Krish S. Krishnan
Analyst · Griffin Securities. Please go ahead
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone and thanks for joining the call today. R.J and I are pleased with Intrexon's performance in the first quarter of 2015. We’ve continued to make solid progress against our strategic and operational objectives and work to further establish industrial leadership across all our sectors. Within the health sectors, as you maybe aware, we’re working in a number of areas including cell and gene therapies for cancer, orphan genetic disorders, blindness, infectious diseases, tissue repair as well as in the biology mediated production of APIs. The opportunity to make a difference in patients lives protein and cell therapy approaches is one that are fully vested in and together with our collaborators, we’re positioned to have a number of programs entering the clinic over the next 6 to 12 months. We look forward to sharing data around these efforts when it becomes available. Our immuno-oncology program focusing on adoptive T cell therapies has continued to build momentum this year. In March we entered into an exclusive collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize CAR-T therapies with the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA. Utilizing Intrexon's RheoSwitch platform, and proprietary suite of technologies to engineer T cells, this collaboration aims to develop leading-edge CAR-T products that empower the immune system in a regulated manner. More recently we signed a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute. Through the CRADA, Intrexon and NCI intend to develop RheoSwitch controlled IL-12 cancer therapy for the treatment of patients with solid tumor malignancies. The ability to direct and control IL-12 via gene therapy post tremendous promise and we are pleased to be working with one of the pioneers in immunotherapy Dr. Steve Rosenberg to bring this combined approach to the clinic. We’ve also completed two acquisitions during the first quarter. The first is ActoGeniX, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a unique ability to locally deliver a range of therapeutic molecules through engineered microbes in an oral pill. We’ve begun efforts to partner the two clinical stage programs that are now within our new ActoBiotics division and are pleased with the interest we’ve seen to date in these and their other preclinical programs. The second acquisition is Exemplar Genetics, which is developing custom miniature swine research models of human disease that may enable data predictive efficacy in the generation of new therapeutics and medical devices. Insufficient animal research models create a significant barrier to progress in the discovery of disease mechanisms and treatment, particularly in therapeutic development for genetic diseases and orphan indications which currently have no clear path for a evaluation or as in most cases an insufficient patient population. In the environment sector, we executed an exclusive channel collaboration with FuturaGene Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Suzano Papel. The second largest producer of eucalyptus pulp in the world. The goal of this collaboration is to develop unique attributes and significant plant species namely increased biomass in eucalyptus and poplar trees. With respect to our efforts in energy, we expect our methanotroph bioconversion platform to reach pilot stage by year-end. As a reminder, our first commercial target is isobutanol, our valuable drop in fuel to the existing energy infrastructure. We are pleased to share with you that Intrexon Energy Partners had signed an agreement with one of the nation’s largest natural gas transport, storage, and processing company to pursue commercialization of our methane bioconversion facilities. This company brings significant engineering, and construction management to our projects, as well as the capacity to build, owned and operate these facilities on a tolling basis. We look forward to sharing more with you in the near future. Moving on to the food sector, we recently completed the acquisition of Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the pioneering agricultural company behind the Arctic apple, the world's first non-browning apple without the use of any flavor-altering chemical or antioxidant additives. OSF has responsibly harness the power of technology to produce wholesome, nutritious food that is more appetizing and convenient with benefits across the entire supply chain. This approach is well aligned with our strategy in the food sector. On the financial front, giving the first Q, our revenue totaled $33.8 million, an increase of 331% over the first quarter of 2014. Net income was $27.1 million or $0.26 per share. Our adjusted EBITDA was a $11.3 million or $0.11 per basic share. Cash consideration received for research and development services otherwise known as cost recovery in the first quarter covered 50% of the cash operating expenses exclusive of the operating expense of the majority on consolidated subsidiaries. Of note, the Merck Serono agreement is expected to become effective in the second quarter following regulatory approval and accordingly our first quarter financial results exclude any impact of this agreement. In summary, we continue to strive to conserve shareholder capital, while continuing to build a significant portfolio of backend economics from a variety of products across multiple industries and sectors. Thank you. We now will open the call for Q&A.