2021 Year in Review
Sustained progress
“Despite the continued disruption of COVID-19, we have seen sustained progress during the period as we continue to deliver on the growth strategy announced in November 2019.”
Alan Hirzel, CEO
Chairman’s statement
“Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19 in the more than two years since the launch of the plan, under the excellent leadership of our CEO, Alan Hirzel, the team’s focus on execution has delivered significant progress.
Our capacity for innovation and new product development continues to increase and the Group is making good progress on its major upgrade programmes spanning IT infrastructure, global supply chain and customer facing websites. These improvements are helping us meet the demands of a growing, global business and improve our customers’ experience. A growing number of strategic partnerships together with selected acquisitions are helping to accelerate this trend, exemplified by the acquisition of BioVision in the period, the Group’s largest supplier.”
Peter Allen, Chairman
CEO’s review
We achieved the major strategic, operational and financial goals we set for the business in the period and continued to make significant operational changes and to implement our growth strategy. Feedback from our customers was excellent, with a Customer tNPS of +56 (CY2021). Sales of our in-house products grew strongly as we scaled up our capability here. Because these are sold at a higher margin, we started to feel the benefits of increased operational leverage. The business transition to 2024 is nearly complete and we will soon be able to fully reap the benefits of what we have been building over recent years.
Alan Hirzel, CEO
Our strategic process
In 2019, we set out plans to invest in our business to support long-term, profitable growth. Those investments are accelerating the implementation of initiatives that are allowing us to increase support for those at the forefront of biological research, seize more market opportunities for growth and increase the positive social impact we are able to generate over the period to 2024 and beyond.
1. Extend leadership in RUO antibodies
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2. Remove innovation constraints and launch new lines
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3. Be a leading discovery partner for biopharma organisations
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4. Be a leading digital company
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5. Remove scalability constraints and sustain value
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6. Selectively pursue acquisitions
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Our strategic process
In 2019, we set out plans to invest in our business to support long-term, profitable growth. Those investments are accelerating the implementation of initiatives that are allowing us to increase support for those at the forefront of biological research, seize more market opportunities for growth and increase the positive social impact we are able to generate over the period to 2024 and beyond.
1. Extend leadership in RUO antibodies
2020/21 priorities
- To successfully introduce and commercialise the next cohort of in-house products to important research areas
- To further enhance product validation and continue to raise quality standards
- To define plan to transition to 100% recombinant portfolio
2021 milestones achieved
- Continued share gains, with the latest data showing a c.2ppt increase in antibody citation share in CY2020, to 22% (source: CiteAb)
- Introduction of over 2,500 recombinant antibody-based products in CY2021 aligned to major research areas (includes recombinant RabMAbs, conjugated antibodies, antibody pairs, SimpleStep ELISA kits, and alternative formulations)
- Recombinant portfolio increased to over 27,000
- Record product satisfaction rates achieved, supported by the Group’s product quality initiatives, with the Group’s CRISPR gene knockout validation programme extended to over 4,000 products
- Total revenue contribution from in-house products reached new high of 61% (including BioVision) in CY2021 (CY2020: 54%)
2022 priorities
- Successfully introduce and commercialise the next cohort of in-house Ab products to important research area needs
- Continue to drive improvements in antibody quality, capability, and capacity
- Implement integrated approach to product innovation
2. Remove innovation constraints and launch new lines
2020/21 priorities
- To continue to drive successful adoption of new product lines (kits and assays, proteins, cell lines, conjugation) consistent with our multi-year growth plans
2021 milestones achieved
- Over 30% CER revenue growth across non-primary antibody products in CY2021, with these categories now accounting for c.33% of catalogue revenue
- Strengthened antibody conjugation offering following the integrations of Expedeon, BrickBio and Marker Gene Technologies
- Completed the build out of protein team and launched over 300 in-house bioactive proteins
- Opened new engineered cell-lines R&D facility and successfully launched first group of in-house developed cell lines
- Opened major new site in Waltham, Massachusetts, in July 2021 and expanded facilities in Hangzhou, China, and Eugene, Oregon, increasing new product development capacity
2022 priorities
- Successfully introduce and commercialise the next cohort of in-house products to important research area needs
- Continue to expand protein, cell lines and kit development capacity
- Implement integrated approach to product innovation
3. Be a leading discovery partner for biopharma organisations
2020/21 priorities
- To continue to grow the number of viable products, agreements and relationships across ‘Abcam Inside’ initiatives
2021 milestones achieved
- Continued business development and generation of customer interest, benefiting from the investments made in innovation capabilities, business development and commercial teams over the last several years
- Executed 85 outbound commercial agreements with new and existing partners, including the initiation of over 30 new service, commercial supply agreements and/or licences
- Commercialised several hundred recombinant RabMAb clones under these agreements, either through co-development programmes on third party platforms or as diagnostic tools, bringing the total to almost 1,000 (Dec-2020: 561), with over 3,000 more undergoing evaluation by partners
2022 priorities
- Continue to establish and embed scalable approaches to serve biopharma
- Extend network of instrument, CRO and Dx partnerships
- Enhance the brand and customer experience for biopharma customers
4. Be a leading digital company
2020/21 priorities
- To establish new web platform to enable greater personalisation of the digital experience
- To successfully deploy the next phase of our enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) software
- To expand capabilities and use of AI/data analytics
2021 milestones achieved
- Progressed the next phase of the Group’s digital customer vision, including content marketing, marketing automation and improvements to the user experience across the Group’s desktop and mobile sites
- Initiated deployment of the final stages of ERP software, covering manufacturing and supply chain, with completion on track for 2022
- On track for launch of new product data management (PIM) systems, with 99.9% of our product data uploaded into test environments to support the launch
2022 priorities
- Successfully complete final ERP deployments and decommission legacy systems
- Launch new customer websites globally, enabling greater personalisation of the digital experience
- Expand e-procurement and develop new digital journeys for biopharma and commercial partners
5. Remove scalability constraints and sustain value
2020/21 priorities
- To complete next phase of our global footprint expansion in the US and China
- To continue to improve product development times and success rates
- To reduce end-end supply chain movements and other sources of waste through greater cross-site collaboration
- To design and roll-out next global equity scheme
2021 milestones achieved
- Delivered planned developments of the Group’s global footprint on time and budget, despite disruptions caused by COVID-19, including:
- 100,000 sq. ft facility opened in Waltham, Massachusetts, more than doubling previous site’s footprint. New site established in Fremont, California, and site improvements made in Eugene, Oregon
- Expanded and enhanced operations in Asia-Pacific, including Hangzhou and Shanghai sites in China, Adelaide, and Singapore
- Entered final stages of Oracle ERP project, covering manufacturing and supply chain. Successfully deployed in four major sites, with completion currently on track for 2022
- Continued to automate manual systems across customer operations, procurement, and finance to improve customer support levels and generate efficiencies
- Launched new all employee share scheme following the successful vesting of the initial scheme (‘AbShare’) – resulting in over 90% of employees becoming shareholders
2022 priorities
- Complete footprint expansion to support growth plans
- Continue to drive process optimisation for all products
- Successfully integrate BioVision and deliver commercial value
6. Selectively pursue acquisitions
2020/21 priorities
- To continue to carefully evaluate potential opportunities that are aligned with our strategy
- To strengthen relationships for future deals
2021 milestones achieved
- Completed the acquisition of BioVision in October 2021, a leading innovator of biochemical and cell-based assays and major supplier to Abcam, for $340m;
- Continued to deliver on the integration plans and drive value from acquisitions made in the prior year, including Expedeon
- Continued to strengthen relationships across the industry in support of future deals
2022 priorities
- Successfully integrate BioVision and deliver commercial value
- Continue to carefully evaluate potential opportunities that are aligned with our strategy
- Strengthen relationships for future deals
What we achieved this year
Continued to focus on serving our customers’ needs globally achieving positive customer transactional Net Promoter Score (‘tNPS’) of +56 (CY2021) and product satisfaction rates at all-time highs
Completed the acquisition of BioVision, Inc (“BioVision”), a leading innovator of biochemical and cell-based assays, in October 2021, for cash consideration of $340m (cash free, debt free)
High employee engagement, with the business ranked in the Top 5 in the Glassdoor UK Employees’ Choice Awards in January 2022, for the second year running
Strengthened and expanded leadership in commercial and operational teams with senior hires in Commercial, Brand, China, and Supply Chain and expanded the Group’s global presence, with the opening of new and enlarged sites in China, the US (Massachusetts, California, Oregon), Singapore, and Australia
Completed the secondary US listing on Nasdaq’s Global Market in October 2020 (supplementing existing listing on AIM on the London Stock Exchange)
Expanded Asia, digital, and life science industry experience on the Board of Directors, with the appointments of Bessie Lee, Mark Capone and Sally Crawford as Non-Executive Directors
Developing sustainable impact
Combined with our focus on impactful product innovation, we are building a sustainable business – providing a rewarding, diverse and inclusive workplace for our teams, building long-term industry partnerships based on trust, engaging in the communities we work in and minimising our impact on the environment.
Our financial performance
“We have made good progress in many areas during the year and our top line performance has seen good momentum coming out of the pandemic. Whilst short-term returns on our core business have inevitably been reduced by COVID-19 and our investments, I am confident in a continuation of the trajectory we have seen over the last six months, and the potential return our organic and inorganic investments will generate over the medium- and long-term.”
Michael Baldock, Chief Financial Officer
Key performance measures
We measure our performance against a number of strategic and financial KPIs. Success against our strategic KPIs forms a component of the Executive Directors’ and senior management’s remuneration.
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Section 172 statement and stakeholder engagement
“Our purpose – to serve life scientists to help them achieve their mission, faster – drives everything we do and sits at the heart of our value creation model. As we deliver on our purpose, we remain steadfastly committed to creating an ethical and sustainable business; a business which generates returns for our shareholders; and a business which strengthens our relationships with key stakeholders over time. As Abcam grows it feeds a virtuous circle – improving speed and quality, driving innovation, and achieving scale – ultimately enabling us to serve more life scientists with more of the biological tools and reagents needed to enable breakthrough research.”
Alan Hirzel, CEO
Developing sustainable impact
Combined with our focus on impactful product innovation, we are building a sustainable business – providing a rewarding, diverse and inclusive workplace for our teams, building long-term industry partnerships based on trust, engaging in the communities we work in and minimising our impact on the environment.
Risks and viability assessment
During the year, the Board carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks facing the Company which included commissioning Anthesis, a leading climate change consultancy, to support the Group in its assessment of relevant climate-related risks and opportunities. Although the nature of the risks to which Abcam is exposed have not changed substantially, the assessment resulted in some revision to how the principal risks are grouped and expressed.
2021 Annual Report
A review of our performance and governance in 2021
2021 Annual Report
Our business model
Explore our business model and how we sustain value creation for our stakeholders
Our strategy
Read about are strategy to sustain long-term profitable growth
Regulatory news
View Abcam’s latest regulatory news announcements
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