Business Context and Reporting Period
Company: eXoZymes Inc. (formerly Invizyne Technologies, Inc.)
Filing Type: Form 10-K (Annual Report)
Period Ended: December 31, 2025
Business Overview: eXoZymes is a pre-revenue, development-stage biotechnology company focused on a "cell-free" biomanufacturing platform called "exozymes." The technology utilizes AI-designed enzymes to produce high-value chemicals (nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels) outside of living cells, aiming to overcome scalability and toxicity issues associated with traditional synthetic biology. The company rebranded in February 2025 to distinguish its technology. Its primary near-term commercialization focus is on N-trans-Caffeoyltyramine (NCT), a metabolic health compound, via a subsidiary named NCTX.
Key Financial Metrics
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $0 | $0 |
| Net Loss | $(9,158,734) | $(5,861,335) |
| Operating Costs | $9,716,471 | $5,932,105 |
| Research & Development (R&D) | $3,706,991 | $1,868,766 |
| General & Administrative (G&A) | $6,009,480 | $4,063,339 |
| Cash and Cash Equivalents (End of Period) | $3,039,343 | $9,719,310 |
| Working Capital | $2,372,687 | $9,487,137 |
| Total Assets | $5,971,517 | $13,034,404 |
| Total Liabilities | $2,574,268 | $2,613,629 |
Grant Funding: From inception through December 31, 2025, the company received total grants of $17,697,378. In 2025, $4,058,367 was awarded, and $1,569,165 was offset against R&D expenses.
Material Changes vs. Prior Period
- Increased Net Loss: Net loss increased by 56.3% (from $5.86M to $9.16M) driven by a 63.8% increase in total operating costs.
- Expense Growth: R&D costs nearly doubled (98.4% increase) due to higher salaries, bonuses, stock-based compensation, and laboratory expenses. G&A costs rose 47.9%, attributed to hiring administrative staff, increased professional fees (legal, audit, compliance), and D&O insurance costs.
- Cash Burn: Cash and cash equivalents decreased by 68.7% ($6.68M) due to operating cash outflows of $6.5M. The company used approximately $4.2M of its November 2024 IPO proceeds to repay related-party loans shortly after the offering.
- Equity Dilution: The company completed an IPO in November 2024, raising net proceeds of approximately $15.2M. As of December 31, 2025, outstanding shares were 8,406,681.
Guidance, Outlook, Risks, and Contingencies
Outlook and Strategy
The company plans to focus on the 2026-2027 period for the initial commercialization of NCT as a nutraceutical ingredient, leveraging a capital-light model using contract manufacturers (CMOs). Long-term strategy includes transitioning select compounds into pharmaceutical development and expanding into biofuels (isobutanol) via government grants. The company intends to commercialize assets through spin-outs, joint ventures, or licensing deals.
Risks and Contingencies
- Going Concern: Management has expressed substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern due to recurring losses, negative cash flows, and pre-revenue status. Continued operations depend on securing additional equity or debt financing.
- Internal Controls: The company identified material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, specifically regarding inadequate design of policies/procedures and insufficient testing of controls. Disclosure controls were deemed not effective as of December 31, 2025.
- Grant Dependency: While the company has a base of technology not dependent on grants, it relies on government funding (DOE, NIH, DOD) for specific projects. There is no assurance of future grant availability.
- Commercialization Risk: There is no assurance that the exozyme platform will achieve commercial viability or that products like NCT will gain regulatory approval or market acceptance.
Investor Verification Checklist
- Cash Runway: Verify the current cash balance against the burn rate to determine the immediate need for capital raises.
- Grant Status: Confirm the status of the $3M NSF subaward (awarded July 2025) and other government grants to assess future non-dilutive funding.
- NCT Commercialization: Monitor progress on the NCT subsidiary (NCTX), specifically CMO agreements and regulatory filings for nutraceutical status.
- Internal Control Remediation: Review future filings for updates on the remediation of material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting.
- Related Party Transactions: Monitor the concentration of ownership (MDB Capital Holdings owns ~47.6%) and any future related-party financing or transactions.