blfs-20251231
Table of Contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
☑ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the year ended December 31, 2025
oTRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number 001-36362
BioLife Solutions, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
3303 Monte Villa Parkway, Suite 310, Bothell, Washington, 98021
(Address of registrant’s principal executive offices, Zip Code)
(425) 402-1400
(Telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading symbol Name of exchange on which registered
Common stock, par value $0.001 per share BLFS The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☑ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes oNo☑
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☑ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (S232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such said files). Yes☑ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Table of Contents
Large accelerated filer☑ Accelerated filer o Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o Emerging Growth Company o
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No ☑
As of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of common equity (based on closing price on June 30, 2025 of $21.54 per share) held by non-affiliates was approximately $845 million.
As of February 19, 2026, 48.3 million shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Page No.
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS 8
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS 15
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS 33
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY 33
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES 33
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 34
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES 34
PART II
ITEM 6. RESERVED 35
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK 46
ITEM 8. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA 48
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 48
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES 90
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION 92
ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS 92
PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 92
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION 92
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES 93
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES 93
SIGNATURES 96
References throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “BioLife Solutions, Inc.”, “BioLife”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company” refer to BioLife Solutions, Inc. and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, unless the context otherwise indicates.
Table of Contents
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K” or “Annual Report”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, in this Annual Report, including, without limitation, statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future operating expenses, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans, intentions, expectations, goals and objectives may be forward‐looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this Annual Report do not constitute guarantees of future performance, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “would,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “could,” “can,” “potential,” “possible,” “proposed,” “plan,” “develop,” “opportunity,” “intend,” “initiative,” “target,” “maintain,” “continue,” “strive,” “progress,” “aim,” or similar expressions.
The forward-looking statements in this Annual Report include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•the development, production and commercialization of our products and our ability to maintain reliable, high-quality products;
•our ability to compete effectively against current technologies and develop and market products that are competitive in the continually changing technological landscape;
•the ability of our customers to integrate our products into their bioproduction workflow process for cell and gene therapies;
•our ability to successfully increase our customer’s product yield and efficacy;
•the determination that our products are not subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") or other regulatory approvals and the possibility that we could be subject to regulatory approvals in the future;
•the potential utility of and market for our products and services;
•our ability to implement our business strategy and anticipated business and operations (including with respect to acquired businesses);
•our future financial and operational performance;
•our ability to protect our proprietary position and the validity and enforceability of our patents and trade secrets;
•our anticipated future growth strategy;
•the expected benefits and other statements relating to our divestitures and acquisitions, capital requirements, intellectual property, suppliers, joint venture partners, future financial and operating results;
•our ability to protect our information systems and networks and the proprietary and confidential information in our possession;
•the impact of adverse changes in economic, political and market conditions in the areas that we serve, the U.S. and globally, including but not limited to, disruption in our supply chain, inflation in pricing for key materials or labor, the imposition of trade tariffs or other adverse changes resulting from epidemics, pandemics, and outbreaks of contagious diseases, natural disasters, economic or political instability, terrorist attacks and wars, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, U.S. involvement in Venezuela, or other adverse geopolitical developments;
•interest rates and interest rate fluctuations and their potential impact on the general economy and our profitability;
•potentially adverse impacts of climate change including increased frequency and severity of natural disasters and extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornados, wildfires (exacerbated by drought), flooding, and extreme heat
•the increase in laws and regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other measures to mitigate the impact of climate change, and related customer expectations and other environmental liabilities;
•legislative, regulatory and tax law and/or policy developments;
•declines in revenue relative to historical levels that we are unable to offset;
•our ability to effectively manage our operations, operating expenses, capital expenditures, debt service requirements and cash paid for income taxes and liquidity; and
•the availability and terms of any capital financing agreements.
Table of Contents
We intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors for such statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs, expectations and projections of our management and speak only as of the date of this Annual Report or, in the case of documents referred to or incorporated by reference, the date of those documents. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report which are in some cases, beyond our control and which could materially affect results. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from current expectations and projections.
We do not plan to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or changed circumstances or otherwise after the date of this Annual Report, except as may be required by law. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to such updated forward-looking statements or other forward-looking statements.
This Annual Report includes trademarks, tradenames and service marks that are the property of other organizations. Solely for convenience, trademarks and tradenames referred to in this Annual Report appear without the ® and TM symbols, but those references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights, or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights, to these trademarks and tradenames.
Table of Contents
SUMMARY RISK FACTORS
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in Part I, Item 1A Risk Factors in this Annual Report. You should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties when investing in our common stock. The principal risks and uncertainties affecting our business include the following:
•If our products or the products of our competitors do not perform as expected or the reliability of the technology on which our products are based is questioned, we could experience lost revenue, delayed or reduced market acceptance of our products, increased costs, and damage to our reputation.
•We operate in a highly competitive industry and if we cannot compete effectively, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
•Despite our increasingly diversified customer base, we depend on a limited number of customers and products in a limited number of market sectors. If we lose any of these large customers or if there are disruptions in the sales of these products, our net product revenue and operating results could decline significantly.
•We expect our operating results to fluctuate significantly from period to period.
•If intangible assets and goodwill become impaired, we may have to take significant charges against earnings.
•Our success will depend on our ability to attract and retain key personnel.
•Our business may be subject to product liability claims or product recalls, which could be expensive and could result in a diversion of management’s attention.
•Difficulties in manufacturing could have an adverse effect upon our expenses and our product revenues.
•We are dependent on our suppliers and third-party manufacturers, including single-source and sole-source suppliers, and disruptions in our supply chain could adversely affect our ability to manufacture and deliver products.
•While we are not currently subject to FDA or other regulatory approvals, if our products become subject to regulatory requirements, the manufacture and sale of our products may be delayed or prevented, or we may become subject to increased expenses.
•We and our customers are subject to various international governmental regulations. Compliance with or changes in such regulations may cause us to incur significant expenses, and if we fail to maintain satisfactory compliance with certain regulations, we may be forced to recall products and cease their manufacture and distribution, and we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties.
•Healthcare reform measures could adversely affect our business and financial results.
•Insurance coverage is increasingly difficult to obtain or maintain.
•We are and may become the subject of various claims, litigation or investigations which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations or the price of our common stock.
•Our business and operations could be negatively affected by securities litigation or stockholder activism, which could impact the trading price and volatility of our common stock and may constrain capital deployment opportunities and adversely impact our ability to expand our business.
•Our acquisitions expose us to risks that could adversely affect our business, and we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of acquisitions of businesses or technologies.
•Our recent divestitures expose us to ongoing risks and uncertainties, one or more of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and/or stock price.
•Our proprietary rights may not adequately protect our technologies and products.
•Expiration of our patents may subject us to increased competition and reduce our opportunity to generate product revenue.
•We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
•We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights, and we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use of, our technology.
•Even if we are granted a patent, in certain circumstances we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use of, our technology.
•We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.
Table of Contents
•Our inability to protect our information systems and networks and the proprietary and confidential information in our possession from continually evolving cybersecurity risks or other technological risks, including as a result of breaches of our associated third parties' information technology systems, could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations, in addition to our reputation and relationships with our employees, customers, suppliers and business partners.
•The development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence ("AI") technologies present new risks and challenges that could adversely impact our business
•Our stock price and volume may be volatile, and purchasers of our securities could incur substantial losses.
•A significant percentage of our outstanding common stock is held by one stockholder, and this stockholder therefore has significant influence on us and our corporate actions.
•We have not paid dividends on our common stock in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. Any return on investment may be limited to the value of our common stock.
•Certain provisions in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
•Our Amended and Restated Bylaws designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and U.S. federal district courts as the exclusive forums for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which limits our stockholders’ ability to choose the judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees.
•Though our internal control over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 2025 was concluded to be operating effectively, we have historically identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. We have remediated our historical material weaknesses, though if we are unable to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures, we may not be able to accurately and timely report financial results or prevent fraud, and our ability to meet our reporting obligations and the trading price of our common stock could be negatively affected.
•Changes in tax laws and regulations, including international tax developments, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
•Our ability to use net operating loss ("NOL") and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses to reduce future tax payments is limited by provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”), and it is possible that certain transactions or a combination of certain transactions may result in material additional limitations on our ability to use our NOL and tax credit carryforwards.
•Natural disasters, geopolitical unrest, war, terrorism, public health issues or other catastrophic events could disrupt the supply, delivery or demand of products, which could negatively affect our operations and performance.
•Tariffs and other trade policies could have a substantial impact on our business.
•Unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations may lead to lower operating margins or may cause us to raise prices for our products and services, which could result in reduced sales.
•Public health crises have adversely affected, and could in the future adversely affect, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
•Global climate change and related legal and regulatory developments could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Table of Contents
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The following discussion of our business contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties (see the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” herein). Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those factors set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a life sciences company that develops, manufactures, and markets bioproduction products and services which are designed to improve quality and de-risk biologic manufacturing, distribution, and transportation in the cell and gene therapy ("CGT") industry. Our products are used in basic and applied research and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies. Customers use our products to maintain the health and function of biologic material during sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution.
We currently operate as one bioproduction products and services business which supports several steps in the biologic material manufacturing and delivery process. Our portfolio of tools and services focuses on biopreservation media and cell processing products. We have in-house expertise in cryobiology and the broader CGT workflow, and continue to evaluate opportunities to maximize the value of our product platforms for our extensive customer base through organic growth innovations, partnerships, and acquisitions.
Recent divestitures and acquisitions
On October 6, 2025, the Company entered into a Limited Liability Company Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “SAVSU Purchase Agreement”), by and between the Company and Peli BioThermal LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“SAVSU Buyer”), for the sale by the Company of all of the issued and outstanding limited liability company membership interests (the “SAVSU Interests”) of SAVSU Cleo Technologies, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("SAVSU"), to SAVSU Buyer (the “SAVSU Divestiture”). SAVSU contained our evo cloud connected “smart” shipping container products that provided passive storage and transport for temperature-sensitive biologics and pharmaceuticals. Upon the execution of the SAVSU Purchase Agreement, the SAVSU business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as a discontinued operation for all periods presented.
On April 4, 2025, pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “PanTHERA Purchase Agreement”), by and among the Company, Casdin Partners Master Fund L.P. and each other person listed on Schedule A thereto (the “PanTHERA Sellers”), 2699979 Alberta LTD., an Alberta corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“PanTHERA Buyer Sub”), PanTHERA CryoSolutions Inc., an Alberta corporation (“PanTHERA”) and Dr. Jason Acker, solely in his capacity as Sellers’ Representative, the Company acquired the remaining 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of PanTHERA not owned by the Company from the PanTHERA Sellers (the “PanTHERA Transaction”). PanTHERA contains a patented Ice Recrystallization Inhibitor (“IRI”) GEN 2 cryopreservation technology that we expect to ultimately enhance the Company’s core capabilities in biopreservation and within the CGT market upon achievement of commercial viability.
On November 14, 2024, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “CBS Purchase Agreement”), by and among the Company, Standex International Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“CBS Buyer”), and Arctic Solutions, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (doing business as Custom Biogenic Systems, or “CBS”), for the sale by the Company of all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock (the “CBS Shares”) of CBS to CBS Buyer (the “CBS Divestiture”). CBS contained our LN2 cryogenic freezers and other accessory products utilizing a dry storage method. Upon the execution of the CBS Purchase Agreement, the CBS business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as a discontinued operation for all periods presented.
On November 12, 2024, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “SciSafe Purchase Agreement”), by and among the Company, Subzero Purchaser Corp., a Delaware corporation (“SciSafe Buyer”), SciSafe, Inc., a Delaware corporation and an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Seller”), and SciSafe, Inc., a New Jersey corporation and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“SciSafe”), for the sale by Seller of all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock (the “SciSafe Shares”) of SciSafe to SciSafe Buyer (the “SciSafe Divestiture”). SciSafe contained our biological and pharmaceutical storage and cold chain logistics services. Upon the execution of the
8
Table of Contents
SciSafe Purchase Agreement, the SciSafe business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as a discontinued operation for all periods presented.
On April 17, 2024, the Company sold all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Global Cooling, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Global Cooling”), to GCI Holdings Company, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company (“GCI Holdings”) pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated April 17, 2024 (the “Global Cooling Purchase Agreement”), by and between the Company and GCI Holdings (the “Global Cooling Divestiture”). Global Cooling contained our portfolio of ultra-low temperature freezers. Upon the execution of the Global Cooling Purchase Agreement, the Global Cooling business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as a discontinued operation for all periods presented.
The Company is presenting SAVSU, CBS, SciSafe, and Global Cooling within this Annual Report as discontinued operations for all periods presented within the Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Consolidated Statements Of Comprehensive Loss, Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity, and Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows are presented on a consolidated basis for both continuing operations and discontinued operations. All amounts, percentages, and disclosures for all periods presented in this Annual Report reflect only the continuing operations of the Company unless otherwise noted. See Note 3: Discontinued operations within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further details regarding the divestitures described above.
Our products
Our bioproduction products and services are comprised of one revenue line that contains three main offerings:
•Cell processing and other products
◦Biopreservation media
◦Human platelet lysate media (“hPL”), cryogenic and ultralow temperature containers, and automated cell-processing fill machines
◦Automated thawing devices
Cell processing
Biopreservation media
Our proprietary biopreservation media products, HypoThermosol® FRS and CryoStor® Freeze Media, are formulated to mitigate preservation-induced, delayed-onset cell damage and death which result when cells and tissues are subjected to reduced temperatures. Our technology can provide our CGT customers with significant shelf-life extension of biologic source material and final cell products, and can also greatly improve post-preservation cell and tissue viability and function. Our biopreservation media are serum-free, protein-free, fully defined, and manufactured under current Good Manufacturing Practices ("cGMP"). We strive to source wherever possible the highest available grade, Multi-compendial raw materials. Our US FDA Type II Master File applicable to our biopreservation products has been cross referenced over 750 times by our customers, and we believe our cell processing products are utilized in several hundred active clinical trials worldwide.
Stability (i.e. shelf-life) and functional recovery are crucial aspects of academic research and clinical practice in the biopreservation of biologic-based source material, intermediate derivatives, and isolated/derived/expanded cellular products and therapies. Limited stability is especially critical in the CGT field, where harvested cells and tissues will lose viability over time if not maintained appropriately at normothermic body temperature (37oC) or stored in a hypothermic or cryogenic state in an effective preservation medium.
Chilling (hypothermia) is used to reduce metabolism and delay degradation of harvested cells and tissues. However, subjecting biologic material to hypothermic or cryogenic environments and subsequently rewarming them may also induce damaging molecular stress and structural changes. Although cooling successfully reduces metabolism (i.e., lowers demand for energy), various levels of cellular damage and death occur when using suboptimal methods. Biopreservation media can mitigate the damage from exposure to hypothermic or cryogenic temperatures and subsequent rewarming.
Traditional biopreservation media range from simple “balanced salt” (electrolyte) formulations to complex mixtures of electrolytes, energy substrates such as sugars, osmotic buffering agents, and antibiotics. The resulting limited stability from
9
Table of Contents
the use of these traditional biopreservation media formulations is a significant shortcoming that our optimized proprietary products address with great success.
Our scientific research activities over the last 20+ years enabled a detailed understanding of the molecular basis for the hypothermic and cryogenic (low-temperature induced) damage/destruction of cells through apoptosis and necrosis. This research led directly to the development of our HypoThermosol FRS and CryoStor technologies. Our proprietary biopreservation media products are specifically formulated to:
•Minimize cell and tissue swelling
•Reduce free radical levels upon formation
•Maintain appropriate low temperature ionic balances
•Provide regenerative, high-energy substrates to stimulate recovery upon warming
•Avoid the creation of an acidic state (acidosis)
•Inhibit the onset of apoptosis and necrosis
A key feature of our biopreservation media products is their “fully-defined” profile. All of our cGMP products are serum-free, protein-free and are formulated and filled using aseptic processing. We strive to use USP/Multi-compendial grade or the highest quality available synthetic components. All of these features benefit prospective customers by facilitating the qualification process required to incorporate our products into their regulatory filings.
Competing biopreservation media products are often formulated with isotonic media cocktails, animal serum, and potentially a single sugar or human protein. A key differentiator of our proprietary HypoThermosol FRS and CryoStor formulations is the engineered optimization of the key ionic component concentrations for low-temperature environments. This is in contrast to media optimized for normothermic body temperature (around 37°C), as found in culture media or saline-based isotonic formulas. While competing cryopreservation freeze media is often comprised of a single permeating cryoprotectant such as dimethyl sulfoxide (“DMSO”), our CryoStor formulations incorporate multiple permeating and non-permeating cryoprotectant agents, which allows for multiple mechanisms of protection and reduces the dependence on a single cryoprotectant. We believe that our products offer significant advantages over in-house ("home brew") formulations or commercial “generic” biopreservation media. These advantages include time savings, more consistent and higher quality of components, more rigorous quality control release testing, cost effectiveness, and improved preservation efficacy.
The results of independent testing demonstrate that our biopreservation media products significantly extend shelf-life and improve cell and tissue post-thaw viability and function. Our products have demonstrated improved biopreservation outcomes, including greatly extended shelf-life and post-thaw viability and yield across a broad array of cell and tissue types.
Human platelet lysate media, cryogenic vials and automated cell-processing fill machines
Our bioproduction products portfolio includes human platelet lysates for cell expansion, which reduces risk and improves downstream performance over fetal bovine serum, human serum, and other chemically defined media, CellSeal® closed systems that are purpose-built rigid containers used in CGT that can be filled manually or with high throughput systems, CryoCaseTM cryo-compatible transparent rigid containers designed for closed-system fill and retrieval, and automated cell processing machines that bring multiple processes traditionally performed by manual techniques under a higher level of control to protect therapies from loss or contamination.
Automated thawing devices
The ThawSTAR® line includes thawing products that control the temperature and timing of the thawing process of biologic material. Our customizable, automated, water-free thawing products use algorithmic programmed heating plates to consistently bring biologic material from a frozen state to a liquid state in a controlled and consistent manner, helping reduce damage during the temperature transition while delivering critical process consistency across cell batches. Use of ThawSTAR products can also reduce risk of contamination versus using a traditional water bath.
Our market opportunity
The CGT market has been rapidly expanding, treating diseases once thought incurable. According to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (“ARM”), “2026 State of the Industry Briefing” there were over 1,900 ongoing clinical trials
10
Table of Contents
globally utilizing regenerative medicine at year-end 2025. Additionally, ARM reported an expected $2.0 billion in revenues over the next five years from recently developed and FDA approved CGT therapies, with continued investment in CGT development from the world's largest biopharma companies throughout 2025. ARM also reported there was approximately $11.1 billion invested in the regenerative medicine market in 2025, with an expectation of continued regulatory approvals for CGTs during 2026.
The technologies developed within the CGT market change the ways physicians treat patients. The manufacturing, distribution and the delivery process of these therapies is significantly different from many other types of treatments. We believe we are well positioned to address many of the unique manufacturing challenges in the process of delivering CGTs.
The bioproduction process
Our various products and services currently integrate into several steps in our customers’ bioproduction workflow process for cell and gene therapies. See the diagram below for an illustration of this process and our product roles. We offer products that integrate into the critical steps of preservation and thawing under controlled conditions.
Complementary products portfolio
Expanding Participation in Customers’ Workflow
Our strategy
We are focused on the development, production, and commercialization of differentiated, best-in-class products and services that facilitate the manufacturing and delivery of cell and gene therapies and biologic materials. Our products are designed to increase our customers’ product yield and efficacy. We are committed to supporting our customers with strong customer service and applications expertise.
We leverage our numerous relationships with leading cell and gene therapy companies that use our offering of bioproduction products and services to cross-sell other parts of the portfolio. Over the last several years, we have built a
11
Table of Contents
strong reputation as a trusted supplier of critical tools used in cell and gene therapy and biopharma manufacturing. We believe that our relationships and reputation could enable us to drive further incremental revenue growth through the sale of additional products and services to a captive customer base. Our products are designed to increase our customers’ product yield and functionality while reducing their risk, and we are committed to supporting our customers with strong service in addition to scientific and technical expertise in the applications of our products.
Business Operations
Research and development
Our research and development activities are focused on evaluating new, potentially disruptive technologies which may add value throughout the cell and gene therapy manufacturing and delivery workflow. We routinely assess and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of competitive and adjacent products, and are engaged in business development discussions on an ongoing basis. We strive to continue to anticipate customer needs in providing enabling technologies in the CGT space.
Sales and marketing
We market and sell our products through direct sales and third-party distribution. We have experienced field-based sales employees who market our growing product portfolio on a direct basis. Our technical applications engineers and customer care support teams have extensive experience providing support both prior and subsequent to the sale of products.
Our products are also marketed and distributed by regional distributors under non-exclusive agreements. In 2025, 2024, and 2023, sales to third-party distributors accounted for 34%, 34%, and 38% of our revenue, respectively.
The following table represents the Company’s total revenue by geographic area (based on the location of the customer):
Years Ended December 31,
Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) 14 % 19 % 12 %
Other 6 % 6 % 7 %
Manufacturing
Cell processing – We maintain and operate two independent cGMP clean room production suites for manufacturing sterile biopreservation media products in Bothell, Washington. Our quality management system (“QMS”) in Bothell is certified to the ISO 13485:2016 standard. Our QMS takes guidance from applicable sections of 21 CFR Part 820 – Quality System Regulation for Good Manufacturing Practice of medical devices, 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211 – cGMP for Finished Pharmaceuticals, FDA Guidance – Sterile Drug Products, Volume 4, EU Guidelines Annex 1 – Manufacture of Sterile Medicinal Products, ISO 13408 – Aseptic Processing of Healthcare Products, and ISO 14644 – Clean Rooms and Associated Controlled Environments.
We also maintain and operate one cGMP clean room production suite for manufacturing hPL media in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our QMS in Indianapolis is certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard. Our QMS takes guidance from applicable sections of 21 CFR Part 820 – Quality System Regulation for Good Manufacturing Practice of medical devices, 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211 – cGMP for Finished Pharmaceuticals, Volume 4, EU Guidelines Annex 2 – Manufacture of Biological active substances and Medicinal Products for Human Use and ISO 14644 – Clean Rooms and Associated Controlled Environments.
We seek to manage single-source supplier risk by regularly assessing the quality and capacity of our suppliers, implementing supply and quality agreements where appropriate, and actively managing lead times and inventory levels of sourced components. Pursuant to our customer and quality agreements, we are required to notify customers of any changes to our raw materials. For certain components without a secondary supplier, we estimate that it would take up to six months to find and qualify a second source. Order quantities and lead times for externally sourced components are based on our
12
Table of Contents
forecasts, which are derived from historical demand and anticipated future demand. Lead times for components may vary depending on the size of the order, specific supplier requirements, and current market demand for the materials and parts.
We practice continuous improvement based on routine internal audits through our own monitoring of process outputs, external feedback, and audits performed by our partners and customers. In addition, we maintain a business continuity management system that focuses on key areas such as contingency planning, safety stocks and off-site storage of raw materials and finished goods to ensure continuous supply of our products.
Thaw systems – Our ThawSTAR automated, water-free thawing products are produced by a contract manufacturing organization ("CMO") based in the United States. We believe this CMO has the skills, experience and capacity needed to meet our quality standards and demand expectations for the product line. We estimate that it would take up to six months to find and qualify an alternative CMO. To date, we have not experienced significant difficulties in obtaining our automated thaw products from our CMO.
Product regulatory status
Our products are not subject to any specific FDA or other international marketing regulations for drugs, devices, or biologics. We are not required to sponsor formal prospective, controlled clinical trials in order to establish safety and efficacy. However, to support our current and prospective clinical customers, we manufacture and release our products in compliance with cGMP and other relevant quality standards.
To assist customers with their regulatory applications, we maintain Type II Master Files at the FDA for CryoStor, HypoThermosol FRS, BloodStor 27, Stemulate, nLiven PR, T-Liven PR, CellSeal Closed System containers, and our Cell Thawing Media products, which provide the FDA with information regarding our manufacturing facility and process, our quality system, stability and safety, and any additional testing that has been performed. Customers engaged in clinical and commercial applications may notify the FDA of their intention to use our products in their product development and manufacturing process by requesting a cross-reference to our master files.
Intellectual property
The following table lists our granted and pending patents. We have also obtained certain trademarks and tradenames for our products to distinguish our genuine products from our competitors’ products and we maintain certain details about our processes, products, and strategies as trade secrets. While we believe that the protection of patents and trademarks is important to our business, we also rely on a combination of trade secrets, nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, scientific expertise, and continuing technological innovation to maintain our competitive position. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy certain aspects of our products and/or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary (see Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report for additional details). The laws of some foreign countries in which we sell our products do not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States.
Issued Patents Patents Applied For Registered Trademarks
Cell processing and other products 87 83 45
Competition
Our bioproduction products and services compete on the basis of value proposition, performance, quality, cost effectiveness, and application suitability with numerous established technologies. Additional products using new technologies that may be competitive with our products may also be introduced. Many of the companies selling or developing competitive products have greater financial and human resources, R&D, manufacturing, and marketing experience than we do. They may undertake their own development of products that are substantially similar to or compete with our products, and they may succeed in developing products that are more effective or less costly than any that we may develop. These competitors may also prove to be more successful in their production, marketing and commercialization activities. We cannot be certain that the research, development, and commercialization efforts of our competitors will not render any of our existing or potential products obsolete.
13
Table of Contents
Human capital
We view our team members as the key to our success. As of December 31, 2025, we had 155 full-time team members and no part-time team members. Our Company culture encourages strong team collaboration and an emphasis on participation in challenging tasks that expand our team's skill sets. We believe in an open-door policy at all levels of the organization and establish Company-wide quarterly townhall meetings to foster a collaborative, connected environment in which anyone can contribute to our success. Our human capital strategy revolves around retaining top talent and maintaining high engagement across our Company. We consider relations with our team members to be good and welcome feedback from all levels of the Company on how to make improvements in our business processes and Company culture.
Team Member Engagement
We value a high level of engagement from our team members. We endeavor to foster a culture of mutual respect and ensure that team members feel valued. We compete for local talent with companies that are both in our market and within proximity to our primary office locations, as well as for our remote workforce within our industry and across other industries. We offer a hybrid work model that enables our team members to work remotely and on-location as their responsibilities allow, and we support team events to build internal collaboration and engagement. We support our team members’ participation in Company social events to build community engagement and foster a sense of responsibility to the communities in which we work.
Compensation and Benefits
We view our compensation and benefits practices as critical to our recruitment, retention, and engagement efforts. We prioritize competitive health benefits for our team members and employ a pay-for-performance compensation model, paying at or above market rates for our positions. We also offer incentive programs for certain employees focused on incentivizing and retaining talent that include stock grants and bonus incentives and provide a generous paid time off program including additional holidays granted throughout the year.
Training and Development
We have a strong belief in promotion from within our Company and provide training and development opportunities to support our talented professionals in their career growth. We offer internal training, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and mentorship of our team members.
Health and Safety
We provide a safe and healthy work environment that encourages team members to speak up and identify potential safety hazards. We conduct employee ergonomics assessments specifically in our manufacturing processes to limit and eliminate potential injuries from repetitive movements. We provide training for specific safety requirements and modify processes as needed to assure that our team members’ health and safety is a part of every aspect of our business. We provide appropriate personal protective equipment and training for the use of that equipment for safe use.
Corporate history
We were incorporated in Delaware in 1987 under the name Trans Time Medical Products, Inc. In 2002, the Company, then known as Cryomedical Sciences, Inc. was engaged in manufacturing and marketing cryosurgical products. The entity was merged with our wholly owned subsidiary, BioLife Solutions, Inc., which was engaged as a developer and marketer of biopreservation media products for cells and tissues. Following the merger, we changed our name to BioLife Solutions, Inc.
Principal offices; available information
Our principal executive offices are located at 3303 Monte Villa Parkway, Suite 310, Bothell, Washington 98021 and the telephone number is (425) 402-1400. We maintain a website at www.biolifesolutions.com. The information contained on or accessible through our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is not incorporated in any manner into this Annual Report. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish
14
Table of Contents
those reports to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
15
Table of Contents
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our financial statements and related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” before deciding to invest in our common stock. If any of the following risks materialize, our business, financial condition, results of operation and prospects will likely be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations or financial condition.
Risks related to our business and operations
If our products or the products of our competitors do not perform as expected or the reliability of the technology on which our products are based is questioned, we could experience lost revenue, delayed or reduced market acceptance of our products, increased costs, and damage to our reputation.
Our success depends on the market’s confidence that we can provide reliable, high-quality products to our customers. We believe that customers in our target markets are likely to be particularly sensitive to product defects and errors. Our reputation and the public image of our products and technologies may be impaired if our products or similar products of our competitors fail to perform as expected. In the future, if our products experience, or are perceived to experience, a material defect or error, this could result in loss or delay of revenues, delayed or reduced market acceptance, damage to our reputation, diversion of development resources, legal claims, increased insurance costs or increased service and warranty costs, any of which could harm our business, financial condition or results of operations. Such defects or errors could also narrow the scope of the use of our products, which could hinder our success in the market. Even after any underlying concerns or problems are resolved, any lingering concerns in our target market regarding our technology or any manufacturing defects or performance errors in our products could continue to result in lost revenue, delayed or reduced market acceptance, damage to our reputation, increased service and warranty costs and claims against us.
We operate in a highly competitive industry and if we cannot compete effectively, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
The life sciences industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change. We anticipate that we will continue to face increased competition as existing companies may choose to develop new or improved products and as new companies enter the market with new technologies, any of which could compete with our products or even render our products obsolete. While there are technological and marketing barriers to entry, we cannot guarantee that these barriers will be sufficient to defend our market share against current and future competitors.
Many of our competitors are significantly larger than us and have greater financial, technical, research, marketing, sales, distribution and other resources than us and may have longer operating histories. These companies may develop technologies that are superior alternatives to our products or may be more effective at commercializing and marketing their technologies. There may also be other companies which are currently developing competitive products and services, or which may in the future develop technologies and products that are comparable, superior or less costly than our own. We may need to improve our existing technologies or develop new technologies for our products to remain competitive. Our future success depends on our ability to compete effectively against current technologies, as well as to respond effectively to technological advances by developing and marketing products that are competitive in the continually changing technological landscape. Our competitors may succeed in developing or marketing technologies and products that are more effective or commercially attractive than any that are being developed or marketed by us, or may succeed in obtaining regulatory approval, or introducing or commercializing any such products, prior to us. Such developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, even if we can compete successfully, we may not continue do so in a profitable manner.
Despite our increasingly diversified customer base, we depend on a limited number of customers and products in a limited number of market sectors. If we lose any of these large customers or if there are disruptions in the sales of these products, our net product revenue and operating results could decline significantly.
During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, we derived approximately 29%, 32%, and 29% of our revenue from three customers, respectively. In the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, we derived approximately 82%, 80%, and 82% of our revenue from CryoStor products, respectively. Our principal customers may
16
Table of Contents
vary from period to period and such customers may not continue to purchase products from us at current levels or at all. Further, the inability of some of our customers to consummate anticipated purchases of our products due to changes in end-user demand, and other unpredictable factors that may affect customer ordering patterns could lead to significant reductions in net product revenue which could harm our business.
We expect our operating results to fluctuate significantly from period to period.
Our revenue, operating margins and other operating results have varied significantly in the past and may continue to fluctuate from period to period in the future due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Factors relating to our business that may contribute to these fluctuations include, but are not limited to, changes in the timing and terms of product orders and service contracts by our customers as a result of our customer concentration or otherwise, changes in the demand for the mix of products and services that we offer, the timing and market acceptance of our new product and service introductions, delays or problems in the planned introduction of new products or services, or in the performance of any such products following delivery to customers or the quality of such services, new products, services or technological innovations by our competitors, and potential supply chain issues, which can, among other things, render our products and services less competitive due to the rapid technological changes in the markets in which we provide products and services, impact our ability to reduce our costs in response to decreased demand for our products and services, impact our ability to accurately estimate customer demand, including the accuracy of demand forecasts used by us, create disruptions in our manufacturing process or in the supply of components to us, and lead to write-offs for excess or obsolete inventory, competitive pricing pressures, and increased investment into our infrastructure to support our growth, including capital equipment, research and development, as well as selling and marketing initiatives to support continuous product and services innovation, technological capability enhancements and sales efforts, among other factors described elsewhere in this Annual Report. If our quarterly operating results fail to meet expectations of investors or research analysts, the price of our common stock may decline.
If intangible assets and goodwill become impaired, we may have to take significant charges against earnings.
As of December 31, 2025 the net carrying value of our goodwill and other intangible assets totaled $212.8 million. We periodically review our goodwill and the estimated useful lives of our identifiable intangible assets, taking into consideration any events or circumstances that might result in either a diminished fair value, or for intangible assets, a revised useful life. These events and circumstances include significant changes in the business climate, legal factors, operating performance indicators, advances in technology and competition. Any reduction or impairment of value of intangible assets and goodwill will result in a charge against earnings, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and shareholders’ equity in future periods.
Our success will depend on our ability to attract and retain key personnel.
Our success in implementing our business strategy depends largely on the skills, experience and performance of key members of our executive management team and others in key management positions. The continuing service of our executive management team and other key management positions, together with our ability to attract and retain such management personnel, is critical to our ability to implement our business strategy. There is substantial competition to attract such key management personnel and the loss of one or more of these individuals could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
In addition, a critical factor to our business is our ability to attract and retain essential engineering, scientific, sales and management personnel. Our future success depends to a significant degree upon the continued services of key scientific and technical personnel. We are continually at risk of losing such personnel or being unable to hire additional engineering, scientific, sales and management personnel. If we fail to attract and retain such personnel, our sales efforts will be hindered and we will not be able to achieve our growth objectives.
Our business may be subject to product liability claims or product recalls, which could be expensive and could result in a diversion of management’s attention.
Our business exposes us to potential product liability risks that are inherent in designing, manufacturing, and marketing our products. In particular, we are a supplier of bioproduction products to the cell and gene therapy industry. Our products are used in basic and applied research, and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies and must meet stringent requirements. Products and services as sophisticated as ours could contain undetected errors or defects, especially when first introduced or when new equipment or versions are released. Customers use our products to maintain the health and
17
Table of Contents
function of biologic material during sourcing, manufacturing, storage, and distribution of cells and tissues, and component failures, manufacturing flaws, design defects or inadequate disclosure of product-related risks with respect to these or other products we manufacture or sell could result in an unsafe condition or injury.
As a result, we face an inherent risk of damage to our reputation if one or more of our products are, or are alleged to be, defective. We may be exposed to risks from product liability and warranty claims in the event that our products actually or allegedly fail to perform as expected or the use of our products results, or is alleged to result, in bodily injury and/or property damage. The outcome of litigation, particularly any class-action lawsuits, is difficult to quantify. Plaintiffs often seek recovery of very large or indeterminate amounts, including punitive damages. The magnitude of the potential losses relating to these lawsuits may remain unknown for substantial periods of time and the cost to defend against any such litigation, whether or not we are found liable, may be significant. Accordingly, we could experience product liability losses in the future and incur significant costs to defend these claims. While we maintain product liability insurance coverage, which we deem to be adequate based on historical experience, we cannot assure you that coverage will be available for such risks in the future or that, if available, it would prove sufficient to cover potential claims or that the present amount of insurance can be maintained in force at an acceptable cost to us.
In addition, if any of our products are, or are alleged to be, defective, we may voluntarily participate, or be required by applicable regulators, to participate in a recall of that product if the defect or the alleged defect relates to safety. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in initiating appropriate market recall or market withdrawal efforts that may be required in the future or that these efforts will have the intended effect of preventing product malfunctions and the accompanying product liability that may result. In the event of a recall, we may experience lost sales and be exposed to individual or class-action litigation claims and reputational risk. Product liability, warranty and recall costs may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Difficulties in manufacturing could have an adverse effect upon our expenses and our product revenues.
We currently manufacture all of our biopreservation media products and other related components. We currently outsource the manufacturing of certain thaw products, and certain cold chain products. Manufacturing our products is difficult and complex. To support our current and prospective clinical customers, we and our outsource manufacturers comply with, and intend to continue to comply with, cGMP in the manufacture of our products. Our ability to adequately manufacture and supply our products in a timely matter is dependent on the uninterrupted and efficient operation of our facilities and those of third parties manufacturing certain of our products or producing raw materials and supplies upon which we rely in our manufacturing. Manufacturing our products may be impacted by:
•availability or contamination of raw materials and components used in the manufacturing process, particularly those for which we have no other source or supplier;
•the ongoing capacity of our facilities and those of our outside manufacturers;
•our and our outside manufacturers’ ability to comply with existing and new regulatory requirements, including cGMP;
•inclement weather and natural disasters;
•changes in forecasts of future demand for product components;
•potential facility contamination by microorganisms or viruses;
•updating of manufacturing specifications;
•product quality success rates and yields;
•labor strikes; and
•global viruses, pandemics and epidemics.
If efficient manufacturing and supply of our products is interrupted, we may experience delayed shipments or supply constraints. If we are at any time unable to provide an uninterrupted supply of our products to customers, our customers may be unable to supply their end-products incorporating our products to their patients and other customers, which could materially and adversely affect our product revenue and results of operations. In addition, if we are unable to procure a component from one of our outside manufacturers, we may be required to enter into arrangements with one or more alternative manufacturing companies, which may cause delays in producing components or result in significant increase in expenses.
18
Table of Contents
We are dependent on our suppliers and third-party manufacturers, including single-source and sole-source suppliers, and disruptions in our supply chain could adversely affect our ability to manufacture and deliver products.
We are dependent on our suppliers and third-party manufacturers to provide quality products and components. Some of the materials, supplies, and services used in our product manufacturing, as well as some of our products, are sourced from single- or sole-source suppliers. As a result, our ability to negotiate favorable terms with those suppliers may be limited, and if those suppliers experience operational, financial, quality, or regulatory difficulties, or if those suppliers and/or their facilities refuse to supply us or cease operations temporarily or permanently, or if those suppliers take unreasonable business positions, we could be forced to cease product manufacturing until the suppliers resume operations, until alternative suppliers could be identified and qualified, or permanently if the suppliers do not resume operations and no alternative suppliers could be identified and qualified.
We cannot assure you that, in the future, our current or alternative sources for materials, supplies, and services used in our product manufacturing, as well as some of our products, will be able to meet all our demands on a timely basis. Unavailability of necessary components could require us to re-engineer our products to accommodate available substitutions, which could increase costs to us and/or have a material adverse effect on our manufacturing schedules, products’ performance and market acceptance. We might not be able to find a sufficient alternative supplier in a reasonable amount of time, or on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we fail to obtain an alternative supplier for the components of our products, our operations could be disrupted.
The global supply chain is subject to disruption due to labor, geopolitical, trade and monetary issues, which may be exacerbated by ongoing instability in Ukraine and the Middle East. Although we have yet to experience any material effects of this impact on our supply chain or operations, we face the potential risk that upstream disruptions may occur. Risks relating to the lingering effects of global supply chain disruptions may even continue after current conflicts have subsided.
While we are not currently subject to FDA or other regulatory approvals, if our products become subject to regulatory requirements, the manufacture and sale of our products may be delayed or prevented, or we may become subject to increased expenses.
While none of our products are subject to FDA regulation, we comply with cGMP requirements and other relevant quality standards to support our current and prospective clinical customers. However, we cannot assure you that our products will not be subject to FDA regulation in the future, and we may develop products in the future that subject us to regulation by the FDA and similar foreign regulatory agencies. The regulations enforced by the FDA and similar foreign regulatory agencies govern a wide variety of product-related activities, including the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, approval, clearance, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, marketing, post-approval monitoring and reporting, pricing, and export and import of pharmaceutical products. If we or any of our customers, suppliers or distributors fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we may face, among other things, warning letters; adverse publicity affecting both us and our customers; investigations or notices of non-compliance, fines, injunctions, and civil penalties; import or export restrictions; partial suspensions or total shutdown of production facilities or the imposition of operating restrictions; increased difficulty in obtaining required FDA clearances or approvals or foreign equivalents; seizures or recalls of our products or those of our customers; or the inability to sell our products and services. Any such FDA or other foreign regulatory agency actions could disrupt our business and operations, lead to significant remedial costs and have a material adverse impact on our financial position and results of operations.
We and our customers are subject to various international governmental regulations. Compliance with, or changes in, such regulations may cause us to incur significant expenses, and if we fail to maintain satisfactory compliance with certain regulations, we may be forced to recall products and cease their manufacture and distribution, and we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties.
We and our customers are subject to various significant international, federal, state and local regulations, including but not limited to regulations in the areas of health and safety, employment, labor and immigration, import/export controls, trade restrictions and anti-competition. In addition, as an international organization, we are subject to data privacy and security laws, regulations, and customer-imposed controls in numerous jurisdictions as a result of having access to and processing confidential, personal, or sensitive data in the course of our business. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), which became effective in May 2018, applies to our activities related to products and services that we offer to EU customers and workers. The GDPR established new requirements regarding the handling of personal data and includes significant penalties for non-compliance. Other governmental authorities around the world have passed or are considering similar types of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. Each of these privacy, security and data
19
Table of Contents
protection laws and regulations could impose significant limitations and increase our cost of providing our products and services where we process end user personal data and could harm our results of operations and expose us to significant fines, penalties, and other damages.
We must also comply with complex foreign and U.S. laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials, anti-competition regulations and sanctions imposed by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and other similar laws and regulations. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties, criminal sanctions, restrictions on our business conduct and on our ability to offer our products in one or more countries, and could also materially affect our brand, our ability to attract and retain employees, our international operations, our business and our operating results. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, or agents will not violate our policies. These regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. We may be required to incur significant expenses to comply with these regulations or to remedy any violations of these regulations. Any failure by us to comply with applicable government regulations could also result in the cessation of our operations or portions of our operations, product recalls or impositions of fines and restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations.
Healthcare reform measures could adversely affect our business and financial results.
In response to perceived increases in healthcare costs in recent years, the efforts of governmental and third-party payors to contain or reduce the costs of healthcare and, more generally, to reform the U.S. healthcare system may adversely affect the business and financial condition of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including ours. Specifically, in both the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our products profitably, including by limiting the prices we are able to charge for our products or the acceptance and availability of our products. Efforts by governments and other third-party payors to contain or reduce the costs of healthcare through various means may limit our commercial opportunities and adversely affect our operating results and result in a decrease in the price of our common stock or limit our ability to raise capital. We anticipate additional uncertainty as debates about healthcare and public health continue.
Insurance coverage is increasingly difficult to obtain or maintain.
While we currently maintain product liability insurance, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, general liability insurance, and other types of insurance, first- and third-party insurance is increasingly more difficult to obtain and maintain and has become more costly and narrower in scope, and we may be required to assume more risk in the future. We cannot predict the magnitude of potential liabilities and claims that may be made against us which could exceed the limits of these policies. Additionally, our insurance coverage may not protect us against all liability because our policies typically have various exceptions to the claims covered and also require us to assume some costs of the claim even though a portion of the claim may be covered. If we are subject to third-party claims or suffer a loss or damage in excess of our insurance coverage, we may be required to share that risk in excess of our insurance limits. A partially or completely uninsured claim, if successful and of significant magnitude, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, any first- or third-party claims made on our insurance policies may impact our future ability to obtain or maintain product liability insurance coverage at reasonable costs, if at all.
We are and may become the subject of various claims, litigation or investigations which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations or the price of our common stock.
We are and may become subject to various claims, including “whistleblower” complaints, litigation or investigations, including commercial disputes and employee claims, and from time to time may be involved in governmental or regulatory investigations or similar matters. Some of these claims may relate to the activities of businesses that we have acquired, even though these activities may have occurred prior to our acquisition of such businesses. Any claims asserted against us or our management, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, could harm our reputation, distract our management and have an adverse impact on our relationship with our existing or prospective clients, distribution partners and other third parties and could lead to additional related claims. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in defending ourselves in pending or future litigation or similar matters under various laws. Any judgments or settlements in any pending litigation or future claims, litigation or investigation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations or the price of our common stock.
20
Table of Contents
Our business and operations could be negatively affected by securities litigation or stockholder activism, which could impact the trading price and volatility of our common stock and may constrain capital deployment opportunities and adversely impact our ability to expand our business.
Our business and operations could be negatively affected if we become subject to any securities litigation or from continued stockholder activism, which could cause us to incur significant expenses, hinder the execution of our business and growth strategy, constrain our capital deployment opportunities, and impact the price of our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Stockholder activism, which can take many forms or arise in a variety of situations, has been increasing recently. Volatility in the price of our common stock, our cash balance, our financial performance or other reasons may cause us to become the target of securities litigation or continue to be the target of stockholder activism.
Securities litigation and stockholder activism, including potential proxy contests, could result in substantial costs and divert the attention of our management and our board of directors (our “Board”) and resources from our business. Additionally, such securities litigation and stockholder activism could give rise to perceived uncertainties as to our future, adversely affect our relationships with service providers and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel. Also, we may be required to incur significant legal fees and other expenses related to any securities litigation and activist stockholder matters. Further, the price of our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuation or otherwise be adversely affected by the events, risks and uncertainties of any securities litigation and stockholder activism. In addition, stockholder activism may constrain our capital deployment opportunities and may limit the types of investments that are available to us.
Risks related to our acquisition and divestiture activities
Our acquisitions expose us to risks that could adversely affect our business, and we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of acquisitions of businesses or technologies.
From time to time, potential acquisition opportunities may become available to us, and we may periodically engage in discussions or negotiations relating to potential acquisitions, including acquisitions that may be material in size or scope to our business. As a part of our growth strategy, we have made, and may continue to make, selected acquisitions of other companies and technologies and continue to evaluate expansion through acquisitions of other companies or technologies, which may carry numerous risks and operational, financial, and managerial challenges, including, but not limited to, the following, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations:
•difficulties in integrating new operations, technologies, products, and personnel;
•problems maintaining uniform procedures, controls, and policies with respect to our financial accounting systems;
•lack of synergies or the inability to realize expected synergies and cost-savings;
•difficulties in managing geographically dispersed operations, including risks associated with entering foreign markets in which we have no or limited prior experience;
•underperformance of any acquired technology, product, or business relative to our expectations and the price we paid;
•negative near-term impacts on financial results after an acquisition, including acquisition-related earnings charges;
•the potential loss of key strategic partners of acquired companies;
•claims by terminated employees and shareholders of acquired companies or other third parties related to the transaction;
•the assumption or incurrence of additional debt obligations or expenses, or use of substantial portions of our cash;
•diversion of management’s attention and company resources from existing operations of the business;
•inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures, and policies;
•cash expenses and non-cash accounting charges incurred in connection with acquisitions, including unanticipated costs associated with the amortization of intangible assets;
•the impairment of intangible assets as a result of technological advancements, or worse-than-expected performance of acquired companies;
21
Table of Contents
•assumption of, or exposure to, historical liabilities of the acquired business, including unknown contingent or similar liabilities, including product liability, that are difficult to identify or accurately quantify; and
•risks associated with acquiring intellectual property, including potential disputes regarding acquired companies’ intellectual property.
Additionally, the successful integration of acquired businesses requires significant efforts and expense across all operational areas, including sales and marketing, research and development, manufacturing, finance, legal, and information technologies. Acquisitions and strategic investments and alliances may require us to integrate and collaborate with a different company culture, management team, business model, business infrastructure and sales and distribution methodology, and assimilate and retain geographically dispersed, decentralized operations and personnel. Depending on the size and complexity of an acquisition, our successful integration of the entity depends on a variety of factors, including introducing new or modified products and meeting revenue targets as expected, the retention of key employees and key customers, increased exposure to certain governmental regulations and compliance requirements and increased costs and use of resources. The integration of acquired businesses is also likely to result in our systems and internal controls becoming increasingly complex and more difficult to manage. Any difficulties in the assimilation of acquired businesses into our control system could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting obligations. We are unable to guarantee the success of any acquisitions that we complete and such acquisitions may not be, or remain, profitable. Our failure to successfully address the foregoing integration risks may prevent us from achieving the anticipated benefits from any acquisition in a reasonable time frame, or at all.
Even if we are able to successfully integrate acquired businesses, our ability to realize the anticipated business opportunities, growth prospects, cost savings, synergies, and other benefits of acquisitions depends on a number of factors including our ability to:
•leverage our infrastructure to sell and cross-market acquired products;
•drive adoption of acquired products in new markets;
•bring acquired products to new geographic markets;
•comply with new governmental regulations, including obtaining regulatory approvals in relevant markets;
•execute on development timelines for acquired products;
•manage inventories for product lines;
•carry, service, and manage significant debt and repayment obligations; and
•manage the unforeseen risks and uncertainties related to these transactions, including any related to intellectual property rights.
Many of these factors are outside of our control and any one of them could result in increased costs, decreased revenues, and diversion of management’s time and energy. The benefits of these transactions may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame or at all. Any of these factors could negatively impact our earnings per share, decrease or delay the expected accretive effect of the transaction, and negatively impact the price of our common stock.
Our recent divestitures expose us to ongoing risks and uncertainties, one or more of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and/or stock price.
In recent years, we completed several divestitures, including the SAVSU Transaction, the CBS Divestiture, the SciSafe Divestiture, and the Global Cooling Divestiture. These divestitures expose us to continued financial and operational risks, such as through retained liabilities and indemnification obligations, transition service obligations, potential disputes with buyers regarding purchase price adjustments or indemnification claims, loss of revenue and customers, stranded costs and inefficiencies, potential litigation and employee retention challenges.
For example, pursuant to the Global Cooling Purchase Agreement, we are required to indemnify Global Cooling for preexisting legal contingencies. Prior to the Global Cooling Divestiture, two lawsuits were filed by previous customers seeking payment for losses related to Global Cooling’s commercial freezer products. These lawsuits are described in further detail under Note 3: Discontinued operations within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
In addition, in connection with the SciSafe Divestiture, we remain liable and responsible for the full performance and observance of all of the provisions, covenants, and conditions in one of SciSafe’s operating leases. In the case of a breach
22
Table of Contents
or violation of any provision of the lease by SciSafe Buyer, we are deemed to be in default of the lease provisions. Simultaneously, we received indemnification pursuant to any obligation owed by us under this operating lease. This indicates we undertake the obligation to stand ready to perform over the term of the guarantee in the event of the specified triggering events noted above, or if conditions, such as breach or default, occur. However, the non-contingent aspect of the guarantee enables us to recover any losses from SciSafe Buyer.
These risks, or any future unforeseen risks, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or the price of our common stock.
Further, in connection with these divestitures, we incurred significant cash and non-cash expenses, including transaction costs, severance payments, earn-out or adjustment settlements, and stock compensation acceleration. Any future divestitures may result in similar costs and risks.
Risks related to our intellectual property, cyber security, and artificial intelligence
Our proprietary rights may not adequately protect our technologies and products.
Our technology is critical to the implementation of our business plan, and we are dependent on our patent rights and other intellectual property rights to maintain our competitive position. Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary position and our commercial success will depend on our ability to obtain patents and/or regulatory exclusivity and maintain adequate protection for our technologies and products in the United States and other countries. We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our proprietary technologies and products are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets.
We intend to apply for additional patents covering both our technologies and products, as we deem appropriate. We may, however, fail to apply for patents on important technologies or products in a timely fashion, if at all. Our existing patents and any future patents we obtain may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from practicing our technologies or from developing competing products and technologies. In addition, the patent positions of life science industry companies are highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. As a result, the validity and enforceability of our patents cannot be predicted with certainty. In addition, we cannot guarantee that:
•we were the first to make the inventions covered by each of our issued patents and pending patent applications;
•we were the first to file patent applications for these inventions;
•others will not independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies;
•any of our pending patent applications will result in issued patents;
•any of our patents will be valid or enforceable;
•any patents issued to us will provide us with any competitive advantages, or will not be challenged by third parties; and
•we will develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable, or the patents of others will not have an adverse effect on our business.
The actual protection afforded by a patent varies on a product-by-product basis, from country to country and depends on many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, the availability of regulatory related extensions, the availability of legal remedies in a particular country and the validity and enforceability of the patents. Our ability to maintain and solidify our proprietary position for our products will depend on our success in obtaining effective claims and enforcing those claims once granted. Our issued patents and those that may be issued in the future, or those licensed to us, may be challenged, invalidated, unenforceable or circumvented, and the rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with proprietary protection or competitive advantages against competitors with similar products. We also rely on trade secrets to protect some of our technology, especially where it is believed that patent protection is inappropriate or unobtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to maintain. While we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, contractors, or scientific and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our proprietary information to competitors. Enforcement of claims that a third party has illegally obtained and is using trade secrets is expensive, time consuming and uncertain. In addition, non-U.S. courts are sometimes less willing than U.S. courts to protect trade secrets. If our competitors independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods, and know-how, we would not be able to assert our trade secrets against them and our business could be harmed.
23
Table of Contents
Expiration of our patents may subject us to increased competition and reduce our opportunity to generate product revenue.
The patents for our products have varying expiration dates and, when these patents expire, we may be subject to increased competition and we may not be able to recover our development costs. In some of the larger economic territories, such as the United States and Europe, patent term extension/restoration may be available. We cannot, however, be certain that an extension will be granted or, if granted, what the applicable time or the scope of patent protection afforded during any extended period will be. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension/restoration or some other exclusivity, we could be subject to increased competition and our opportunity to establish or maintain product revenue could be substantially reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, we may not have sufficient time to recover our development costs prior to the expiration of our U.S. and non-U.S. patents.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on all our products in every jurisdiction would be prohibitively expensive. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products. These products may compete with our products and may not be covered by any patent claims or other intellectual property rights.
The laws of some non-U.S. countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending such rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial cost and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business.
We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights, and we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use of, our technology.
Our success will depend to a significant degree on our ability to secure and protect intellectual property rights and enforce patent and trademark protections relating to our technology. While we believe that the protection of patents and trademarks is important to our business, we also rely on a combination of copyright, trade secret, nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, know-how and continuing technological innovation to maintain our competitive position. From time to time, litigation may be advisable to protect our intellectual property position. However, these legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep any competitive advantage. If we choose to go to court to stop someone else from using the inventions claimed in our patents or our licensed patents, that individual or company has the right to ask the court to rule that these patents are invalid and/or should not be enforced against that third party. These lawsuits are expensive and would consume time and other resources even if we were successful in stopping the infringement of these patents. In addition, there is a risk that the court will decide that these patents are invalid or unenforceable and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions. There is also the risk that, even if the validity or enforceability of these patents is upheld, the court will refuse to stop the other party on the grounds that such other party’s activities do not infringe our rights. Any adverse outcome in litigation relating to the validity of our patents, or any failure to pursue litigation or otherwise to protect our patent position, could materially harm our business and financial condition. In addition, confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, customers, and key vendors may not prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technology. It is possible that these agreements will be breached or that they will not be enforceable in every instance, and that we will not have adequate remedies for any such breach.
If a third party asserts that we infringed its patents or other proprietary rights, we could face a number of risks that could seriously harm our results of operations, financial condition and competitive position, including:
•patent infringement and other intellectual property claims, which would be costly and time consuming to defend, whether or not the claims have merit, and which could delay a product and divert management’s attention from our business;
•substantial damages for past infringement, which we may have to pay if a court determines that our product or technologies infringe a competitor’s patent or other proprietary rights;
24
Table of Contents
•a court prohibiting us from selling or licensing our technologies unless the third party licenses its patents or other proprietary rights to us on commercially reasonable terms, which it is not required to do; and
•if a license is available from a third party, we may have to pay substantial royalties or lump-sum payments or grant cross licenses to our patents or other proprietary rights to obtain that license.
We cannot predict the extent to which we might be required to seek licenses or alter our products or services so that they no longer infringe the rights of others. We also cannot guarantee that licenses will be available or the terms of any licenses we may be required to obtain will be reasonable. Similarly, changing our products, services or processes to avoid infringing the rights of others may be costly or impractical and could detract from the value of our products and services. If a judgment of infringement were obtained against us, we could be required to pay substantial damages and a court could issue an order preventing us from selling one or more of our products or offering certain of our services. Further, the cost and diversion of management attention brought about by such litigation could be substantial, even if we were to prevail. Any of these events could result in significant expense to us and may materially harm our business and our prospects.
Even if we are granted a patent, in certain circumstances we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use of, our technology.
The biotechnology industry has produced a proliferation of patents, and it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our products or methods of use either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent, and/or that the patent claims are invalid, and/or that the patent is unenforceable, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity, in particular, is difficult since it requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents.
U.S. patent laws as well as the laws of some foreign jurisdictions provide for provisional rights in published patent applications beginning on the date of publication, including the right to obtain reasonable royalties, if a patent subsequently issues and certain other conditions are met.
Because some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, because patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, and because publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our issued patents or our pending applications, or that we were the first to invent the technology.
Patent applications filed by third parties that cover technology similar to ours may have priority over our patent applications and could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. If another party files a U.S. patent application on an invention similar to ours, we may elect to participate in or be drawn into an interference proceeding declared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine priority of invention in the United States. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that such efforts would be unsuccessful, resulting in a loss of our U.S. patent position with respect to such inventions. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations. We cannot predict whether third parties will assert these claims against us, or whether those claims will harm our business. If we are forced to defend against these claims, whether they are with or without any merit and whether they are resolved in favor of or against us, we may face costly litigation and diversion of management’s attention and resources. As a result of these disputes, we may have to develop costly non-infringing technology or enter into licensing agreements. These agreements, if necessary, may be unavailable on terms acceptable to us, if at all, which could seriously harm our business or financial condition.
We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.
We employ individuals who previously worked with other companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of former employers or other third parties. We may also be subject to claims that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. We may not be successful in
25
Table of Contents
defending these claims, and even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our management and other employees. Any litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our ability to hire employees, and we may lose valuable intellectual property rights if we fail in defending any such claims. A loss of key personnel or their work product could diminish or prevent our ability to commercialize our products, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our inability to protect our information systems and networks and the proprietary and confidential information in our possession from continually evolving cybersecurity risks or other technological risks, including as a result of breaches of our associated third parties' information technology systems, could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations, in addition to our reputation and relationships with our employees, customers, suppliers and business partners.
In conducting our business, we collect, process, transmit and store sensitive, proprietary and confidential information about our employees, customers, vendors, and other parties, including business and personal information, which may be entitled to protection under a number of regulatory regimes. This information may include, but is not limited to, account access credentials, credit and debit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, names and addresses and other types of sensitive business or personal information. Some of this information is also processed and stored by our third-party service providers to whom we outsource certain functions and other agents, including our customers, which we refer to collectively as our associated third parties.
Although we take the security of our network systems and information seriously, there can be no assurance that the security measures we and our associated third parties employ will effectively prevent unauthorized persons from obtaining unauthorized access to our systems and information due to the evolving nature and intensity of cyberattacks and threats to data security, in light of new and sophisticated tools and methods used by criminals and cyberterrorists to penetrate and compromise systems, including computer viruses, malware, ransomware, phishing, misrepresentation, social engineering and forgery, which make it increasingly challenging to anticipate, harder to detect, and more difficult to adequately mitigate these risks. Additionally, threats to our systems and our associated third parties’ systems can derive and have derived from human error, fraud or malice on the part of employees or third parties, or may result from accidental technological failure, including as a result of natural disasters, power failures or other events beyond our control. While we have cyber security insurance, we may incur significant costs in the event of a successful cyber incident against us or in responding to and recovering from a cyber incident that are not covered by, or exceed the limits of, such insurance. Additionally, the cost and operational consequences of implementing, maintaining and enhancing further data or system protection measures could increase significantly to overcome increasingly intense, complex and sophisticated global cyber threats.
The frequency, intensity, and sophistication of cyberattacks and data security incidents has significantly increased in recent years and is constant. We are continually subject to cyberattacks and the risk of data security incidents, some of which have been successful. Such incidents include malicious third party attempts to identify and exploit system vulnerabilities and/or penetrate or bypass our security measures in order to gain unauthorized access to our networks and systems or those of our associated third parties. Such access has led and could lead in the future to the compromise of sensitive, business, personal or confidential information or instructions to transfer funds by us or customers to unauthorized recipients. Although we have experienced security breaches in the past, none of these breaches have resulted in a material liability or loss to us. As a result of such breaches, we proactively employ multiple methods at different layers of our systems to defend our systems against intrusion and attack and to protect the data we collect. However, we cannot be certain that these measures will be successful and sufficient to counter current and emerging technology threats that are designed to breach our systems in order to gain access to confidential information. Further, while we select our associated third parties carefully, and we seek to ensure that our customers adequately protect their systems and data, we do not control their actions and are not able to oversee their processes. Any problems experienced by our associated third parties, including those resulting from breakdowns or other disruptions in the services provided by such parties or cyber-attacks and security breaches, could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business and our financial condition.
The protection and security of our network systems and our own information, as well as information relating to our employees, customers, suppliers, business partners and others, is vitally important to us. Any failure of us or our associated third parties to maintain the security of our network systems and the proprietary, confidential, and personal data in our possession, including via the penetration of our network security and the misappropriation of proprietary, confidential and personal information, could result in costly investigations and remediation, business disruption, damage to our reputation, financial obligations to third parties, fines, penalties, regulatory proceedings and private litigation with potentially large costs, and also result in deterioration in our employees’, customers’, suppliers’ and business partners’ confidence in us and
26
Table of Contents
other competitive disadvantages, and thus could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Thedevelopment, deployment and use of AI technologies present new risks and challenges that could adversely impact our business.
AI is increasingly being used across the global business landscape, including in the life sciences and healthcare industries. We are beginning to integrate AI and machine learning technologies into our business to enhance our operations, products, technology, and services and expect our use of AI to increase as the technology rapidly evolves and improves. However, AI presents risks and challenges that could adversely impact our business.
The development, deployment, and use of AI, including within the life sciences industry, is still in its early stages, where the use of insufficiently developed AI technologies and premature deployment practices could result in unintended outcomes that harm our business. AI technologies may be developed using inaccurate, incomplete, flawed or biased algorithms, training methodologies or data, which could result in competitive harm, regulatory penalties, legal liability, or brand or reputational harm. Further, a failure to timely and effectively use or deploy AI and integrate it into new product offerings and services could negatively impact our competitiveness, particularly ahead of evolving industry trends and evolving consumer demands, and require investments that increase our costs.
Laws and regulations regarding AI technologies are rapidly evolving as well, including in the areas of intellectual property, cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection. As such, it remains uncertain how AI laws and regulations will impact our business or the associated cost or risks related to compliance therewith or with respect to incorporating compliance mechanisms appropriately and effectively into our operations. Compliance with new or changing laws, regulations, or industry standards relating to AI may impose significant operational and financial burdens and may limit our ability to develop, deploy, or use AI technologies in our business.
Risks related to our common stock
Our stock price and volume may be volatile, and purchasers of our securities could incur substantial losses.
The trading price and volume of our common stock, traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market ("Nasdaq") has been highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, the securities markets have from time-to-time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock. For example, in the year ended December 31, 2025, the highest intra-day sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq was $29.62 per share and the lowest intra-day sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq was $19.10 per share. Our highest trading day volume was 1,625,800 shares traded and the lowest trading day volume was 105,900 shares traded. We may continue to incur substantial increases or decreases in our stock price and volume in the foreseeable future.
Our stock price and trading volume and the market prices and trading volume of many publicly traded companies, including companies in the life sciences industry, have been, and can be expected to be, highly volatile. The future market price and trading volume of our common stock could be significantly impacted by numerous factors, including, but not limited to:
•Future sales of our common stock or other capital raising events by us;
•Sales of our common stock by existing shareholders;
•Changes in our capital structure, including stock splits or reverse stock splits;
•Changes in our product offerings and business structure through acquisitions or divestitures, and public perception of our announced acquisitions and divestitures;
•Announcements of technological innovations for new commercial products by our present or potential competitors;
•Developments concerning proprietary rights;
•Adverse results in our field or with clinical tests of our products in customer applications;
•Adverse litigation;
•Unfavorable legislation or regulatory decisions;
27
Table of Contents
•Public concerns regarding our products;
•Variations in quarterly operating results;
•General trends in the health care and biotechnology industries;
•Global viruses, epidemics, and pandemics; and
•Other factors outside of our control, including significant market fluctuations.
In addition, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock or other securities in the public markets (including an issuance by us of additional securities in a public offering or private placement), or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common stock or other securities to decline and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional securities. The sale of a large number of shares of our common stock or other securities also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at the prices that we deem appropriate.
A significant percentage of our outstanding common stock is held by one stockholder, and this stockholder therefore has significant influence on us and our corporate actions.
As of December 31, 2025, based on our review of public filings and our records, one of our existing stockholders, Casdin Capital, LLC owned 5,957,165 shares of our common stock, representing 12.4% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, this stockholder has had, and will continue to have, significant influence in determining the outcome of any corporate transaction or other matter submitted to our stockholders for approval, including mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. In addition, without the consent of this stockholder where a stockholder vote may be necessary, we could be prevented from entering into transactions that could be beneficial to us.
We have not paid dividends on our common stock in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. Any return on investment may be limited to the value of our common stock.
We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board, subject to compliance with covenants in current and future agreements governing our indebtedness, and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual arrangements and other factors that our Board deems relevant. Our current policy is to retain all funds and earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business.
Certain provisions in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Certain provisions in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management, including, among other things, provisions that:
•authorize our Board to issue, without further action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms, including preferences and voting rights;
•restrict the ability of our stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders except upon written request of the holders of 35% of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereat;
•establish advance notice procedural mechanics and disclosure requirements applicable to stockholder nominations of directors and submissions of proposals regarding other business at stockholder meetings; and
•provide that any vacancies on our Board resulting from death, resignation, disqualification, removal or other cause or in increase in the authorized number of directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum, or by the sole remaining director.
As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to certain Delaware anti-takeover provisions. Under Delaware law, a corporation may not engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the Board has approved the transaction. Our Board could rely on Delaware law to prevent or delay an acquisition of us. These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our Board, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management.
28
Table of Contents
Our Amended and Restated Bylaws designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and U.S. federal district courts as the exclusive forums for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which limits our stockholders’ ability to choose the judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees.
Our Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that, with certain limited exceptions, any:
•derivative action, suit or proceeding brought on our behalf;
•action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees to us or our stockholders;
•civil action to interpret, apply or enforce any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware;
•civil action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the provisions of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws; or
•action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine;
will be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction, the sole and exclusive forum for such action shall be another state or federal court located within the State of Delaware).
Furthermore, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action under the Securities Act.
The enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation or similar governing documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find the choice of forum provisions contained in our bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable, including with respect to claims arising under the U.S. federal securities laws.
This exclusive forum provision may limit the ability of a stockholder to commence litigation in a forum that the stockholder prefers, or may require a stockholder to incur additional costs in order to commence litigation in Delaware or U.S. federal district court, each of which may discourage such lawsuits against us or our directors or officers. Alternatively, if a court were to find this exclusive forum provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings described above, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Risks related to accounting matters
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, and if our remediation of such material weaknesses is not effective, or if we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures, we may not be able to accurately and timely report financial results or prevent fraud, and our ability to meet our reporting obligations and the trading price of our common stock could be negatively affected.
As described in Item 9A — Controls and Procedures and elsewhere in this Form 10-K, Management concluded our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2025. However, Management identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. While this material weakness was remediated during the year ended December 31, 2025, effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary to provide reliable financial reports and to assist in the effective prevention of fraud. Any inability to provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud could harm our business. We regularly review and update our system of internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies. In addition, we are required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to report annually on our internal control over financial reporting. Any system of internal controls, however well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Accordingly, a material weakness increases the risk that the financial information we report contains material errors.
29
Table of Contents
In the course of making our assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, we identified one material weakness. The material weakness identified was in relation to not maintaining effective internal controls to verify that key inputs for our stock-based awards were entered correctly into the equity system early in 2024, which was attributable to an outdated internal policy with unclear guidance regarding appropriate inputs
The aforementioned material weaknesses did not result in any identified material misstatements to our financial statements, and there were only immaterial changes to previously released financial results.
To address our material weaknesses, we had implemented the remediation plans described in Item 9A — Controls and Procedures in this Form 10-K. Any failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures could adversely impact our ability to report our financial results on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations or may lose confidence in our reported financial information. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis as required by the SEC and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, we could face severe consequences from those authorities. In either case, it could result in a material adverse effect on our business or have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. Further, if we fail to remedy these deficiencies (or any other future deficiencies) or maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, civil or criminal penalties or shareholder litigation. We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weaknesses identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of our financial statements will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures.
Further, in the future, if we cannot conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide an unqualified opinion regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could lead to a decline in our stock price. Failure to comply with reporting requirements could also subject us to sanctions and/or investigations by the SEC, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC or other regulatory authorities.
Changes in tax laws and regulations could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to regular examination by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and state, local and foreign tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of favorable or unfavorable outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our expense for income taxes. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any final determination will not be materially different from the treatment reflected in our historical income tax expenses and accruals, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to utilize our NOL carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be limited by a lack of sufficient profits in the jurisdictions where these NOLs were generated. We have accumulated significant NOLs in various tax jurisdictions from historical operating losses, but if we do not generate adequate taxable income in those jurisdictions before the NOLs expire, we may be unable to fully utilize them, resulting in higher effective tax rates and increased cash tax payments in profitable periods. Tax laws in certain jurisdictions impose restrictions on NOL usage, such as annual utilization caps or requirements for income in the same entity or jurisdiction, which could further constrain our ability to offset taxes.
Our ability to use NOL and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses to reduce future tax payments is limited by provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, and it is possible that certain transactions or a combination of certain transactions may result in material additional limitations on our ability to use our NOL and tax credit carryforwards.
Section 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code contain rules that limit the ability of a company that undergoes an ownership change, which is generally any change in ownership of more than 50% of its stock over a three-year period, to utilize its NOL and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses recognized in years after the ownership change. These rules generally operate by focusing on ownership changes involving stockholders owning directly or indirectly 5% or more of the stock of a company and any change in ownership arising from a new issuance of stock by us. Generally, if an ownership change occurs, the yearly taxable income limitation on the use of NOL and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses is equal to the product of the applicable long-term, tax-exempt rate and the value of our stock immediately before the ownership change. We may be unable to offset our taxable income with losses, or our tax liability with credits, before such losses and credits expire and therefore would incur larger federal income tax liability.
30
Table of Contents
Risks related to disruptive events
Natural disasters, geopolitical unrest, war, terrorism, public health issues or other catastrophic events could disrupt the supply, delivery or demand of products, which could negatively affect our operations and performance.
Earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, fire, power shortages, geopolitical unrest or other political conditions (including government shutdowns), wars and other military conflicts (such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and recent U.S. involvement in Venezuela), terrorist attacks and other hostile acts and other events beyond our control and the control of the third parties on which we depend could negatively affect our operations and performance. Any of these events, whether in the United States or abroad, may have a strong negative impact on the global economy, our employees, facilities, partners, suppliers, distributors or customers, and could decrease demand for our products, create delays and inefficiencies in our supply chain and make it difficult or impossible for us to deliver products to our customers. If any of these events result in the destruction or disruption of our data centers or our critical business or information technology systems it could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, our operating results would be adversely affected.
Tariffs and other trade policies could have a substantial impact on our business.
Our business is dependent upon the availability of supplies for our products. U.S. relations with the rest of the world remain uncertain with respect to taxes, trade policies, and tariffs, especially under an increasingly volatile political landscape within the United States and abroad. Throughout 2025 and during the first quarter of 2026, there have been significant tariffs imposed on imported goods within the United States and there are currently indications that future tariffs are likely to be imposed. While many of these tariffs have been suspended or reduced temporarily, the imposition of such tariffs may strain international trade relations and has led to foreign governments implementing retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the United States.
Political tensions resulting from changes in U.S. trade policies could reduce trade volume, investment, technological exchange and other economic activities between major international economies, resulting in a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets and could significantly reduce global trade.
Increases in tariffs, additional taxes or other trade restrictions and retaliatory measures may increasingly impact customer demand and customer investment in manufacturing equipment, increase our manufacturing costs, decrease margins, reduce the competitiveness of our products, or inhibit our ability to sell products or purchase necessary equipment and supplies, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
Unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations may impact our operating margins, or may cause us to raise prices for our products and services, which could result in reduced sales.
As we increase sales in international markets, any such international instability and reduction in global trade could negatively impact our expansion plans and international sales. Such risks may also affect our customers’ budgets and their policies which may adversely affect our sales revenue.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, approximately 20% of our revenue was derived from customers located outside the United States, primarily in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Currency exchange rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our sales, cost of sales, and results of operations. Most sales to foreign customers are denominated in the currency of the country in which these products are sold or services are provided, and the currency received in payment for such sales could be less valuable as compared to the U.S. dollar at the time of receipt as a result of exchange rate fluctuations. Unfavorable currency fluctuations could require us to increase prices for our products and services to customers, which could result in lower net sales. Alternatively, if we do not adjust prices for our products and services in response to unfavorable currency fluctuations, our results of operations, including our margins, could be materially and adversely affected. We currently hold an immaterial amount of cash and cash equivalents denominated in foreign currencies. However, should we increase the amount of cash and cash equivalents denominated in foreign currencies held by us, our financial results and capital ratios may be materially impacted by movements in exchange rates. We could experience losses with respect to forward exchange contracts into which we may enter, and from time to time, we may enter into forward exchange contracts and cross-currency swap agreements to reduce currency exposure, but we cannot be certain that our efforts will be adequate to protect us against significant currency fluctuations.
31
Table of Contents
Public health crises have adversely affected, and could in the future adversely affect, our business, financial condition. results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to risks associated with public heath crises, including those related to pandemics and epidemics. The occurrence of such public health risks could materially affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including due to negative impacts to the global economy, disruptions to global supply chains and workforce participation, and volatility and disruption of financial markets. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant volatility, uncertainty, and economic disruption, which had an adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
In particular, the financial or operational impacts as a result of public health crises have included, and may in the future include:
•The temporary closure of our manufacturing facilities and/or those of our outside manufacturers;
•Unavailability of supplies and other components for our products;
•Costs associated with protecting the health of our employees and adhering to any guidance or orders of various governmental authorities, such masking, testing, and social distancing requirements;
•Risks associated with remote work, including increased cybersecurity risk;
•Widespread staffing shortages;
•Outbreaks of disease in our facilities or those of our third-party service providers, which could require us or them to temporarily shut down business operations or cause a disruption to, or shortage in, our or their workforce;
•Significant volatility or reductions in demand for our products;
•Delays in shipments of our products, which could harm our customer relations and adversely impact our competitive position and sales;
•Restrictions on the ability of our personnel to access customers;
•Challenges to our capacity to manufacture, sell and support the use of our products; and
•Volatility in credit or financial markets.
The extent to which public health crises, including health pandemics and epidemics and other outbreaks, impact our business operations, financial performance and results of operations remains uncertain and will depend on many factors outside our control, including the timing, extent, trajectory and duration of the public health crisis, the emergence of new variants, the development, availability, distribution and effectiveness of vaccines and treatments, and the imposition of protective public safety measures. Additional future impacts on us may include material adverse effects on our manufacturing, supply chain and distribution channels, our ability to execute our strategic plans, and our profitability. The potential effects of public health crises may also impact and potentially heighten many of our other risk factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section.
Global climate change and related legal and regulatory developments could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Climate change presents risks to us and to our customers, with the risks expected to increase over time. Our products and services are subject to and affected by environmental regulation by federal, state, and local authorities in the United States and regulatory authorities with jurisdiction over our international operations. Future regulations or voluntary actions on our part in response to climate change could result in costly changes to our facilities to reduce carbon emissions. They could also increase energy costs as a result of switching to less carbon-intensive, but more expensive, sources of energy to operate our facilities and to transport and ship products and samples. There can be no assurance that climate change or environmental regulation and response will not have a negative competitive impact on our ability to provide our products or that economic returns will match the investments that we are making in the development of new products and services. We will likely face increasing complexity related to product design, the use of regulated materials, energy consumption and efficiency, and the reuse, recycling, or disposal of products and their components at end-of-use or useful life. There continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation among local, state, federal and international governmental authorities, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty regarding future incentives for energy-efficiency and costs of compliance, which may impact the demand for our products and services, our costs associated with providing our products and services, and our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain, which is enhanced by the particularities of the geographic
32
Table of Contents
circumstances in areas in which we operate. These impacts may include changes in global weather patterns, which could include local changes in rainfall and storm patterns and intensities, water shortages, changing sea levels, and changing temperature averages or extremes. These impacts may also adversely affect our properties, our business, financial condition and results of operations.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
We have a thorough process for identifying, assessing, and managing cybersecurity risks. We design and assess our cybersecurity risk management program leveraging the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework ("NIST") within our broader risk management framework. The cybersecurity team gathers insights from external experts and internal threat intelligence teams to support our cybersecurity risk management program. A dedicated team oversees cybersecurity risk management, led by professionals with deep expertise, including our Vice President of Technology, who has over 20 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity focused roles. Our executive leadership, supported by our cybersecurity team, oversees our enterprise risk management and regularly considers cybersecurity and other material risks. We promote a culture of security, sending out monthly cybersecurity awareness trainings to our employees.
Within our cybersecurity risk management system, our incident management team tracks and logs privacy and security incidents across the Company and third-party service providers. Significant incidents undergo review by a cross-functional group, with immediate escalation for potentially material incidents. We have an incident response retainer with a leading professional services network, ensuring immediate support in the event of a cybersecurity incident. We consult with outside counsel as needed, with final decisions made by the CFO and CEO.
The Board considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function and has delegated to the Audit Committee oversight of steps the Company has taken to monitor or mitigate significant cybersecurity risks.The Audit Committee additionally ensures compliance with disclosure requirements and cooperation with law enforcement.Senior management regularly updates the Audit Committee on cyber risks and any material incidents.
While our business strategy and financial condition have not been materially affected by cybersecurity risks, we cannot guarantee future immunity. For more details, refer to Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our material office and manufacturing leases are detailed below:
Location Square Feet Principal Use Lease Expiration
Woodinville, WA 13,578 Warehouse February 2030
Manchester, CT 524 Research and development August 2026
Edmonton, AB 200 Research and development March 2026
Ottawa, ON 200 Research and development December 2026
We consider the facilities to be in a condition suitable for their current uses. Due to the increasing requirements of customers or regulatory agencies, we may need to acquire additional space or upgrade and enhance existing space. We believe that adequate facilities will be available upon the conclusion of our leases.
33
Table of Contents
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. We are not currently aware of any such proceedings or claims that we believe will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market information for common stock
Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the trading symbol “BLFS.”
Stockholders and dividends
As of February 19, 2026, there were approximately 214 holders of record of our common stock. We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate that any cash dividends will be paid in the foreseeable future. We anticipate that we will retain all earnings, if any, to support our operations. Any future determination as to the payment of dividends will be at the sole discretion of our Board and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and other factors our Board deems relevant.
Performance graph
The following information is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such a filing.
The following graph shows the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total return of the S&P Small Cap 600 Index and our peer group, assuming an initial investment of $100 on December 31, 2020 and the reinvestment of all dividends.
34
Table of Contents
Issuer repurchases of equity securities
Not applicable.
ITEM 6. RESERVED
Reserved.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Company Overview
We are a life sciences company that develops, manufactures, and markets bioproduction products and services which are designed to improve quality and de-risk biologic manufacturing, distribution, and transportation in the cell and gene therapy industry. Our products are used in basic and applied research and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies. Customers use our products to maintain the health and function of biologic material during sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution.
Our current portfolio of bioproduction products and services is comprised of one revenue line that contains three main offerings:
•Cell processing and other products
◦Biopreservation media
◦Human platelet lysate media (“hPL”), cryogenic cryogenic and ultralow temperature containers, and automated cell-processing fill machines
◦Automated thawing devices
On October 6, 2025, the Company entered into the SAVSU Purchase Agreement by and between the Company and the SAVSU Buyer for the sale by the Company of all SAVSU Interests to the SAVSU Buyer. Upon the execution of the SAVSU Purchase Agreement, the SAVSU business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as
35
Table of Contents
a discontinued operation for all periods presented. See Note 3: Discontinued operations within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further details regarding the divestiture.
On April 4, 2025, pursuant to the PanTHERA Purchase Agreement by and among the Company, the PanTHERA Sellers, the PanTHERA Buyer Sub, and Dr. Jason Acker, solely in his capacity as Sellers’ Representative, the Company acquired the remaining 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of PanTHERA not owned by the Company in the PanTHERA Transaction. See Note 2: Acquisition within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further details regarding the transaction.
On November 14, 2024, the Company entered into the CBS Purchase Agreement with CBS Buyer and CBS for the sale by the Company of all of the issued and outstanding CBS Shares to CBS Buyer. Upon the execution of the CBS Purchase Agreement, the CBS business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as a discontinued operation for all periods presented. See Note 3: Discontinued operations within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further details regarding the divestiture.
On November 12, 2024, the Company entered into the SciSafe Purchase Agreement with the Sci Safe Buyer for the sale by Seller of all of the issued and outstanding SciSafe Shares to SciSafe Buyer. Upon the execution of the SciSafe Purchase Agreement, the SciSafe business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as a discontinued operation for all periods presented. See Note 3: Discontinued operations within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further details regarding the divestiture.
On April 17, 2024, the Company sold all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Global Cooling to GCI Holdings pursuant to the Global Cooling Purchase Agreement. Upon the execution of the Global Cooling Purchase Agreement, the Global Cooling business is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements as a discontinued operation for all periods presented. See Note 3: Discontinued operations within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further details regarding the divestiture.
We currently operate as one bioproduction products and services business which supports several steps in the biologic material manufacturing and delivery process. Our portfolio of tools and services focuses on biopreservation media and cell processing products. We have in-house expertise in cryobiology and the broader CGT workflow, and continue to evaluate opportunities to maximize the value of our product platforms for our extensive customer base through organic growth innovations, partnerships, and acquisitions.
Segment reporting
Management views the Company's operations and makes decisions regarding how to allocate resources as one reportable segment and one reporting unit. For additional information on the Company's segment considerations, Note 15: Segment, customer, and geographic information within the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We have identified the policies and estimates below as being critical to our business operations and the understanding of our results of operations. These policies require management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. The impact of any associated risks related to these policies on our business operations are discussed throughout “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition,” including in the “Results of Operations” section, where such policies affect our reported and expected financial results. Although we believe that our estimates, assumptions, and judgments are reasonable, they are based upon information presently available. Actual results may differ significantly from these estimates under different assumptions, judgments, or conditions.
Revenue recognition
To determine revenue recognition for contractual arrangements that we determine are within the scope of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, we perform the following five steps: (i) identify each contract with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to our performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy the relevant performance obligation. We only apply the five-step model to contracts when
36
Table of Contents
it is probable that we will collect the consideration we are entitled to in exchange for the goods or services we transfer to the customer. Contracts with customers may contain multiple performance obligations. For such arrangements, the transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation based on the estimated relative standalone selling prices of the promised products or services underlying each performance obligation. The Company determines standalone selling prices based on the price at which the performance obligation is sold separately. If the standalone selling price is not observable through past transactions, the Company estimates the standalone selling price, taking into account available information such as market conditions and internally approved pricing guidelines related to the performance obligations. Payment terms and conditions vary, although terms generally include a requirement of payment within 30 to 60 days.
The Company primarily recognizes product revenues. Product revenues are generated from the sale of biopreservation media and cell processing tools. We recognize product revenue, including shipping and handling charges billed to customers, at a point in time when we transfer control of our products to our customers, which is upon shipment for substantially all transactions. Shipping and handling costs are classified as part of cost of product revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Any remaining revenues earned, which primarily consisted of service revenues generated from various customer service agreements for the provision of warranty and other engineering services and equipment rental arrangement revenues, were not significant in any of the periods presented.
Intangible assets and goodwill
Intangible assets