Sarah

Sarah asked for an update on Valvoline's technology initiatives, specifically if the move to a cloud-based architecture provides competitive advantages and what those are. She also inquired about the current focus areas in advertising and early results.

Answer

Lori Flees, President and CEO, Valvoline, detailed investments in retail-specific technology (CRM, SAP, HRIS, cloud migration, SuperPro replatforming), citing benefits like reduced maintenance costs, back-office efficiencies, and improved customer service. She expects technology spend growth to moderate. On advertising, Lori Flees described a sophisticated playbook including lifecycle management and new customer acquisition strategies, noting continuous improvement in performance, productive return on ad spend, and optimization of discounting/net pricing.

Sarah asked for an update on Valvoline's technology initiatives, specifically if the move to a cloud-based architecture provides competitive advantages and what those are. She also inquired about current advertising strategies and early results.

Answer

Lori Flees, President and CEO of Valvoline, detailed investments in retail-specific technology like CRM, SAP, HRIS, and cloud migration, which yield reduced maintenance costs, back-office efficiencies, and improved customer service. She described a sophisticated marketing playbook, including lifecycle management and new customer acquisition, noting improving performance and productive return on ad spend.

Sarah asked for a sneak peek into the early-stage pipeline, specifically which of the four Phase 1 programs (XL309, XB010, XB628, XB371) is expected to transition next into pivotal development, and how XB371 (tissue factor topo I ADC) is differentiated from others.

Answer

Dana Aftab, EVP of Research and Development, mentioned that XL309 (USP1 inhibitor) and XB010 (5T4 targeting ADC) have been in the clinic longer and accrued more patients. XB628 (bispecific IO molecule) is enrolling well, and XB371 (tissue factor targeting ADC) is the most recent IND filing and is enrolling patients. XB371 is differentiated by a unique antibody that avoids coagulation cascade impact and a tandem mechanism release linker for payload stabilization.

Sarah asked for a sneak peek into Exelixis' early-stage pipeline, specifically which of the four phase I programs (XL309, XB010, XB628, XB371) is expected to transition next into pivotal development, and how XB371, the tissue factor topo I ADC, is differentiated from other topoisomerase I inhibitors.

Answer

Dana Aftab, Executive Vice President of Research and Development, stated that XL309 (USP1 inhibitor) and XB010 (5T4 targeting ADC) have been in the clinic longer and accrued more patients. She highlighted XB371's differentiation through a unique antibody that avoids coagulation cascade impact and a tandem mechanism release linker licensed from Catalent, which stabilizes the payload and requires dual cleavage for release.