Jacqueline

Jacqueline, on behalf of Brendan Smith, asked about Azenta's expectations for M&A deals and tuck-ins in the coming year, including target areas and how the macro environment has influenced acquisition strategy. She also inquired about the near and long-term outlook for automated stores, its performance, customer spend, and future revenue growth contribution to the SMS segment.

Answer

CEO John Marotta outlined M&A focus on tuck-ins to expand core business, specifically in SRS, automated solutions (CNI and stores), and synthesis, anticipating 2026 as the year for execution after 2025's foundational reset. For automated stores, he noted that strength would return with macro recovery, highlighting R&D investments for 2027-2028 impact. He emphasized Azenta's position in 'automated solutions' for complex cold environments, benefiting from cell and gene therapy tailwinds where 50% of new therapeutics require ultra-cold storage.

Jacqueline from Oppenheimer asked if pediatric trials for SYNB1618 would run in parallel with the adult study, what the next steps for SYNB8802 would be after its proof-of-concept study, and whether SYNB1934 falls under the Ginkgo collaboration.

Answer

President and CEO Aoife Brennan confirmed the company sees a key opportunity in pediatrics and will pursue it upon receiving regulatory alignment. For SYNB8802, the next step would be to expand into other underlying etiologies to support a broad label, with the decision between a Phase 2 or Phase 2/3 study depending on the data. She clarified that SYNB1934 was developed using technology from Zymogen, predating the Ginkgo deal, and reminded that the Ginkgo collaboration involves an equity stake, not milestones or royalties.