Summary of Bio-Techne Conference Call Company Overview - **Company**: Bio-Techne (NasdaqGS: TECH) - **Date**: November 20, 2025 - **Focus**: Life Science tools and reagents, particularly in cell therapy and proteomics Key Points Financial Performance - **Overall Growth**: Reported a negative growth of 1% for the quarter, primarily due to larger companies not ordering products after receiving fast-track designations, impacting revenue by 200 basis points [2][21] - **Core Growth**: Excluding the impact of cell therapy, core growth was positive at 1% [2] - **Large Pharma Revenue**: Contributed 30% of total revenues, with double-digit growth observed [2][5] - **GMP Protein Business**: Valued at $60 million within an $80 million cell therapy business, with significant growth in previous quarters (60% and 90% in Q1 and Q2 last year) [20] Market Dynamics - **Pharma Market**: Strong performance in both the US and Europe, with a healthy growth outlook despite potential shifts due to deglobalization [6][10] - **Biotech Funding**: Noted a resurgence in funding, particularly in October, with a shift towards accelerating programs rather than building infrastructure [7][8] - **Academic Market**: Experienced a messy environment in the US but showed stabilization and improvement in Europe, with a shift in grant focus towards oncology and neurological diseases [33] Innovation and Product Development - **R&D Investment**: 8% of revenues reinvested into R&D, leading to significant innovations across various verticals [12] - **New Products**: - ProPax for protein packaging, reducing human error and contamination risk [13] - ELA cartridge for ultra-sensitivity in protein analysis, enhancing capabilities in neurodiseases and inflammation [14] - LEO instrument with four times higher capacity and precision for larger pharma [15] - Exosome-based ESR1 breast cancer marker for therapy management [16] - Oxford Nanopore-based genetic testing kit for difficult-to-sequence genes [16] M&A Strategy - **M&A as Priority**: High priority for capital deployment, with improved availability of high-quality targets in the market [17] - **Wilson Wolf Acquisition**: Ongoing interest in acquiring Wilson Wolf, with a focus on strengthening the cell therapy portfolio [17][19] Competitive Landscape - **Cell Therapy Market**: Maintained a strong position against European competitors, leveraging 49 years of experience in complex protein design and manufacturing [22] - **AI in Protein Design**: Utilization of AI to enhance protein specificity and heat stability, leading to patentable innovations [24][25] Pricing and Promotions - **Promotional Activities**: Implemented grants to support new programs in constrained funding environments, increasing customer base from 550 to 700 for GMP proteins [26][27] Future Outlook - **Market Trends**: Anticipated improvements in grant funding and a shift towards more multi-year grants, providing better visibility for labs [35] - **Budget Flush Impact**: Minimal impact expected from year-end budget flush, as 90% of revenue is from consumables and services, not instrumentation [37] Additional Insights - **Reshoring and Deglobalization**: Expected to influence manufacturing dynamics positively, with local production reducing shipping inefficiencies [10][11] - **Academic Grant Trends**: Shift towards proteomics-based spending, indicating a favorable alignment with Bio-Techne's offerings [33]