管理層發言
Welcome to Evogene's Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded on August 18, 2026. Before we begin, I would like to caution that certain statements made during this earnings conference call by Evogene's management will constitute forward-looking statements that relate to future events. This presentation contains forward-looking statements relating to future events, and Evogene Ltd. may, from time to time, make other statements regarding our outlook or expectations for future financial or operating results and/or other matters regarding or affecting us that are considered forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the PSLRA and other securities laws as amended. Statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of such words as believe, expect, anticipate, should, planned, estimated, intend and potential or words of similar meaning.
We are using forward-looking statements in this presentation when we discuss our value drivers, commercialization efforts and timing, product development and launches, estimated market size and milestones, pipeline as well as our capabilities and technology. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about future events, involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Readers are cautioned that certain important factors may affect the company's actual results and could cause such results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements that may be made in this presentation. Therefore, actual future results, performance or achievements and trends in the future may differ materially from what is expected or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including, without limitation, the aftermath of the recent war between Israel and each of the terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran and other regional terrorist groups supported by Iran and any destabilization in Israel, neighboring territories or the Middle East region and those described in greater detail in Evogene's annual report on Form 20-F and in other information Evogene files and furnishes with the Israel Securities Authority and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors under the heading Risk Factors.
Except as required by applicable securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or commitment to update any information contained in this presentation or publicly release the results of any revisions to any statements that may be made to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. The information contained herein does not constitute a prospectus or other offering document nor does it constitute or form part of any invitation or offer to sell or any solicitation of any invitation or offer to purchase or subscribe for any securities of Evogene or the company, nor shall the information or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any action, contract, commitment or relating thereto or to the securities of Evogene or the company. The trademarks included herein are the property of the owners thereof and are used for reference purposes only.
Such use should not be construed as an endorsement of our product or services. With us on the line will be Nir Nimrodi, Evogene's Chairman of the Board of Directors; Ofer Haviv, President and CEO of Evogene; and Polina Ravzin, VP Finance of Evogene. Now I will turn the call over to Ofer Haviv. Mr. Haviv, please go ahead.
Thank you for joining Evogene's Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Call. Today's call will be somewhat different from our usual format. Joining me is Mr. Nir Nimrodi, Chairman of Evogene's Board of Directors. Nir will begin by presenting the Board's response to the recent demand by a group of dissident shareholders seeking to replace the company's Board. Following Nir's remarks, I will discuss the company's achievements during the first half of the year and our near-term expectations. We will conclude with a review by Mrs. Polina Ravzin, Evogene's VP Finance, of our financial results, followed by a Q&A session. Nir, please go ahead.
Thank you, Ofer. Good morning, everyone. As Chairman, my primary responsibility together with my fellow directors is to position Evogene for long-term sustainable value creation. We share the frustration with the historical share price, and we acted with urgency and determination to address it. Over the past 18 months, we haven't just talked about change, we have delivered it. We have fundamentally transformed Evogene into a lean, AI-driven leader in computational chemistry for pharmaceuticals and crop protection. We have streamlined operations, reduced costs and optimized our portfolio. The question today is not whether change is necessary — change has already been executed. The question is how we accelerate the momentum we have created. Interrupting this transformation precisely as it enters its most promising phase is a risk we cannot afford. Our strategy is already delivering tangible results.
We established ChemPass as our core platform, building the first-in-class generative small molecule foundation model and integrating autonomous AI agents in partnership with Google Cloud. We secured six key drug development agreements with leading biotechnology companies and premier academic institutions, validating the commercial value of our AI-driven platform, ChemPass AI. We reduced headcount from 117 to 38, creating a highly focused, agile organization. We lowered cash burn from approximately $20.5 million in 2024 to an expected $8.5 million to $9.5 million in 2026 with further reductions anticipated in 2027. We raised approximately $11.1 million in new capital, securing the financial runway to execute our plans. And lastly, we monetized Lavie Bio, selling it to ICL for $15.25 million, licensed Biomica's Phase I asset to Lishan Biotech, focused Casterra on the Brazil SAF market and advanced AgPlenus novel fungicide discovery.
Another strong indication of confidence in Evogene's long-term potential comes from Mr. Leon Recanati, a member of Evogene's Board of Directors and a highly respected investor. Mr. Recanati recently made a significant investment in Evogene and today he is one of the largest shareholders of the company. This recent investment reflects his strong belief in Evogene's strategy, technology and long-term value creation potential. His commitment demonstrates the confidence he has in the substantial potential of the company and further aligns his interests with those of all other Evogene shareholders. As you may know, we were presented with a demand by a group of dissident investors seeking to replace the entire Board. Following this demand, we approached them openly and in good faith and engaged in dialogue to understand their vision for Evogene. We even offered to collaborate and add representatives of their choosing to our Board.
They rejected that proposal. More importantly, to date this group has failed to present any comprehensive strategic alternative, commercial roadmap or credible operating plan. Let me be clear: replacing most of a public technology company's board is an extremely consequential decision. It should only be considered when there is a superior fully articulated roadmap on the table. Changing directors is not a strategy; it's a disruption. A vote for this group is a vote to hand the reins of your investment to individuals with no defined plan. That risks dismantling the very momentum that drives our value creation today. While we believe in continuity, we also believe in evolution. This September, assuming that we prevail in the contested election, we will proactively strengthen our board by adding two highly accomplished industry leaders: Dr. Yael Margolin, a pharmaceutical innovation and commercialization expert; and Mr. Yoshinori Oikawa, a veteran of international biotechnology.
These additions ensure our Board has the precise world-class expertise required for our next phase of growth, combining fresh perspectives with critical institutional knowledge. This upcoming vote is not about resisting change. On the contrary, it's about enhancing the future we are actively building. Removing a unified Board at this critical juncture would destroy the strategic plan we have been implementing and would be a profound disservice to our shareholders. On a personal note, I want to emphasize that I deeply believe in open dialogue and constructive collaboration. My door is always open to all our shareholders. If you have thoughts, feedback or wish to discuss our path forward directly, I'm always ready and happy to listen. Our focus is singular: to ensure Evogene reaches its full potential and delivers the value you deserve. We ask for your continued trust and your support for the current Board and its enhanced slate of nominees, including the new nominees, Dr. Margolin and Mr. Oikawa, in the coming vote. Thank you.
Thank you, Nir. I would like to echo Nir's comments. Our sharp strategic focus and streamlined organizational structure are already yielding outstanding operational results. First, turning to our Pharma division. Since the beginning of this year, we have signed four new drug development agreements. This brings our total active collaborations to six, as Nir noted earlier. I am highly encouraged to report that for two of these collaborations, we have already successfully completed the initial step, Hit ID, of our computational platform, ChemPass AI process. The validation results we achieved exceeded our partners' expectations, and we are now actively promoting the next steps of these joint programs. In addition, we are rapidly advancing our internal drug discovery program which not only holds significant value, but also serves as a powerful ongoing validation of our computational platform.
In this program, we successfully completed step two, Hit-to-Lead, of the ChemPass AI process and progressed to step three, Lead Optimization — the generation of unique proprietary molecules that will serve as a drug candidate to initiate preclinical trials. It is important to emphasize that all of these collaborations and internal programs target therapeutic areas addressing markets with multibillion-dollar commercial potential. Importantly, Evogene retains significant commercial rights in the outputs of these joint activities. We anticipate generating revenues as these molecules advance through the development pipeline. Every new partnership we secure and every development milestone we achieve brings our programs closer to commercialization, increasing the value and expanding Evogene's future revenue potential. In addition, we are seeing similar highly encouraging momentum in our Ag division, specifically in our crop protection program.
We have made substantial progress in our program to develop a novel fungicide targeting Septoria. We are nearing the completion of step three, Lead Optimization, of the ChemPass AI process, and we are currently testing synthesized molecules in advanced biological assays ahead of launching greenhouse and field trials. None of this would be possible without the continuous exceptional growth of our core computational platform, which underwent a massive upgrade this year. Following the signing of our second agreement with Google Cloud, we have already reached our first major project milestone. As a result, we have integrated advanced AI agents into our workflow. These agents automate highly complex, time-consuming tasks that previously required highly specialized researchers weeks or months to complete. Today, we execute those tasks in a matter of minutes. We have also added powerful new predictive models that identify winning candidate molecules.
A key example is our recently announced APP, an antifungal potency predictor model, which predicts a molecule's activity within the actual pathogen itself rather than just its interaction with the target protein. Furthermore, the size of our virtual chemical space has expanded dramatically from 36 billion molecules to 110 billion molecules that we can now rapidly scan. Looking ahead, we continue to be laser-focused on achieving the following key objectives: progressing our existing research collaboration programs across both our pharma and agriculture pipelines; securing new drug development collaborations with other leading biotechnology companies while simultaneously initiating discussions with major pharmaceutical companies for joint activities; advancing our high-value internal programs in both pharma and crop protection, which present tremendous commercial upside for our shareholders; establishing strategic partnerships with top-tier global ag chemical companies; continuously upgrading our computational technology and advancing towards an increasingly autonomous computational system designed to predict key success requirements at the early stage of development.
To conclude, I want to strongly reinforce Nir's message. The transformation of Evogene is not a distant promise. It is happening right now and the execution is undeniable. This level of rapid progress and technological breakthrough is only possible because we have a deeply aligned Board and management team, working with a shared precise vision. I'm absolutely confident that our current Board, strengthened by the world-class expertise of our newly nominated directors, provides the stable, strategic and highly capable leadership needed to maximize the value of our technology and drive this company to the significant commercial success we all anticipate. Now is the time for execution and continuity, not disruption. We strongly ask for your vote to support the current Board and its nominees so we can keep this powerful momentum moving forward. With that, I will hand the discussion over to Polina to review our financial results.
Thank you, Ofer. I would like to reinforce the points Nir made regarding the significant transformation Evogene has undergone, particularly the refocusing of our activities and the decisive steps we have taken to implement our new strategy. As you heard from Ofer and his update on our subsidiaries, we have moved quickly to align our operations and resources with our strategic priorities. From a financial perspective, this has meant significantly reducing our operating expenses, preserving and maximizing the cash resources available across the group and focusing our investments on the areas where we believe Evogene can create the greatest long-term value. The second quarter financial results provide an important foundation for the quarters ahead and reflect many of the actions we have already taken to create a more focused, disciplined and financially sustainable organization. I will start with the status of our noncore subsidiaries.
Consistent with our revised strategy, we continue to manage the wind-down or transition of our noncore business activities in a disciplined manner. Lavie Bio is no longer operational. Under the ICL transaction, two additional payments remain due to the company. The first payment was received in July 2026 and the second is expected in July 2027. In addition, during the first quarter of 2026, Lavie Bio received court approval to distribute a $4.25 million dividend to its shareholders, of which Evogene was entitled to approximately $2.9 million. The dividend distribution was completed during the second quarter of 2026. Biomica, following the successful completion of its Phase I clinical trial and the licensing of its lead oncology candidate BMC128 to Lishan Pharmaceuticals, is no longer conducting ongoing operations. In April 2026, Biomica received court approval to distribute a $2.7 million dividend to its shareholders, of which Evogene was entitled to approximately $1.35 million.
The dividend distribution was completed during the second quarter of 2026. Casterra has significantly reduced and realigned its operations and is now focused exclusively on Brazil. Evogene raised approximately $0.8 million through its ATM program during the second quarter of 2026 and an additional amount of approximately $2.4 million during the third quarter of 2026. Turning now to the financial results. I would like to highlight the key figures for the first half and second quarter of 2026. As of June 30, 2026, Evogene held consolidated cash and cash equivalents of approximately $9.3 million. Consolidated cash usage during the second quarter of 2026 was approximately $2.1 million. For the full year 2026, we expect cash usage to be in the range of approximately $8.5 million to $9.5 million. Managing our cash position remains a key priority, and we are taking disciplined actions to further reduce cash burn while preserving the capabilities needed to execute our strategic priorities and advance our most promising business opportunities.
This disciplined approach is already reflected in our results. The second quarter net loss reduced to approximately $1.8 million compared with approximately $4.7 million in the second quarter of 2025 and approximately $6 million in the second quarter of 2024. Revenues for the first half of 2026 totaled approximately $0.7 million compared to approximately $2.9 million in the first half of 2025, a decrease of approximately $2.2 million. The decrease was primarily attributable to lower revenue from Casterra as the first half of 2025 included approximately $2 million in significant castor seed sales. Revenues for the second quarter of 2026 were approximately $0.3 million compared with approximately $0.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. The decrease was primarily attributable to the conclusion of the AgPlenus agreement with Bayer in May 2026. Research and development expenses, net of nonrefundable grants for the first half of 2026 were approximately $2.9 million compared with approximately $3.5 million in the corresponding period of 2025, a decrease of approximately $0.6 million.
The decrease was primarily attributable to lower R&D expenses at Casterra and AgPlenus, partially offset by increased R&D expenses at Evogene as the company redirected its R&D efforts towards activities that are core to and support the execution of its new strategy. The decrease in R&D expenses was partially offset by the impact of exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the NIS of approximately $0.4 million. For the second quarter, R&D expenses were approximately $1.4 million compared with approximately $1.7 million in the second quarter of 2025. This decrease is mainly attributable to decreased expenses in Casterra, partially offset by increased expenses in Evogene, as mentioned above. In addition, the decrease was partially offset by the impact of exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the NIS of approximately $0.2 million. Sales and marketing expenses for the first half of 2026 were approximately $0.7 million, essentially unchanged from the corresponding period of 2025.
For the second quarter, sales and marketing expenses were approximately $0.3 million compared with approximately $0.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. General and administrative expenses for the first half of 2026 decreased slightly to approximately $2 million compared with approximately $2.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The decrease in G&A expenses at Evogene and its subsidiaries were substantially offset by approximately $0.2 million of transaction costs related to the warrant inducement transaction and other legal expenses as well as approximately $0.2 million resulting from exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the NIS. For the second quarter of 2026, G&A expenses were approximately $0.9 million compared with approximately $1 million in the corresponding period of 2025. For the first half of 2026, financing expenses net were approximately $1.7 million compared with financing income net of approximately $0.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
This change was primarily related to the accounting treatment and revaluation of warrants, including warrants issued in August 2024 fundraising and the February 2026 warrant inducement transaction. Importantly, these results include significant noncash accounting impacts. In connection with the February 2026 warrant inducement transaction, the company recorded financial expenses of approximately $3.8 million during the first half of 2026 while also recording approximately $2.1 million of financing income related to the fair valuation of the warrant liability as of June 30, 2026. For the second quarter of 2026, we recorded financing income net of approximately $1 million compared to financing expenses net of approximately $0.3 million in the second quarter of 2025. The improvement was primarily related to the warrant accounting and revaluation of the warrant liability as described above. Loss from discontinued operations, net, for the first half of 2026 was approximately $0.5 million compared to approximately $3.6 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
For the second quarter of 2026, loss from discontinued operations was approximately $0.2 million compared with approximately $1.7 million in the second quarter of 2025. This amount primarily reflects the financial results of Lavie Bio and Biomica as well as expenses related to the development and maintenance of MicroBoost AI for ag, which are presented as a single line item in our consolidated statements of profit and loss. Following the sale of the majority of Lavie Bio's assets as well as Evogene's MicroBoost AI for ag to ICL in July 2025 and the licensing of BMC128 to Lishan Pharmaceuticals in February 2026, the operating expense levels associated with Lavie Bio and Biomica have decreased significantly. Finally, our net loss for the first half of 2026 was approximately $7.7 million, essentially unchanged from the corresponding period of 2025. However, the second quarter results show significant improvement.
Net loss for the second quarter of 2026 was approximately $1.8 million compared to approximately $4.7 million in the second quarter of 2025, an improvement of approximately $2.9 million or nearly 62%. This improvement was primarily driven by lower operating expenses, a significantly lower loss from discontinued operations and higher financing income net. And with that, I have concluded my review of the second quarter financial results, and I will now hand the call back to Ofer.
Thank you, Polina. Let me close by emphasizing one important point. The transformation Nir described is not simply a strategic vision; it is already reflected in the way we operate and in our financial performance. We have taken decisive steps to streamline the company, substantially reduce activities in noncore business, lower our operating expenses and deploy our capital with greater discipline. At the same time, we have protected the technological capabilities and strategic flexibility that we believe are essential to advancing Evogene's most promising operations and creating long-term value. The actions we have taken during 2025 and the first half of 2026 have created a stronger and more disciplined financial foundation for the company. We are entering the second half of the year with a clear focus, a leaner organization and a much more capital-efficient operating model. Most importantly, we believe this puts Evogene in a stronger position to execute with greater focus, greater discipline and greater ability to convert our technology and innovation into meaningful commercial opportunities. With that, I would like to thank you for joining us today. We are now happy to open the call for your questions.
分析師問答
When was the last time you used the ATM? I noticed that the number of outstanding shares increased by approximately 2.5 million.
This is Ofer answering this question. We are using the ATM cautiously. According to market conditions, we decide when to use it or not. This is part of our strategy to raise money, and we have found it's probably the most efficient and less expensive way to raise capital. We usually report on how we utilize the ATM every six months in our regular reporting system. All of the information, as usual, will be available in that report.
Can you monetize your IP and technologies with a major strategic partner in the near term, whether that would be a technology partner like Google, one of our subsidiaries, or the ChemPass engine?
When we evaluate our technology, we look at all the companies that are focusing on small molecule discovery for pharma and ag. In ag, there are not many, if any, competitors; I think Evogene is one of the major companies in this field. In pharma, there are additional companies in the same area of activity. You can divide them into huge companies, which usually work on their own pipelines and are less inclined to partner, and smaller companies competing with what Evogene is doing. The fact is that Evogene is entering this field after many years of experience in how to use technology to address chemical and biological challenges, and I think that puts us in a very strong position. The fact that, even though we opened our activity in this area less than a year ago, we already have six collaboration agreements and are now talking with an additional company on another collaboration is very encouraging.
What I'm very excited to see is that we are now starting to cooperate with a pharma company that is showing initial interest in our technology and what we can offer them. In the majority of our ongoing discussions with additional partners, we are also talking about R&D fees to fund our activity. This is something we haven't done at the beginning of our activity in this field, and I believe it will be reflected in future revenue, which makes me very excited and confident that we are offering something unique. I don't think it's common to compare to other companies, but I feel we are in a very, very good position in the field of small molecule discovery, targeting specific proteins.
How long do you expect the field trial to take for the Septoria agricultural program?
Currently, we have not yet initiated field trials for the new target we are focusing on. We are now in the stage of validating our most promising molecules or compounds with the pathogen. The next step will be greenhouse trials. I'm really excited about where we are today because the effective concentration of the small molecules we are evaluating now is very low, which is very important, and we saw a very strong response when tested at the fungal level. I really hope to start seeing indications also in plants (in planta assays), which is the next step of our focus. That is the step when we will approach the big chemical companies. The fact we are focusing on Septoria is not a coincidence. Septoria is one of the main fungi that all the big companies are looking for solutions to because existing products have developed resistance. Everybody today is looking for a new mode of action. This is the protein we are focusing on and, of course, the novel chemistries that are designed to work on this specific mode of action. I think this is what we have in our hands now, so I'm really looking forward to what we can build commercially around this program when we start presenting these results to the world's leading ag chemical companies.
When do you expect EVGR510 to enter the clinic?
I don't have the full timeline in front of me, but in the near future we are more focused on entering preclinical trials. That is a closer milestone. I really hope that in some of our programs in the second half of next year we will reach that milestone in at least the first program we initiate. As I mentioned earlier, two of our six ongoing programs already moved from step one to step two in our workflow with very promising results that exceeded our expectations and our partners'. We are also advancing nicely in our internal pipeline: we finished step two and are now moving to step three. Assuming we complete step three during next year, we can then start talking about moving into preclinical trials. The minute Evogene moves to the preclinical trial stage, I think that will be an inflection point that I hope and expect will have a positive effect on our company valuation and perception in the pharma industry.
When does management plan to use an IR approach to bring investor outreach to new and existing shareholders? In my opinion, management has pigeonholed yourself to a single banker. I would like the C-suite and others to do investor roadshows across the U.S. as ChemPass AI is worth multiples of the market cap today. But due to ATMs and structural investors, our shares have been held hostage. Let's change our ways and bring the true value out.
Honestly, I agree with almost everything stated in this question. We definitely need to expose Evogene to a much broader audience. We need to meet with new investors and existing investors to tell the Evogene story. Why haven't we done it until now? We are now at a point where our plans from 1.5 years ago have become real results. One and a half years ago, we could only present expectations and plans. Now our plans have become reality. I feel very comfortable starting to meet with investors, family offices and financial institutions to show not just the story but real results and the list of collaborations we have signed — and that list will increase. At the end of June, I participated in a conference in San Diego and we met with pharma and biotech companies. It was the first time that when we presented the Evogene story and the results we have already achieved, I saw strong reactions. That convinced me we now have what we need to make a difference when meeting with investors. I'm looking forward to finishing the summer and immediately working with more than one investment banker, engaging an IR firm and starting meetings with potential investors to broaden Evogene's audience. As results come more frequently, I believe that will be reflected in our share price. I strongly believe we need to be more out there, and we are now in the process of doing so.
How long does the Hit-to-Lead stage of development typically take?
For the computational part, it shouldn't take too long — around two to three months. Before moving to step two, Hit-to-Lead, we predict small molecules according to our computational analysis and then validate them in wet assays to confirm the predictions and feed that information into the next computational round. What takes more time is ordering the small compounds, the logistics until they arrive in the lab and the biological assays themselves. That might take a few additional months. In total, it might take something between four to five months to see results. When working with academic institutions, it may take a bit longer because they typically move slower. When working with a commercial partner, things move faster. And when we do it internally, that's when you see the fastest progress. As an example, even though we initiated our internal program after signing two or three collaboration agreements, the most advanced program is our internal one because we move faster than academic institutions and some partners. To summarize: roughly four to five months, shorter if done internally, longer with academic collaborators.
I'm a shareholder for a long time. Why has the price dropped so much until now? You have to do something to solve it.
I'll take that. Thanks for the question. I'm also a shareholder and I share the frustration. We conducted a thorough strategic analysis of all our assets 1.5 years ago when I joined as Chairman. I've spent a lot of time personally and with my fellow Board members and the management team to decide to very carefully and intently focus on ChemPass. We feel it is a differentiated asset that no one else has. After dozens of meetings with potential partners, it's clear the asset is differentiated, and we believe we will be able to evolve the six current collaborations into tangible products that can be monetized. Even before products evolve into preclinical and clinical studies, we expect to cement additional collaborations, hopefully with larger companies, some of which are already investing significantly in AI for large and small molecules. We believe we have the data to demonstrate the differentiated value of the product.
As for share price impact and timing, I cannot comment or predict. But we believe the value will be demonstrated clearly and tangibly to partners and a growing list of collaborators, and eventually that should result in an increase in the share price. I also echo Ofer: we're not just focusing on building value, we are also running a leaner, more agile and more operationally focused organization. The organization today is about one quarter of its previous size and our burn is much lower. This preserves our runway and enables us to demonstrate value. Again, we share the frustration and we are acting diligently to correct it.
Is there any plan to see if the Biomica candidates can be reduced to a single strain and still retain most activity? The difference is huge regulatory-wise. I'm talking about the difference between a full drug path versus a dietary supplement.
First, it's important to emphasize that we decided to focus the company's activity on small molecule discovery. We significantly reduced Biomica activity starting in 2025 and focused primarily on BMC128, our lead oncology candidate. We successfully completed Phase I in the first quarter of 2026 and saw initial positive results that make us very excited. Due to budget constraints and our strategic decision to focus on small molecules rather than microbes, we sought a partner to license those assets and chose to work with a Chinese company that specializes in immune microbiome-based drugs. This industry has solid support in China, and the partner is advancing the microbes forward. No doubt that moving from four microbes to one would change the regulatory pathway significantly, but we selected the consortium of four microbes because each component operates via a different mechanism and together they provide the maximal effect we were targeting.
That is reflected in the results we received. Importantly, the clinical indications support the predictions of how those microbes affect the body. We are in direct contact with Lishan; in fact, today I led a Biomica Board meeting and we discussed progress with our colleagues in China. They are starting validation of the consortium and also validating each microbe separately. They are leading the research and commercialization process now. If they conclude that the number of microbes can be reduced, we would be happy to support that. One last point: from an IP perspective, a combination of microbes often yields a stronger IP position than a single strain, which is another reason to consider multi-strain formulations. I hope that addresses the question; I'm happy to discuss further offline if needed.
Can you add the value for Evogene in Verb Biotics and Finally Foods? Those two items seem underdisclosed compared to the relatively short term.
With respect to Finally Foods, it is one of our subsidiaries. We hold more than 30% equity, although that may have changed as the company recently raised funds. The company is focused on producing casein-like proteins in potato — a concept developed at Evogene. The researchers who led the program moved from our incubator, The Kitchen Hub, and established the company, Finally Foods. Much of the wet lab work was conducted in Evogene facilities and much of the greenhouse activity is taking place on Evogene property. The company has very promising results, and we are excited about its progress. Due to our decision to focus on small molecules, we are not planning to invest further directly in this company at this time. I serve on the company's Board and we are a major shareholder. If it makes financial sense in the future to participate in new financings, we will consider it. For now, it's not part of our core strategy, but I'm personally excited to see the company's progress in producing casein-like proteins in potato and other proteins normally found in milk. The last update I received was very positive.
The APH1 and the APTH1 program — is this program dead? Or is it possible to license it to someone like ADAMA or Syngenta?
APTH1 is a protein target we focused on for herbicides in collaboration with Bayer. We announced we stopped that collaboration in the first half of this year. There's good news and bad news. The bad news is that it turned out the protein, even when its activity is stopped, causes the weed to weaken initially but then recover. The understanding is that this specific protein is not essential enough to the weed's survival to result in weed death. Our role was to find small molecules that bind to and inhibit that protein, and we succeeded in finding molecules that did so. The problem was the target itself — the protein was not essential enough to kill the weed, which became apparent at an advanced stage of evaluation. Because of that, both Bayer and Evogene decided to stop focusing on this target. Given that, I'm not sure we will generate much interest in this specific protein from other partners. The good news is that Bayer felt very positive about Evogene's work on this project: we demonstrated our ability to identify functional small molecules. I hope that the positive impression will lead to new discussions with Bayer on additional programs and projects. I can't disclose details, but I do expect further collaboration possibilities between the companies based on this positive experience.
There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Haviv, would you like to make a concluding statement?
Yes. I would like to thank everybody who participated in this analyst call. We highly appreciate your time. I think the company is in a really strong position to progress and prosper. We are in the right space: small molecules in pharma, which is a huge market, and similarly in the ag industry. I'm looking forward to continuing to update you in future analyst calls on additional achievements. If you have any additional questions I didn't address on this call, don't hesitate to call me. I will be available to answer additional questions, and I'm also very happy to meet face-to-face to elaborate more about the company. Thank you very much, and enjoy the rest of the week.
Thank you. This concludes Evogene's Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at this time.