Teleconferência de Resultados do 2T26 da Evogene (EVGN): Prejuízo Diminui com Expansão da ChemPass AI

Principais Destaques

• A Evogene relatou um prejuízo líquido de aproximadamente US$ 1,8 milhão no 2T de 2026, abaixo dos US$ 4,7 milhões no 2T de 2025, uma melhoria de quase 62%.
• A receita caiu para aproximadamente US$ 0,3 milhão, ante US$ 0,5 milhão no mesmo período do ano anterior, refletindo principalmente o término do acordo da empresa com a Bayer em maio de 2026.
• O caixa e equivalentes de caixa consolidados eram de aproximadamente US$ 9,3 milhões em 30 de junho de 2026. A administração espera um uso de caixa no ano completo de aproximadamente US$ 8,5 milhões a US$ 9,5 milhões.
• A Evogene conta com seis colaborações ativas de desenvolvimento de medicamentos após assinar quatro novos acordos desde o início de 2026. Dois programas concluíram a etapa de identificação de hits com resultados de validação que, segundo a administração, superaram as expectativas dos parceiros.
• O programa interno de descoberta de medicamentos concluiu a etapa de hit-to-lead e entrou na otimização de leads. O programa de fungicidas para Septoria também está próximo de concluir a otimização de leads.
• A empresa reduziu o quadro de funcionários de 117 para 38 e espera que a queima de caixa em 2026 caia substancialmente em relação aos cerca de US$ 20,5 milhões em 2024.

Principais Dados Financeiros

No primeiro semestre de 2026, a receita totalizou aproximadamente US$ 0,7 milhão, em comparação com US$ 2,9 milhões no mesmo período do ano anterior. A queda refletiu principalmente cerca de US$ 2 milhões em vendas de sementes da Casterra registradas no primeiro semestre de 2025.

O prejuízo líquido do primeiro semestre foi de aproximadamente US$ 7,7 milhões, praticamente estável na comparação anual. O período incluiu efeitos contábeis significativos sem efeito em caixa relacionados a warrants, incluindo cerca de US$ 3,8 milhões em despesas financeiras e US$ 2,1 milhões em receitas financeiras decorrentes da reavaliação do passivo de warrants.

Desempenho Operacional e dos Negócios

ChemPass AI e programas farmacêuticos

A Evogene está concentrando sua estratégia na descoberta de pequenas moléculas impulsionada por IA para os setores farmacêutico e de proteção de cultivos. O ChemPass AI agora oferece suporte a seis colaborações ativas de desenvolvimento de medicamentos, incluindo quatro acordos assinados desde o início de 2026.

Duas colaborações concluíram a identificação de hits, a primeira etapa do processo do ChemPass AI. A administração afirmou que a validação superou as expectativas tanto da Evogene quanto de seus parceiros, e os programas estão avançando para suas próximas etapas.

O programa farmacêutico interno da Evogene concluiu o trabalho de hit-to-lead e entrou na otimização de leads. O objetivo é gerar moléculas proprietárias adequadas para iniciar estudos pré-clínicos. A empresa afirmou que mantém direitos comerciais significativos sobre os resultados de seus programas conjuntos e espera oportunidades de receita à medida que as moléculas avançam pelo desenvolvimento.

Em seu segundo acordo com o Google Cloud, a Evogene integrou agentes de IA que automatizam tarefas de pesquisa complexas. A administração declarou que trabalhos que anteriormente levavam semanas ou meses para pesquisadores especializados agora podem ser concluídos em minutos. A empresa também expandiu seu espaço químico virtual pesquisável de 36 bilhões para 110 bilhões de moléculas.

Proteção de cultivos

O programa de fungicidas para Septoria está se aproximando da conclusão da otimização de leads. Moléculas sintetizadas estão passando por testes biológicos avançados antes dos ensaios em casa de vegetação e em campo.

A administração enfatizou que os testes em campo ainda não começaram. A próxima etapa é a validação em casa de vegetação, após a qual a Evogene planeja apresentar os resultados às principais empresas de defensivos agrícolas.

A colaboração com a Bayer no herbicida APTH1 terminou após trabalhos avançados mostrarem que a inibição da proteína-alvo não eliminava as plantas daninhas de forma confiável. A administração disse que as moléculas descobertas funcionaram como esperado, mas o alvo biológico não era suficientemente essencial. A Evogene expressou a esperança de que o trabalho técnico possa fundamentar discussões com a Bayer em outros programas, sem confirmar um novo acordo.

Reestruturação do portfólio e ações de liquidez

A Lavie Bio não está mais operando após a venda de ativos para a ICL por US$ 15,25 milhões. Dois pagamentos adicionais permaneceram pendentes sob a transação: um foi recebido em julho de 2026 e o segundo é esperado em julho de 2027. A Evogene também recebeu aproximadamente US$ 2,9 milhões de um dividendo da Lavie Bio durante o 2T de 2026.

A Biomica não está mais realizando operações contínuas após licenciar o BMC128 para a Lishan Pharmaceuticals. A Evogene recebeu aproximadamente US$ 1,35 milhão de um dividendo da Biomica durante o trimestre. A Lishan está validando o consórcio de quatro micróbios e seus componentes individuais.

A Casterra reduziu suas operações e agora está focada exclusivamente no Brasil. A Evogene captou aproximadamente US$ 0,8 milhão por meio de seu programa ATM no 2T de 2026 e outros aproximadamente US$ 2,4 milhões durante o 3T.

Guidance da Administração

A administração espera um uso de caixa consolidado de aproximadamente US$ 8,5 milhões a US$ 9,5 milhões para o ano todo de 2026, abaixo dos cerca de US$ 20,5 milhões em 2024. A empresa prevê reduções adicionais em 2027, enquanto busca preservar recursos para seus programas principais do ChemPass.

A Evogene planeja fazer avançar suas colaborações farmacêuticas e agrícolas existentes, buscar parceiros adicionais de biotecnologia, iniciar discussões com empresas farmacêuticas de maior porte e buscar relacionamentos estratégicos com empresas globais de defensivos agrícolas.

Riscos e Pontos de Atenção

• A receita continua limitada e caiu tanto no 2T quanto no primeiro semestre de 2026, após vendas menores da Casterra e o encerramento do acordo com a Bayer.
• A Evogene continua a utilizar seu programa ATM com base nas condições de mercado, aumentando o número de ações em circulação.
• Candidatos a medicamentos e proteção de cultivos permanecem nas etapas de descoberta ou otimização. Os marcos pré-clínicos, em casa de vegetação e em campo dependem de uma validação bem-sucedida.
• O programa APTH1 demonstrou que a inibição bem-sucedida do alvo sob o ponto de vista técnico ainda pode falhar em produzir o resultado biológico desejado.
• Um grupo de acionistas dissidentes está buscando substituir o conselho de administração da empresa. O conselho atual argumentou que uma substituição integral poderia interromper a transformação estratégica em andamento.
• A empresa identificou a instabilidade em Israel e no Oriente Médio em geral como um fator que pode afetar os resultados futuros.

Destaques da Sessão de Perguntas e Respostas com Analistas

A administração afirmou que o processo típico de hit-to-lead leva aproximadamente quatro a cinco meses, incluindo o pedido de moléculas e a validação em laboratório (wet lab). Programas internos podem avançar mais rápido, enquanto o trabalho com instituições acadêmicas pode levar mais tempo.

Quanto ao cronograma clínico, a administração focou primeiro em atingir estudos pré-clínicos. Ela indicou que um programa entrar em desenvolvimento pré-clínico no segundo semestre de 2027 seria plausível, mas não forneceu um cronograma definitivo para o EBGR510 entrar em ensaios clínicos.

Sobre a monetização da propriedade intelectual, a administração destacou as seis colaborações existentes e disse que as discussões atuais de parceria incluem cada vez mais taxas de P&D. A Evogene também está em conversas com outras empresas, incluindo participantes tradicionais do setor farmacêutico, mas não anunciou nenhuma venda de plataforma ou transação estratégica no curto prazo.

A administração concordou que o trabalho de aproximação com investidores deve se expandir. A empresa planeja contratar mais de um banco de investimento, trabalhar com uma consultoria de relações com investidores e aumentar as reuniões com investidores atuais e potenciais.

Transcrição Completa da Teleconferência de Resultados

Transcrição completa da teleconferência de resultados

Comentários da administração

Operator

Welcome to Evogene's Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded 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 measures 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 law 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, except, anticipate, should, plan, estimate, intend and potential or words of similar meaning. We are using forward-looking statements in this presentation when we discussed 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 an other regional terrorist group 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 furnished with the Israel Securities authorities 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 development or changes in expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. The information contained herein does not constitute prospectus or other offering documents 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 no for the information or any part of it or the fact that this 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 include hearing, 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.

Ofer Haviv

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 book of decedent shareholders seeking to replace the company's Board. Following Nir's remarks, I will discuss the company's achievement during the first half of the year and our new term expectation. We will conclude with review by Ms. Polina Ravzin, Evogene's VP Finance of our financial results, followed by a Q&A session. Nir. Please go ahead.

Nir Nimrodi

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 your frustration with the historical share price, and we acted with urgency and determination to address it. Although 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, reboost costs and optimize our portfolio.

The question today is not whether changes necessary. This 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 coal platform, building a first-in-class generative small molecule foundation model and integrating autonomous AI agents in partnership with Google Cloud. We secured 6 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 and 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 Phase 1 asset to Lishan Biotech, focused Casterra Brazil SAF market and advanced Aclannovel fungicides discovery.

Another strong indication of the 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 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 interest with those of all other Evogene shareholders.

As you may know, we were presented with the demand by a group of dissident investors who are seeking to replace the entire Board. Following this recent demand, we approach them openly and in good faith and engaged in a dialogue with them 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 road map or credible operating plan. Let me be clear, replacing most of the public technology company board is an extremely consequential decision. It should only be considered when there is a superior fully articulated road map 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. The risks dismantling the very momentum derives 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 2 highly accomplished industry leaders. Dr. Yael Margolin, pharmaceutical innovation and commercialization expert; and Mr. [indiscernible], a veteran of International Biotechnology. These additions ensure our boat 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 board members nominees Dr. Margolin and Mr. [indiscernible] in the coming vote. Thank you. Ofer, back to you.

Ofer Haviv

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 4 new drug development agreements. This brings our total active collaboration to 6, as Nir noted earlier. I am highly encouraged to report that for 2 of these collaborations, we have already successfully completed the initial step, hit ID of our concessional platform, ChemPass AI process. The validation results we achieved exceeded our partner's 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 2, hit to lead of the ChemPass AI process and progress to step 3 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 therapeutics 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 commercializations, increasing their 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 3 lead optimization of the ChemPass AI process, and we are currently testing synthesized molecules in advanced biological assays ahead of launching greenhouse and field twice. 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 agent into our workflow. These agents automates highly complex, time-consuming taks 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, antifungal potency predictor, model, which predicts a molecule 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 collaboration with other leading biotechnology companies while simultaneously initiating discussions with the major pharmaceutical companies for joint activity. Advancing our high-value internal programs in both pharma and crop protection, which present tremendous commercial upside for our shareholders. Establishing strategic partnership with top-tier global ag chemical companies, continuously upgrading our competitional technology addressing towards increasing autonomous computational system designed to predict key success requirements at the earlier stage of development.

To conclude, I want to strongly reinforce Nir's message. The transformation of Evogene is not 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 continue to 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.

Polina Ravzin

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 decisive steps we have taken to implement our new strategy.

As we 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 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 financial sustainable organization. I will start with the status of our noncore subsidiaries. Consistent with our revised strategy, we continue to manage the window on transition of our noncore business activities in a disciplined manner. Lavie Bio is no longer operational. Under the ICL transaction, 2 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 $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 at $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.

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 2 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 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. The 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 has been really attributable to lower revenue from Casterra as the first half of 2025 included approximately $2 million in significant caster 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 our planes agreement with Bayer in May 2026. The Research and development expenses, net of nonrefundable amounts for the first half 2 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 mix 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 in both. 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 to 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 ended February 2026 warrant inducement transaction. Importantly, this result of close 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 revaluation 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 with 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 in the move. 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 reflect 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 on our consolidated statements of profit and loss. Following the sale of a majority of Lavie Bio's assets as well as Evogene 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 and 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.

Ofer Haviv

Thank you, Polina. Let me close by emphasizing 1 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's substantial reduced 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 foundations 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 for your joining us today. We are now happy to open the call for your questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The first question, when was the last time you used ATM? I noticed that the number of outstanding shares increased by approximately 2.5 million.

Ofer Haviv

This is Ofer answering this question. So we are using the ATM cautiously. And according to the market condition, we decide when to use it or not. This is part of our strategy to raise money. And we find it is probably the most efficient and less expensive way to raise money, and we use reports on how we utilize the ATM on our -- every 6 months in our regular reporting system. And I'm sure that all of the information, as usual, will be available in this report.

Operator

The next question. Can you monetize your IP technologies with a major strategic partner in the near term, whether that would be a technology partner, Google, et cetera. One of our subsidiaries or the ChemPass engine.

Ofer Haviv

So our -- when we are evaluating our technology and we did so. So we look at all the companies that are focusing on small molecule discovery for pharma and for the ag. In the ag, there are not many, if at all. I think that [indiscernible] is one of the major company in this field. In the pharma, there are additional companies in the same area of activity. And then we can divide them to a huge company, which usually they are working on their bond pipeline and less on -- in the table of other companies. There is a small company that are competing with what Evogene is doing.

I think the fact that actually Evogene is entering into this field after many, many years of experience in how to use technology to address chemical and biology challenges, I think, puts us in a very strong position. And the fact is that even though we are opening our activity in this area, less than a year, we already have a 6 collaboration agreement, and we are now talking with a traditional companies on additional collaboration. And what I'm very excited to see is that we announced [indiscernible] with a pharma company when we start to see initial interest in our technology and what we can offer them.

And the last is that today, when we're talking with on additional [indiscernible] agreement in the majority of our own well discussion, we are also talking about R&D fee to fund our activity. This is something that we haven't done at the beginning of our activity in this field. And I believe that it will also be reflected in our future revenue item, which makes me very excited and feeling that we are really offering something unique. Usually, I don't think that it's common to make comparison to other companies, but I feel that we are in a very, very good place in the field of small molecule discovery, targeting a specific protein.

Operator

The next question, how long do you expect the field trial to take for the Septoria agricultural program?

Ofer Haviv

So currently, we still didn't initiate on the new targets that we are focusing the field trial. We are now in the stage of validating our most promising molecules or attach compound leads with the funding. And the next step will be at greenhouses. I'm really excited from where we are today because the concentration of the small molecules that we are evaluating now, it's very, very low, which this is very, very important, and we saw very strong response to when it was tested on pongilevel. And I really hope to start to see the indication also [indiscernible], which is the next step of our focus. And this is the step when we are going to approach all the big chemical companies. And the fact that we are focusing on Septoria is not a coincidence. Septoria is one of the main mainly unit all the big companies are looking for a solution for because what existed the market the already developed resistance. And everybody today is looking for [indiscernible]. This is the protein that we are focusing on. And of course, to find the chemistry that is working on this specific mode of action. And I think this is what we are -- we have now in our hands. So I'm really looking to see what we can build commercially around this program where we start to present those results to the world leading ag chemical companies.

Operator

The next question. When do you expect EBGR510 to enter the clinic?

Ofer Haviv

So I don't have a part of me the table, but our -- in the near future, we are more focusing on entering into the preclinical trials. This is something that is a more closer milestone. And I really hope that in some of our program in the second half of next year, something that is would be reasonable to expect, at least, in the first program that we initiate. I think that in my pitch, I shared that we are very, very excited to see the 2 from our 6 ongoing program already moved from step 1 to step 2 in our workload scheme with a very, very promising result. It was better than what we expected including our partners. And we also are nicely advanced in our internal pipeline, which were finished step 2, and now we are moving to step 3 and assuming we'll end step 3 during next year, then we can start to talk about going into the present. The minute that Evogene will move to the stage of preclinical trial company, I think this will be an inflection point that I hope and expect that it will also have effect on our company valuation and perception in the pharma industry.

Operator

The next question, when does management plan to use an IR approach to bring investor outreach to new existing shareholders? In my opinion, management has shut itself in the foot by pigeonholing yourself to your single banker. I would like the C suite and others to do MDR across U.S. as the IMO 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.

Ofer Haviv

Honestly, I really I definitely agree to honest everything that was safe in this questions. I think that we definitely need to explore Evogene to a much product audience. I think that we need to meet with new investors and existing investors to tell the Evogene story. So when we haven't done it until now, if it's so clear. We are now in the position that if somebody told me a year ago that we will achieve all what we achieved already, I thought that maybe it's too good to mature because we started the new -- significant shift in our strategy 1.5 years ago. So 1.5 years ago, what we can tell in the Street is also just the expectation, what we are planning to do and what might happen.

A year and a half later, the reality is now our expectation, our plans became the reality. And now I feel very, very comfortable to start to meet with investors and with the family offices and with the institution, the financial institution and tell them not just the Evogene story, but also can show them the result and the list of the collaboration that we signed on and this list is going to increase. And I think -- I feel that we have today now not just a story, we have the reality that support our story. And this is now the time to start to meet with investors.

In June -- at the end of June, I participated in a conference in San Diego, and we met with pharma companies, meat and small biotech companies, and it was the first time that when we tell the Evogene stories or the results that we achieved and when we show the numbers from the program finished step 1, and I see the reaction on the face of people when we saw them the number of molecules that show positive results, this is where I heard that now we have what we need in order to make the difference when I'm meeting with investors. And I'm looking forward to finish the summer vacation and immediately to work with more than one investment banker to work with IR firm and really to start to meet with potential investors and make sure that the audience of the work whatever is going will increase. And when the results will come more and more frequently, I believe that they will -- it will also be reflected in our share price.

So I have a strong belief that, yes, we need to be more out there, and we are now in the process of to do so.

Operator

The next question, how long is the heat to lead stage of development typically take?

Ofer Haviv

So the competition part, it's don't take too long. It's something around like 2 to 3 months. But before we are moving to step 2, which this is a hit to lead, this is the name of the second step, we are -- our partners -- or inside of Evogene, we order the predicted small molecule according to our conditional analysis and then we validate them in wet assay. And by doing so, we confirm the prediction, and we're using all of this information before we start the second round -- the second conditional round of analysis.

What really takes more time is to order the small melons the time until they come to the lab and the asset itself. This might take another few months. So in total, it might take something between like 4 to 5 months in order to see the results. When [indiscernible] institution, it might take longer because usually at [indiscernible] institution, they have having to do everything to be slower than what you expect. When we are working with a commercial partner, things are moving much faster. And when we are doing it by ourselves, so this is when you see the fastest evolution in the program. And as example, even though that we initiate our internal program after we already work -- we get to maybe even 3 collaboration agreements, the problem that is the most advanced and now we initiate Stage 3 is the internal program because we are moving much faster the academic institutions some of our partners.

So to summarize the answer to the question, it's between 4 to 5 months. it could be shorter if we are doing it internally, it might take longer. If it's an academic institution, but this is the range.

Operator

The next question, I'm a shareholder for a long time. Why the price drops down so much until now, you have to do something to solve it.

Nir Nimrodi

I'll take it. This is Nir. Thanks for the question. I'm also a shareholder, and I also share the frustration. We've done a very thorough strategic analysis of all of our assets already 1.5 years ago when I joined as Chairman. I've spent personally a lot of time and with my fellow Board members and the management team, we have decided to focus on very carefully but very intently on ChemPass. We feel that there is a differentiated asset that no one else has. Ofer was careful to say that, but I will say that after dozens of meetings with potential partners. It's a differentiated asset, and we believe that we will be able to evolve the 6 current collaborations into tangible products down the road that would be monetized. And we believe that even default these products evolve into preclinical and clinical studies, we will cement additional collaborations, hopefully, with larger companies, some of which are already spending significant amounts and resources on the use of AI for large molecules as well as small molecules. And we do believe that we have the data to show them to demonstrate the differentiated value of the product.

Having said that, what would be the impact on the share price, if at all, and how soon is not something I can comment on, nor I'm willing to predict, but we believe the value will be there. It will be demonstrated very clearly. It will become tangible not only in our eyes, but also in the eyes of our partners and a growing list of them. And eventually, that would result in an increase of the share price. I also want to echo what Ofer said and repeat some of what I said. We're not just focusing on building value. We're also focusing on running a leaner, more agile and more operationally focused organization. Again, the organization today is about 1/4 in its size and even less so in terms of the burn. This is being done to preserve our are and to be able to actually demonstrate this value. So again, all in all, we sell the frustration, and we were acting very diligently to correct it.

Operator

The next question, is there any kind of plan to see if the Biomica candidates can be reduced to a single train and still retain most activity. The difference is huge in the regulatory world. I am talking about the difference between full drug path versus a dietary supplement.

Ofer Haviv

So first, it's important not to emphasize that we start from our strategy to focus the company activity on multiple discovery. So we reduced the level of Biomica activity significantly starting from 2025, and we were mainly focusing on ABST128, which is what our lead candidate for cancer. And we finished Phase I successfully in the first quarter of 2026, and we also have initial positive result that makes us very, very excited. But because we were short in [indiscernible] and because of our decision to focus on small molecules and not on micro, we decided strategically to look for a partner that we can license those assets too, and we choose to work with a Chinese company that are focusing specifically on the area of drug based on immune microbiome, which this industry is supported nicely at China, which today is one of the leading companies in the biotech arena worldwide. And they are advancing the microbe forward. No doubt that if we will move from 4 microbes to 1 microbe, it will change significantly the regulation hurdle, but the reason that we choose this 4 is because we felt that the total effect of all the 4 together is quite important because each one of the microbe is operated on a different mechanism. And all together, it serves the maximum effect that we were looking for. And I think this is what also reflected in the result that we will see.

And what was also very nice what we thought is that the clinical indication supports the prediction on how those microbes are going to affect our value. So we are in direct contact with Lishan. Actually, today, we had a Board meeting of Biomica that I'm today leading these Board meetings, and we talk with our colleagues in China. And they are now starting validation of the consortium of microbes. They also validate each one of them separately. But now they are the one that isolating the commercial -- the research and the commercial process of these microbes. Of course, if we tend to -- if they will turn to the conclusion that you can reduce the number of microbes, it's something that we'll definitely be more than happy to do.

Maybe the last thing I want to add is that when you're talking about building an IP position, when you have a combination of microbes, it's put you in a much stronger IP position rather than only one microbes. So maybe another reason to have a product based on 2, 3 microbes is also from IP reasons. I hope that I address this question. If not, I will be more happy to do it offline.

Operator

The next question, can you add the value for Evogene in the verb biotics and finally, foods. Those 2 items are really under disclosed compared to the relatively short term.

Ofer Haviv

So with respect to finally foods, it's one our subsidiary. We're holding this company more than 30 its equity. I hope this is correct because the company raised some many lately. The company is focusing on produced [indiscernible], which is a protein existing in milk in potato. The whole concept was developed in Evogene and the researcher that was leading the program they moved to -- at the beginning, it was part of the kitchen hub. They establish a company and the company name is [indiscernible]. I'm giving this information to not let everybody in the call knows about this activity. All the wet lab -- the majority of the wet lab, conduct by this company was taking place in Evogene facility, Evogene lab, and now the majority of the greenhouse activity is taking place in Evogene farm. And the company has a very nice and promising results, and we are very excited about it.

Due to our decision to focus on small molecules, we are not planning to invest directly in this company. I'm a Board member in this company. We are the major shareholder. But of course, if we come to the conclusion that from a financial perspective, it makes sense to keep our holding in the company. So in future round, we will consider to participate. But at least for now, it's not part from our core strategy, but you can imagine that I'm more than excited and pleased to see the progress of the company moving forward with the idea of producing a [indiscernible] protein and other proteins that's usually exist in milk in potato. And they had a very nice result based on the last update I received from them.

Operator

The next question, the APH1 and the APTH1, is this program dead? Or is it possible to license it to someone like [indiscernible].

Ofer Haviv

[indiscernible] So APTH1 is a protein that was protein that we were focusing on for herbicides. We stopped -- and we have the collaboration is built with Bayer. And we announced that we stopped this collaboration in the first half of this year, and there is a good news and a bad news related to this announcement.

I will start with the bad news. The bad news was that what we turned out is that the protein itself, even when we start its activity, so a big -- and the idea was to develop an herbicide weed killer, okay? So it turned out that when we stopped the protein activity, the weed at the beginning showed that they are getting with and it looks like they are going to die. But after a while, they somehow recover, and the understanding is that this specific protein is not essential enough in order to kill the weed. And this is something that our partners saw only in very advanced stage. And the perception was the molecule that we discover, they were doing the job -- they were doing what we were expecting from them. They stopped the protein activity. This was the main expectation from Evogene to fund the molecule that are going to stop the protein activity. The program wasn't -- the molecule -- the problem was the protein itself, the protein that we are supposed to stop with activity was not [indiscernible] enough to the existing of the weed, and this is why both Bayer and Evogene decided to stop property on this target. So I'm not sure that we will succeed to generate enough interest in other partners with respect to this specific protein.

The good news came from this work is that I think that Bayer sells very positive and pleased from the Evogene work in this project because, as I said, our target was to find the right small molecules that are going to package proteins and target activity, and we succeed in doing so. And this is how both parties exposed, the protein is not essential enough to kill the weed.

So my believe and expectation is that this positive impression on Evogene technology, I hope that it will lead to new discussion with Bayer on new programs, new projects. And I believe that there is more to come in respect of the relationship between these 2 companies. I can't disclose much, but I really hope that the good impression, the great [indiscernible] between the 2 teams will be translated into expanding and continuation of the commercial relationship between the 2 parties.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Haviv , would you like to make a concluding statement?

Ofer Haviv

Yes. I would like to thank everybody to participate in this analyst call, we highly tissue to time. I think the company is in a really great position to progress and prosper. We are in the right space, more molecules in pharma. It's a huge, huge [indiscernible]. I believe it's exactly the same in the ag industry. And I'm looking forward to continue to update you in future analyst call on additional achievement. And if you have any additional questions that maybe I didn't [indiscernible] to address in this call, don't hesitate, call me. I will be available to any additional questions. And I will be also very happy if needed to meet face to face to elaborate more about the company. Thank you very much and enjoy the rest of the week.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes Evogene's Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. Thank you for your participation. You may go ahead and disconnect.