PhenomeX to begin trading under symbol
(NASDAQ: CELL)
EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 21,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkeley Lights, Inc. (Nasdaq:
BLI), a life sciences tools company, today announced that it has
completed its previously announced acquisition of IsoPlexis
Corporation (Nasdaq: ISO), a company empowering labs to leverage
the cells and proteome changing the course of human health. The
newly combined company has been renamed PhenomeX and its common
stock will begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "CELL"
at market open tomorrow.
PhenomeX is positioned to be the leading provider of life
sciences solutions that have the greatest impact advancing the era
of the phenome as the next revolution in biology and medicine
unfolds. Its brand reflects the Company's mission to empower
scientists to leverage the full potential of each cell and drive
the next era of functional cell biology that will advance human
health. The new company aims to offer a compelling value
proposition to customers, partners, and shareholders by:
- Offering an expanded product portfolio at different price
points with a focus on recurring revenue;
- Growing its share in a larger cell biology market through
expanding its diversified customer base
- Enhancing its commercial scale and execution;
- Delivering $70 million in cost
synergies to pursue profitability and advance the path to cash flow
breakeven; and
- Serving as a platform for further consolidation in the
high-growth, single-cell biology tools space.
The successful combination of Berkeley Lights and IsoPlexis lays
the foundation for a financially strong life sciences tools
company. In 2022, the two companies generated combined revenues of
approximately $95 million, and the
new company now has an installed instrument base of more than 400
units, including those placed with each of the top 15
pharmaceutical companies and approximately 85% of comprehensive
cancer centers in the United
States. PhenomeX will have a global commercial footprint
with more than 100 talented customer-facing employees. This
increased commercial footprint will vastly strengthen its ability
to reach academic, biopharma and CRO companies across all
geographies with an accelerated product roadmap. PhenomeX will also
be significantly advantaged by an expansive intellectual property
estate of more than 600 patents, giving the new company an edge
unmatched by its competitors in the market.
"Today begins a new chapter as we bring together two industry
pioneers focused on empowering researchers to make breakthrough
discoveries by leveraging the full potential of functional cell
biology," said Siddhartha Kadia, Ph.D., chief executive officer of
PhenomeX. "As PhenomeX, we intend to continue our transformation
into a growing and sustainable life sciences company and advance
our path to profitability by accelerating our progress across every
core pillar of our strategic plan. I look forward to working
closely with our team to capture the significant opportunities we
see ahead to power the next revolution in science and medicine
while delivering value for our shareholders."
Share Distribution
Under the terms of the merger agreement entered into on
December 21, 2022, IsoPlexis
shareholders received, for each share of IsoPlexis stock, 0.612
shares of Berkeley Lights common stock (which will be automatically
converted into shares of PhenomeX common stock). With the
transaction complete, former Berkeley Lights and IsoPlexis
shareholders own approximately 75.2 percent and 24.8 percent of the
combined company, respectively.
Advisors
Cowen is acting as financial advisor to Berkeley Lights,
and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is serving as legal
counsel. Evercore is serving as financial advisor to IsoPlexis
and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is serving as legal
counsel.
About PhenomeX Inc.
PhenomeX is empowering scientists to leverage the full potential
of each cell and drive the next era of functional
cell biology that will advance human health. We enable
scientists to reveal the most complete insights on cell function
and obtain a full view of the behavior of each cell. Our unique
suite of proven high-throughput tools and services offer
unparalleled resolution and speed, accelerating the insights that
are key to advancing discoveries that can profoundly improve the
prevention and treatment of disease. Our award-winning
platforms are used by researchers across the globe, including those
at the top 15 global pharmaceutical companies and approximately 85%
of leading U.S. comprehensive cancer centers.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are based on the
Company's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently
available to it on the date of this press release. In some cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by the words "aim,"
"anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "positioned," "potential,"
"predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" or the negative of
these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these words. All statements
contained in this release that are not statements of historical
fact are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to
statements regarding expected benefits from the merger with
IsoPlexis, including anticipated cost synergies and the brand and
positioning of the combined company; our ability to achieve
profitability and breakeven; our ability to generate shareholder
value; the capabilities and attractiveness of our platform; our
ability to retain key personnel; market opportunities and
anticipated growth in the markets we serve; our ability to grow
market share, expand our customer base and generate recurring
revenue; our ability to expand our product portfolio; and the
sustainability of our business. Forward-looking statements may
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements. There are a significant
number of factors that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from statements made in this press release, including
but not limited to [the effect of the merger with IsoPlexis on
various aspects of our ongoing business operations, including
employees, distributors, customers and suppliers; the possibility
that expected synergies and operating efficiencies in connection
with the merger may not be achieved within the expected timeframes
or at all; the risk that integration of IsoPlexis' operations into
those of the combined company may be more difficult, time-consuming
or costly than expected; the possibility that our expectations as
to cost synergies, expenses, cash usage and cash needs may prove
not to be correct; the impacts of changes in general economic and
business conditions, including changes in the financial markets;
potential challenges in the implementation of strategic plans for
products and technologies, and challenges inherent in developing,
manufacturing, launching, marketing and selling existing and new
products; uncertainties in contractual relationships, including
interruptions or delays in the supply of components or materials
for, or manufacturing of, products; and the additional risks and
uncertainties discussed in each of Berkeley Lights' and IsoPlexis'
filings with the SEC, including Berkeley Lights' and IsoPlexis'
Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and
Current Reports on Form 8-K. Except to the extent required by
law, we undertake no obligation to update such statements to
reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the
date on which they were made.
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SOURCE Berkeley Lights, Inc.