Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes to those statements appearing in this Annual Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis include, but not limited to those set forth in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. All forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report are based on information available to us as of the time we file this Annual Report and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.
Overview
Description of Business
Dyadic International, Inc. (“Dyadic”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”) is a global biotechnology company based in Jupiter, Florida with operations in the United States and a satellite office in the Netherlands, and it utilizes several third-party consultants and research organizations to carry out the Company’s activities. Over the past two plus decades, the Company has developed a gene expression platform for producing commercial quantities of industrial enzymes and other proteins, and has previously licensed this technology to third parties, such as Abengoa Bioenergy SA, BASF SE, Codexis, Inc. and others, for use in industrial (non-pharmaceutical) applications. This technology is based on the Thermothelomyces heterothallica (formerly known as Myceliophthora thermophila ) fungus, which the Company named C1.
On December 31, 2015, the Company sold its industrial technology business to Danisco USA (“Danisco”), the industrial biosciences business of DuPont (NYSE: DD) (the “DuPont Transaction”). As part of the DuPont Transaction, Dyadic retained co-exclusive rights to the C1-cell protein production platform for use in all human and animal pharmaceutical applications, and currently the Company has the exclusive ability to enter into sub-license agreements (subject to the terms of the license and to certain exceptions) for use in all human and animal pharmaceutical applications. Danisco retained certain rights to utilize the C1-cell protein production platform in pharmaceutical applications, including the development and production of pharmaceutical products, for which it will be required to make royalty payments to Dyadic upon commercialization. In certain circumstances, Dyadic may owe a royalty to either Danisco or certain licensors of Danisco, depending upon whether Dyadic elects to utilize certain patents either owned by Danisco or licensed in by Danisco.
After the DuPont Transaction, the Company has been building innovative microbial platforms to address the growing demand for global protein bioproduction and unmet clinical needs for effective, affordable, and accessible biopharmaceutical products for human and animal health and for other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications.
The C1-cell protein production platform is a robust and versatile thermophilic filamentous fungal expression system for the development and production of biologic products including enzymes and other proteins for human and animal health. Some examples of human and animal vaccines and drugs which have the potential to be produced from C1-cells are protein antigens, ferritin nanoparticles, virus-like particles (“VLPs”), monoclonal antibodies (“mAbs”), Bi/Tri-specific antibodies, Fab antibody fragments, Fc-fusion proteins, as well as other therapeutic enzymes and proteins. The Company is involved in multiple funded research collaborations with animal and human pharmaceutical companies which are designed to leverage its C1-cell protein production platform to develop innovative vaccines and drugs, biosimilars and/or biobetters.
The Company also developed the Dapibus™ thermophilic filamentous fungal based microbial protein production platform to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacture of low-cost proteins, metabolites, and other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, such as food, nutrition, and wellness.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of these consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the applicable period. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Such differences could be material to the consolidated financial statements.
We define critical accounting estimates as those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties and which may potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. In applying these critical accounting estimates, our management uses its judgment to determine the appropriate assumptions to be used in making certain estimates. These estimates are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. Our critical accounting estimates include the following:
Revenue Recognition
The Company has no products approved for sale. All our revenue to date has been research revenue from third-party collaborations and government grants, as well as revenue from sublicensing agreements and collaborative arrangements, which may include upfront payments, options to obtain a license, payment for research and development services, milestone payments and royalties, in the form of cash or non-cash considerations (e.g., minority equity interest).
Revenue related to research collaborations and agreements: The Company typically performs research and development services as specified in each respective agreement on a best-efforts basis, and recognizes revenue from research funding under collaboration agreements in accordance with the 5-step process outlined in ASC Topic 606 (“Topic 606”): (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. We recognize revenue when we satisfy a performance obligation by transferring control of the service to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to receive. Depending on how the performance obligation under our license and collaboration agreements is satisfied, we recognize the revenue either at a point in time or over time by using the input method under Topic 606 to measure the progress toward complete satisfaction of a performance obligation.
Under the input method, revenue will be recognized based on the entity’s efforts or inputs to the satisfaction of a performance obligation (e.g., resources consumed, labor hours expended, costs incurred, or time elapsed) relative to the total expected inputs to the satisfaction of that performance obligation. The Company believes that the cost-based input method is the best measure of progress to reflect how the Company transfers its performance obligation to a customer. In applying the cost-based input method of revenue recognition, the Company uses actual costs incurred relative to budgeted costs to fulfill the performance obligation. These costs consist primarily of full-time equivalent effort and third-party contract costs. Revenue will be recognized based on actual costs incurred as a percentage of total budgeted costs as the Company completes its performance obligations.
A cost-based input method of revenue recognition requires management to make estimates of costs to complete the Company’s performance obligations. In making such estimates, significant judgment is required to evaluate assumptions related to cost estimates. The cumulative effect of revisions to estimated costs to complete the Company’s performance obligations will be recorded in the period in which changes are identified and amounts can be reasonably estimated. A significant change in these assumptions and estimates could have a material impact on the timing and amount of revenue recognized in future periods.
Revenue related to grants: The Company may receive grants from governments, agencies, and other private and not-for-profit organizations. These grants are intended to be used to fund the Company’s research collaborations partially or fully, including opportunities and projects that the Company is pursuing with certain collaborators. However, most, if not all, of such potential grant revenues, if received, is expected to be earmarked for third parties to advance the research required, including preclinical and clinical trials for vaccines and/or antibodies candidates.
Revenue related to sublicensing agreements:
If the sublicense to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the arrangement, the Company recognizes revenue allocated to the license when technology is transferred to the customer and the customer can use and benefit from the license.
Customer options: If the sublicensing agreement includes customer options to purchase additional goods or services, the Company will evaluate if such options are considered material rights to be deemed as separate performance obligations at the inception of each arrangement.
Milestone payments: At the inception of each arrangement that includes development, commercialization, and regulatory milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether the achievement of the milestones is considered probable and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price. If the milestone payment is in exchange for a sublicense and is based on the sublicensee’s subsequent sale of product, the Company recognizes milestone payment by applying the accounting guidance for royalties. To date, the Company has not recognized any milestone payment revenue resulting from any of its sublicensing arrangements.
Royalties: With respect to licenses deemed to be the predominant item to which the sales-based royalties relate, including milestone payments based on the level of sales, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). To date, the Company has not recognized any royalty revenue resulting from any of its sublicensing arrangements.
We invoice customers based on our contractual arrangements with each customer, which may not be consistent with the period that revenues are recognized. When there is a timing difference between when we invoice customers and when revenues are recognized, we record either a contract asset (unbilled accounts receivable) or a contract liability (deferred research and development obligations), as appropriate. If upfront fees or considerations related to sublicensing agreement are received prior to the technology transfer, the Company will record the amount received as deferred revenue from licensing agreement.
We are not required to disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less and (ii) contracts for which we recognize revenue at the amount to which we have the right to invoice for services performed.
The Company adopted a practical expedient to expense sales commissions when incurred because the amortization period would be one year or less.
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Accrued Research and Development Expenses
In order to properly record services that have been rendered but not yet billed to the Company, we review open contracts and purchase orders, communicate with our personnel and we estimate the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of the actual cost. The majority of our service providers invoice us monthly or quarterly in arrears for services performed or when contractual milestones are met. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date in our consolidated financial statements based on facts and circumstances known to us at that time. We periodically confirm the accuracy of our estimates with the service providers and adjust if necessary. Examples of accrued research and development expenses include amounts ow ed to contract research organizations, to service providers in connection with research and development activities.
Stock-Based Compensation
We have granted stock options to employees, directors and consultants. The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes model considers volatility in the price of our stock, the risk-free interest rate, the estimated life of the option, the closing market price of our stock and the exercise price. For purposes of the calculation, we assumed that no dividends would be paid during the life of the options. We also used the weighted-average vesting period and contractual term of the option as the best estimate of the expected life of a new option, except for the options granted to the CEO (i.e., 5 or 10 years) and certain contractors (i.e., 1 or 3 years). The expected stock price volatility was calculated based on the Company’s own volatility since the DuPont Transaction. The Company reviews its volatility assumption on an annual basis and has used the Company’s historical volatilities since 2016, as the DuPont Transaction resulted in significant changes in the Company’s business and capital structure.
The estimates utilized in the Black-Scholes calculation involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. These estimates are neither predictive nor indicative of the future performance of our stock. As a result, if other assumptions had been used, our recorded share-based compensation expense could have been materially different from that reported. In addition, because some of the performance-based options issued to employees, consultants and other third-parties vest upon the achievement of certain milestones, the total ultimate expense of share-based compensation is uncertain.
Accounting for Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method in accordance with ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes”. Under this method, income tax expense /(benefit) is recognized for: (i) taxes payable or refundable for the current year and (ii) deferred tax consequences of temporary differences resulting from matters that have been recognized in an entity’s financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the deferred tax assets reported if based on the weight of the available positive and negative evidence, it is more likely than not some portion or all the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
In determining taxable income for the Company’s consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. This process requires the Company to make certain estimates of our actual current tax exposure and assessment of temporary differences between the tax and financial statement recognition of revenue and expense. In evaluating the Company’s ability to recover its deferred tax assets, the Company must consider all available positive and negative evidence including its past operating results, the existence of cumulative losses in the most recent years and its forecast of future taxable income. Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets.
The Company is required to evaluate the provisions of ASC 740 related to the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in a company’s financial statements. ASC 740 prescribes a comprehensive model for how a company should recognize, present, and disclose uncertain positions that the company has taken or expects to take in its tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. Differences between tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return and the net benefit recognized and measured pursuant to the interpretation are referred to as “unrecognized benefits.” A liability should be recognized (or amount of net operating loss carry forward or amount of tax refundable is reduced) for unrecognized tax benefits, because it represents a company’s potential future obligation to the taxing authority for a tax position that was not recognized because of applying the provision of ASC 740.
The Company classifies accrued interest and penalties related to its tax positions as a component of income tax expense. The Company currently is not subject to U.S. federal, state and local tax examinations by tax authorities for the years before 2017. See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information about recent accounting pronouncements .
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Results of Operations
Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2022
Revenue and Cost of Revenue
The following table summarizes the Company’s revenue and cost of research and development revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:
Year Ended December 31,
2023
2022
Research and development revenue
$
2,545,865
$
2,683,244
License revenue
$
352,941
$
247,059
Cost of research and development revenue
$
1,975,849
$
2,123,193
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 , the Company’s revenue was generated from sixteen and fourteen collaborations, respectively. The decrease in revenue and cost of research and development revenue was due to higher individual contract amounts on certain research funding and related work performed during 2022. The license revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 was in connection with the Janssen license agreement, and for the year ended December 31, 2022 was in connection with the Phibro/Abic and Janssen license agreements.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and primarily include salary and benefits of research personnel, third-party contract research organization services and supply costs.
Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased to $3.3 million compared to $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease primarily reflected the winding down of activities related to the Company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of DYAI-100 COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023, decreased to $5.8 million compared to $6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease principally reflected a decrease in management incentives of $466,000, business development and investor relations costs of $219,000, and legal expenses of $39,000, partially offset by increases insurance premiums of $96,000, and other increases of $24,000.
Foreign Currency Exchange
Foreign currency exchange loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $38,000 compared to $50,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease reflected the currency fluctuation of the Euro in comparison to the U.S. dollar.
Interest Income
Interest income for the year ended December 31, 2023, increased to $417,000 compared to $180,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase in interest rates and yield on the Company’s investment grade securities, which are classified as held-to-maturity.
Other Income
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company had a gain of approximately $1.0 million from the sale of the Company’s equity interest in Alphazyme, LLC. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company received a settlement payment of $250,000 from the termination of a proposed license and collaboration.
Income Taxes
The Company had net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards available as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, in the amount of approximate ly $45.9 million and $44.0 million, respectively. Approximately $42.9 milli on of the net operating loss carryforwards will be carried forward indefinitely and will be available to offset 80% of taxable income. The remaining amount of the net operating loss carryforwards will expire at varying dates through 2037.
Net Loss
Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $6.8 million compared to a net loss of $9.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in net loss of $2.9 million was principally due to decreases in research and development expenses of $1.2 million, general and administrative expenses of $605,000, and partially offset by an increase in other income of $768,000.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary source of cash to date has been the cash received from the DuPont Transaction in 2015, interest income received from investment grade securities, revenues from our research collaboration agreements and license agreements, and funds from the exercise of employee stock options. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company received $1.3 million from the sale of its equity interest in Alphazyme, LLC and $600,000 upfront payment for a product development and licensing agreement.
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On March 8, 2024, the Company sold and issued an aggregate principal amount of $6.0 million of its 8.0% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes due March 8, 2027 (the “Convertible Notes”) in a private placement in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The purchasers of the Convertible Notes include immediate family members and family trusts related to Mark Emalfarb, our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors, including The Francisco Trust, an existing holder of more than 5% of the Company’s outstanding common stock, (collectively, the “Purchasers”). The net proceeds from the sale of the Convertible Notes, after deducting offering expenses, are approximately $5,850,000. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Convertible Notes for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The Convertible Notes will be senior, secured obligations of Dyadic and its affiliates, and interest will be payable quarterly in cash on the principal amount equal to 8% per annum. The Convertible Notes will mature on March 8, 2027 (the “Maturity Date”), unless earlier converted, repurchased, or redeemed in accordance with the terms of the Convertible Notes.
The Convertible Notes will be convertible into shares of Dyadic’s Class A common stock (the “Common Stock”), at the option of the holders of the Convertible Notes (the “Noteholders”) at any time prior to the Maturity Date. The conversion price is $1.79 per share of the Common Stock, which is equal to 125% of the trailing 30-day VWAP of the Common Stock ending on the trading day immediately preceding the date of the securities purchase agreement. For more information regarding the Convertible Notes, including the covenants related thereto see Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
This private placement funding strengthened our financial position, and it will support our near term revenue growth and accelerate our strategic objective of commercialization opportunities for pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical applications. The Company has received successful top-line results for the Phase 1 clinical trial of DYAI-100, and we do not plan to continue Phase 2/3 clinical trials unless funding is secured.
Our ability to achieve profitability depends on many factors, including our scientific results and our ability to continue to obtain funded research and development collaborations from industry and government programs, as well as sub-license agreements. We may continue to incur substantial operating losses even if we begin to generate revenues from research and development and licensing. Our primary future cash needs are expected to be for general operating activities, including our business development and research expenses, as well as legal and administrative costs as an SEC reporting and NASDAQ listed company. Our future cash requirements will depend on many factors, including those factors discussed under Item 1A. Risk Factors.
As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $ 80.3 million. We expect to incur losses and have negative net cash flows from operating activities as we continue developing our microbial platforms and related products, and as we expand our pipeline and engage in further research and development activities for internal products as well as for our third-party collaborators and licensees. The success of the Company depends on its ability to develop its technologies and products to the point of regulatory approval and subsequent revenue generation or through sublicensing of the Company’s technologies and products, to raise enough capital to finance these developmental efforts.
We expect our existing cash and cash equivalents and cash raised from the Convertible Notes, investments in debt securities, and operating cash flows will be sufficient to meet our operational, business, and other liquidity requirements for at least the next twelve (12) months from the date of issuance of the financial statements contained in this Form 10-K. However, we have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and our operating plan may change because of many factors currently unknown. In the event our financing needs are not able to be met by our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, we would seek to raise additional capital through strategic financial opportunities that could include, but are not limited to, future public or private equity offerings, collaboration agreements, and/or other means. Any amounts raised may be used for the further development and commercialization of product candidates, and for other working capital purposes. There is no guarantee that any of these strategic or financing opportunities will be executed or realized on favorable terms, if at all, and some could be dilutive to existing shareholders.
At December 31, 2023 , cash and cash equivalents were $ 6.5 million compared to $ 5.8 million at December 31, 2022 . The carrying value of investment grade securities, including accrued interest at December 31, 2023 was $ 0.8 million compared to $ 6.9 million at December 31, 2022 .
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $ 6.7 million resulted from a net loss of $ 6.8 million adjusted for share-based compensation expenses of $ 1.2 million, partially offset by sale of our investment in Alphazyme of $1.0 million, and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $0.1 million.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $8.1 million resulted from a net loss of $9.7 million adjusted for share-based compensation expenses of $1.9 million, offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities of $0.3 million.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $ 7.5 million compared to net cash used in investing activities of $ 2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 . Cash flows from investing activities in 2023 were primarily related to proceeds from maturities, net of purchases of investment grade debt securities, and proceeds from the sale of investment in Alphazyme. Cash flows from investing activities in 2022 were primarily related to proceeds from maturities, net of purchases of investment grade debt securities.
There was no net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $544,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022 . Cash flows from financing activities in 2022 were primarily related to proceeds received from the exercise of stock options.
Item 7A.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information required under this item.
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