SomaLogic swaps CEOs amid mounting losses

BOULDER — SomaLogic Inc. (Nasdaq: SLGC) this week elevated a new CEO at the same time the Boulder-based biotechnology company posted lower sales and higher losses for the fourth quarter of the 2022 fiscal year. 

Adam Taich, the firm’s former chief business officer and executive vice president of life sciences, is SomaLogic’s interim CEO, taking over from Roy Smythe, who is no longer employed at the company.

SomaLogic has also recently added four new members to its board of directors.

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“We are moving into a new and important chapter at SomaLogic, and I am squarely focused on bringing improved operational discipline while managing for growth,” Taich said in a prepared statement. “Since joining the company more than a year ago as chief business officer, the team has proven that it can bring down costs while diversifying and scaling our revenue base. Beginning in the third quarter of last year, I took on broader responsibilities here at SomaLogic and believe we’re building momentum to take advantage of the significant market opportunity before us. There is more work to do, but we plan to continue to deliver with increased focus and execution while preserving cash.”

The c-suite shakeup comes about two months after SomaLogic disclosed to regulators that it had laid off workers as part of “right-size of organization to focus on greatest long-term growth opportunities in SomaLogic’s life sciences business while preserving and leveraging the balance sheet to actively expand the portfolio.”

The company did not publicly reveal the precise scope of that “right-sizing” effort. 

“In December we had a small reduction in personnel, distributed across our remote and onsite workforce,” a company spokeswoman told BizWest in a January email. “This difficult choice was driven by a reaction to a tough economic climate predicted in 2023. To align with our current growth expectations in a challenging economy, we needed to revise our plans and refocus our resources on our life-sciences business.”

SomaLogic develops platforms to read thousands of proteins in a patient’s blood or urine sample that may signal illnesses or future health conditions and suggest potential treatments via machine learning.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, SomaLogic recorded $18.8 million in sales, down from $23 million during the same period in 2021. “The decrease was primarily driven by the recognition of $1.9 million of licensing revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021,” the company said.

Net loss was $49.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a loss of $23 million in the same quarter of 2021.

For the full 2022 fiscal year, revenues were $97.7 million, up 20% year over year. “Growth was primarily due to the accounting recognition of future year licensing revenue minimums,” SomaLogic said.

Net losses in 2022 were $109.2 million, compared to a net loss of $87.5 million in the prior year.

SomaLogic is projecting 2023 revenue totals between $80 million and $84 million.