As promised, biotechnology company International Stem Cell Corp. held a conference call to discuss their Q2 financial results the company released earlier. The call was hosted by Simon Craw, ISCO’s Executive VP of Business Development, and Linh Nguyen, ISCO’s CFO.
The financial figures, available in yesterday’s release, were summarized in the call by Linh Nguyen, and Simon Craw went over some of the associated events in addition to fielding questions from investors.
One of the key points made related to a decrease in sales coming from Lifeline Cell Technology and Lifeline Skin Care. The products are not considered to be facing price pressure, being priced well within the industry standard. Nor is the reorder rate considered low, since it is currently above the industry average of 20%-30%. The reduction in revenue was seen primarily as a reaction to the company’s ongoing strategy of shifting away from a single marketing channel, which had a very successful launch earlier, to a much more widespread effort. It’s not unusual for sales to spike with an aggressive launch, tapering off to a more sustainable level, but having a broader marketing base is seen as an important step in growing the product. The marketing effort will include publications, such as USA Today, in addition to celebrity support and other channels.
The company is moving closer to clinical studies in all of its program areas, including the Parkinson’s program. The expectation is that the company will be presenting to the FDA sometime next year to move into human clinical trials, and work is still being done on the company’s corneal program, solving structural challenges to move the product toward commercialization.
For additional information on ISCO, visit the company’s website at www.internationalstemcell.com
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