwood fragrance compounds and pointed to constrained natural supply and sustainability pressures as market drivers.
Korman also described a “structured idea management system” incorporating AI-assisted screening to generate and filter new program candidates, and he said the company has been expanding data generation capabilities via a cell-free protein synthesis screening platform to rapidly produce and characterize enzymes that feed its AI design tools.
Financial update: cash runway into mid-Q2 2026; operating expenses rose in 2025
Vlad, who presented the financials, said the company’s 2025 results were included in a press release issued alongside the call. He described eXoZymes as “a pre-revenue company,” with a focus on building asset value and reaching revenue while maintaining “prudent financial management.”
As of the end of December 2025, Vlad said cash and cash equivalents totaled $3.04 million, which he said provides “sufficient liquidity to support ongoing operations and key initiatives into the middle of Q2 of 2026.”
He reported total operating expenses of $9.72 million in 2025, up $3.78 million from 2024, primarily driven by R&D investments, leadership and R&D team expansion, and development of internal infrastructure and flagship products. Net loss for the year was $9.16 million. Vlad said the company is also exploring non-dilutive funding sources such as grants, strategic partnerships, and potential government programs.
Management also discussed fundraising plans. Executives said the company filed an S-3 on Jan. 16 and is conducting investor “roadshow style deep dives.” In Q&A, management said it expects to begin taking and “locking down indications in April.”
When asked about milestone visibility for shareholders, management said it would “certainly try” to provide more clarity but described the balance between roadmaps and value-maximizing decisions as challenging. As examples of milestones to watch, management pointed to human use studies for NCT and completion of the NCT tech transfer package for commercial production readiness, as well as continued progress on cannabinoids.
About eXoZymes (NASDAQ:EXOZ)
eXoZymes, Inc develops, manufactures and supplies a range of enzymes and reagents designed for molecular biology research and diagnostic applications. The company’s enzyme engineering platform underpins a portfolio of products aimed at supporting nucleic acid purification, amplification and analysis workflows.
Key offerings from eXoZymes include magnetic bead–based nucleic acid extraction kits, DNA polymerases, reverse transcriptases, proteases and custom enzyme services. In addition, the company provides molecular diagnostic test kits designed for pathogen detection, leveraging scalable production processes and quality systems aligned with regulatory standards.
eXoZymes serves academic research institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and clinical diagnostic laboratories worldwide.
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