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Vancouver’s Absci reports loss for 2023 but still moving forward with ‘AI-driven biologic drug discovery’

Pharmaceutical company reported loss of $23.5 million

By Sarah Wolf, Columbian staff writer
Published: March 21, 2024, 2:02pm

Absci reported a loss for 2023, but the Vancouver-based company also brought in $86 million in gross proceeds from its common stock offering.

Absci said in its latest earnings statement that it made moves with some of its drugs. It presented early pre-clinical data for an antibody and made progress in other areas including dermatology and immune-oncology.

“In 2023, Absci further solidified its leadership in (artificial-intelligence) driven biologic drug discovery,” said Sean McClain, founder and CEO.

Absci uses its database and artificial intelligence platform to discover biologic drugs, speeding up the drug discovery process. The work can potentially bring drugs to the market faster than the traditional process.

The company brought in $300,000 in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023, down from $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Absci attributed the decrease to a mix of programs and related progress during the quarter.

Absci reported a loss of $23.5 million, or 25 cents per diluted share, during the last quarter of 2023, compared with a $19.5 million loss, or 21 cents per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The company brought in $5.7 million in revenue in 2023, matching 2022.

Absci reported a net loss of $110.6 million, or $1.20 per diluted share, in 2023, compared with a net loss of $104.9 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, the year prior.

“With validating strategic industry partnerships and our recent underwritten public offering, we’re poised to further advance our pipeline, enhance our AI capabilities, and expand our partnerships,” McClain said in the earnings report.

Absci signed deals for 10 drug discovery programs in December, including one with Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca. It announced an underwritten public offering of 16.7 million shares of common stock in February.

Absci trades on the Nasdaq as ABSI. Its stock closed Thursday at $5.28 per share, up from Wednesday’s closing price of $5.09 per share.

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