Cuppa tea and bickies with discussion with Head of R&D, CEO and Board members.....what's not too like.
These are my notes so those attending please correct or add as you see fit
US Distribution
Color Collective is much more than an advertising and introductory agency. They have a significant physical presence in Dallas with 8 product hairdresser professionals which test the products, photograph all the results and publish through high end marketing publications.
Colour collective have set up interviews for Maria with all the high end magazine publishers, Vogue, Men's and Womens Health etc who take a very technical interest in the product and consider the Colour Collective introduction to be a significant product filter. Editorial commitments are established into Jun 2017 with those publications.. Very little has been spent on marketing in the us <10k thus far.
The US will be used as a Brand establishment exercise to leverage the Brand internationally into China and Europe however this will take time to establish. Getting the brand established will be a significant springboard internationally as many countries (consumers) take their lead from US Brands and product acceptance. This seems like a very logical strategy. Product sold into China/EU will be sold as an established and accepted product through appropriate distribution channels. The same "ground" work in the US will not need to be repeated. The digital marketing strategy will not be greatly different to that in Australia with target "Influencers" in social media.
New product lines will be introduced into the US market in Q1/2 next year per the presentation.
the new "Evolis One" product and applicator is 6x more potent and is a significant improvement in product marketing and efficacy. This should not be understated as the detail in presentation is very significant with the target being "sticky" customers.
On questioning, Maria also inferred that the US release required the additional funds raised as noted in an earlier post.
Pre-sales have only started a week ago and hence no data is available yet. I had a sense though that there is a considerable expectation noting customer interest per the Colour Collective relationship. The benefit of attending the AGM is to get a sense of confidence from management and that was not lacking.
Quest / Celera
was raised however no specific time table was given as I think this is taking its own course in the clinical development. There was no statement to stay that Quest was not developing the test further however no sense of progress either.
Fujikura Kasai
Cellmid are regularly providing Fujikura with Anti-body (sales) and hence see the progress as ongoing. Taking a line through Pacific Edge, development of Tests takes time to get to market and hence may not happen quickly. Maria did say the assay does work though however the validation and testing program does take time through the regulatory hurdles. I did not get a sense this was imminent.
Zoetis
Maria stated that Zoetis continues with MK anti-bodies testing however animal health is not CDYs primary focus and hence no direct involvement. I did sense where there were commercial sensitivities limited comment was provided. (glass half full there)
Pacific Edge
Maria is very pleased with the CX Bladder testing and exemplifies the MK Bio-marker. Continued product release and footprint for CX Bladder will only leverage other MK based assays. Not only will Royalties grow but so will the recognition of MK and it's use. Specifically, the release of CX Bladder monitor in NZ which replaces Cytoscopy is very very signficant.
Lyramid/Kinera
Collaboration results have been reported and discussions with partners are ongoing. I really felt there was something very significant happening behind the scenes here. I also spoke with the R&D head. Graham Robinson after the presentation who also gave me this feeling however would not commit which Antibody was likely to make it to partnering / Development first (can't hurt to ask though). The establishment of the 3 independent divisions was seen as a strong indicator of further partnering and funding plans. Graham came across very positively with further developments in the MK space going forward.
Slide 5 of the presentation does not represent the full list of applicable disease. the ones stated are only as examples
ICON
is going to hearing in February and no further comment could be made.
Share Price
still disappointing for all and could not really comment however reference to Genentec historical price chart was made which flatlined for many years before rocketing. Naturally the board don't want to specifically talk to the SP which is a market function.
Finance
Cost to Revenue trajectory continues to improve with profitability not far off. Costs are well contained.
Many more highlights other than the those stated on Slide 9.
Slide 17 exemplifed that Evolis is developing it's own market sector and that FGF5 technology is only just being recognised ( as per the New Scientist Magazine article).
Slide 22 video was discussed. My wife thought this was a very real and effective interview. ( better judge than I)
The Japanese Concept store is planned to differentiate Evolis to the many "fake" products that come to the Japanese market every year and die away. The Concept store will highlight the genuine and efficacious virtues of Evolis with staff being highly trained to "market" the product. Further concept stores in other countries may be considered down the track.
Summary
Maria and her team gave a great presentation and mentioned several times they have a well structured plan across all entities and were confident funding into the MK pipline will provide price inflexion points. Again very happy with the presentation and confidence expressed by the board.
Judging by todays trading (& Bot action) I suspect others are similarly inclined.
CDY Price at posting:
3.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)