Conference call and webcast: today, May 20, 2026, 9:00 AM ET

REHOVOT, Israel, May 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), a pioneering company in computational chemistry specializing in the generative AI design of small molecules for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. 

Mr. Ofer Haviv, President & CEO of Evogene, stated: "Following the strategic transformation initiated in 2025, we are now focused on execution and advancing our tech engine for small-molecule discovery and optimization, ChemPass AI™, and expanding our product pipeline in pharma and agriculture, through collaborations and continued progress in our internal programs.

ChemPass AI™'s competitive advantage lies in its ability to generate novel molecules while optimizing multiple critical parameters from the earliest stages of design. We continue to enhance the platform through internal development and collaboration with tech companies. In February 2026, we were proud to announce a second collaboration with Google Cloud focused on integrating advanced AI agents into ChemPass AI™, aimed at automating the generation of unique datasets from complex scientific workflows, thereby enabling new capabilities in small-molecule discovery and optimization.

Our proprietary small-molecule candidates are designed to combine three key advantages: novel and diverse chemical structures, multi-parameter optimization from the earliest design stages, and high potency supported by targeted experimental validation.

In pharma, we significantly expanded our activity during the first quarter of 2026, announcing three new collaborations with biotech companies and academic institutions:

• Systasy Biosciences, together with LMU University Hospital Munich. The collaboration focuses on developing novel therapies for neutrophil-derived inflammatory diseases;
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT). This collaboration is advancing AI-driven therapeutic discovery in inflammatory diseases and oncology; and
• Unravel Biosciences. This collaboration is focused on a newly discovered target for demyelinating disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

These additions bring the total number of publicly disclosed collaborations in this domain to four.

In agriculture, our AgPlenus subsidiary continues to advance novel herbicide programs through our collaboration with Corteva. In parallel, our internal fungicide program has demonstrated strong progress and is advancing through lead optimization, highlighting the effectiveness of integrating AI-driven design with iterative experimental validation. Regarding our collaboration with Bayer, AgPlenus and Bayer have decided to discontinue their herbicide development project following determination that the target protein did not meet the required product criteria. Under the terms of the termination, all assets licensed to Bayer under the collaboration, including the APTH1 protein target and associated active molecules, will revert to AgPlenus."

"Looking ahead, we expect continued progress across all three of the Company's core business areas, supporting our growth trajectory and long-term value creation," said Mr. Haviv. "We are expanding technological collaborations to strengthen our ChemPass AI^TM innovation capabilities, advancing our pharmaceutical and ag-chemical pipelines toward key milestones, establishing new strategic partnerships, and deepening relationships with leading industry players. Across all activities, we remain focused on execution, pipeline expansion, and long-term growth."

Financial Highlights:

• Status of Non-Core Subsidiaries - Consistent with our revised strategy, we continue to manage the wind-down or transition of our non-core business activities:
  
  - Lavie Bio - operations were discontinued at the end of the first quarter of 2026, and the company expects to receive two additional payments under the ICL transaction. During the first quarter of 2026, Lavie Bio received court approval for the distribution of a dividend in the amount of $4.25 million to its shareholders, of which Evogene is entitled to approximately $2.9 million. The distribution process is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026.
  - Biomica - licensed its lead oncology candidate, BMC128, to Lishan Pharmaceuticals and is currently completing a Phase 1 clinical trial. In April 2026, Biomica received court approval for the distribution of a $2.7 million dividend to its shareholders, of which Evogene will be entitled to approximately $1.35. The distribution process is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026.
  - Casterra - operations have been significantly reduced and realigned to focus exclusively on Brazil; we are conducting field trials and expect these activities to form the basis for seed sales in the 2027 growing season.
  
  
• Fundraising - In February 2026, Evogene entered into a warrant inducement agreement with an existing investor for the immediate exercise of all August 2024 Series A and Series B warrants, resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $3.4 million, before fees and expenses. In consideration for the exercise, the investor received, in a private placement, new unregistered Series A-1 and Series B-1 warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,076,924 ordinary shares. The new warrants are immediately exercisable at an exercise price of $1.25 per share.
  The Series A-1 and Series B-1 warrants were classified as a liability in the consolidated statements of financial position, initially recorded at fair value and subsequently remeasured at each reporting date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. As of March 31, 2026, the warrants' liability totaled approximately $1.7 million.
  
  
• Cash Position - As of March 31, 2026, Evogene held consolidated cash, cash equivalents, and short-term bank deposits of approximately $13.1 million. The consolidated cash usage during the first quarter of 2026 was approximately $2.8 million.
  
  
• Revenues for the first quarter of 2026 totaled approximately $0.3 million, compared to approximately $2.3 million in the same period of 2025, representing a decrease of approximately $2.0 million. The decrease is mainly attributable to lower revenue recognized from Casterra, which in the first quarter of 2025 included significant seed sales of approximately $2.0 million.
  
  
• Cost of revenues for the first quarter of 2026 was approximately $0.1 million, compared to approximately $1.5 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The decrease in cost of revenues is consistent with the decline in revenues during the quarter.
  
  
• Research and development expenses, net of non-refundable grants, for the first quarter of 2026 were approximately $1.8 million, compared to approximately $2.5 million in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a decrease of approximately $0.7 million. The decrease is mainly attributable to lower R&D expenses in Biomica, Casterra, and AgPlenus. The decrease in R&D expenses attributable to Evogene and its subsidiaries was substantially offset by the impact of exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the NIS of approximately $0.2 million.
  
  
• Sales and marketing expenses for the first quarters of 2026 and 2025 were approximately $0.4 million, with no material change between the periods.
  
  
• General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2026 remained stable at approximately $1.2 million, compared to the corresponding period of 2025. The decrease in G&A expenses attributable to Evogene and its subsidiaries was substantially offset primarily by the impact of transaction costs related to the warrant inducement transaction and other legal expenses, totaling approximately $0.2 million, as well as by exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the NIS of approximately $0.1 million.
  
  
• Other income, net, of approximately $30 thousand was recorded in the first quarter of 2026, primarily attributable to the sale of fixed assets, compared to other income of approximately $191 thousand recorded in the first quarter of 2025, which was primarily related to the accounting treatment associated with Evogene's sublease agreement.
  
  
• Operating loss for the first quarter of 2026 was approximately $3.2 million, compared to approximately $3.0 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The increase in operating loss is primarily attributable to decreased revenues, partially offset by lower operating expenses, as described above.
  
  
• Financing expenses, net, for the first quarter of 2026 were approximately $2.7 million, compared to financing income, net, of approximately $1.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The change was primarily attributable to the accounting treatment of the pre-funded warrants and warrants issued in the August 2024 fundraising and warrants issued in the February 2026 warrant inducement transaction. As part of the February 2026 warrant inducement transaction, the Company recorded financing expenses of approximately $3.8 million during the first quarter of 2026. In addition, the Company recorded a financing income of approximately $0.9 million related to the revaluation of warrants liability as of March 31, 2026.
  
  
• Income from discontinued operations, net, for the first quarter of 2026 was approximately $14 thousand, compared to a loss from discontinued operations, net, of approximately $1.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025. These amounts primarily reflect the financial results of Lavie Bio's operations, as well as expenses related to the development and maintenance of MicroBoost AI for Ag, which are presented as a single-line item in the consolidated statements of profit and loss. Following the sale of the majority of Lavie Bio's assets, as well as Evogene's MicroBoost AI for Ag, to ICL in July 2025, Lavie Bio no longer employs personnel, and its operating expense level has decreased significantly.
  
  
• Net loss for the first quarter of 2026 was approximately $5.9 million, compared to approximately $3.0 million in the same period last year. The increase of approximately $2.9 million was primarily attributable to a decrease in revenues and an increase in net financing expenses, partially offset by a decrease in operating expenses and a reduced loss from discontinued operations, net.

About Evogene Ltd.

Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN) is a pioneering company in computational chemistry, specializing in the generative design of small molecules for drug development and agchemical products.

At the core of its technology is ChemPass AI^TM, a proprietary generative AI designed to explore vast chemical space and generate novel, highly potent small molecules optimized across multiple critical parameters. Built on this powerful technological foundation, and through strategic partnerships alongside internal product development, Evogene is focused on creating breakthrough products for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, driven by the integration of scientific innovation with real-world industry needs.

For more information, please visit www.evogene.com. 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to future events. These statements may be identified by words such as "may," "could," "expects," "hopes," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates," "demonstrates" or words of similar meaning. For example, Evogene is using forward-looking statements in this press release when it discusses Evogene's success in advancing its tech-engine for small-molecule discovery and optimization and expanding its product pipeline in pharma and agriculture, the success of Evogene's collaborations with biotech companies and academic institutions, the progress of AgPlenus' fungicide program, the expansion of technological collaborations, advancement of the Company's pharmaceutical and ag-chemical pipelines, establishment of new strategic partnerships, deeper relationships with leading industry players, and Casterra's seed sales in 2027 growing season. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about future events, involve certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, actual future results, performance or achievements of Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene, including the aftermath of the recent war between Israel and each of (i) the terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, (ii) Iran, and (iii) other regional terrorist groups supported by Iran, and any destabilizations in Israel, neighboring territories or the Middle East region, as well as those additional risk factors identified in Evogene's reports filed with the applicable securities authority. In addition, Evogene relies, and expects to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct certain activities, such as their field-trials and pre-clinical studies, and if these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements or meet expected deadlines, Evogene and its subsidiaries may experience significant delays in the conduct of their activities. Evogene and its subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions.

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Evogene Investor Relations Contact:
Email: ir@evogene.com
Tel: +972-8-9311901

(*) Reclassified to conform to the current period presentation, following the classification of certain operations as discontinued operations.

(*) Reclassified to conform to the current period presentation, following the classification of certain operations as discontinued operations.

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SOURCE Evogene