Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) President and CEO Alison Moore outlined the company’s strategic focus on RNA medicines manufacturing at TD Cowen’s 46th Annual Health Care Conference, emphasizing expected inflection points in 2026 tied to its ECO Synthesis platform and continued execution in its legacy pharma biocatalysis business.
Shift in emphasis toward RNA medicines manufacturing
Moore described Codexis as a company that “generates manufacturing solutions using its proprietary biocatalytic enzymes,” noting it has supplied customized enzymes to pharmaceutical manufacturing customers for years. She said the company’s evolution is a sharpened focus on RNA medicines, where Codexis sees a need for innovative manufacturing technologies and has been investing effort for the last three to four years.
Market opportunity and the scaling challenge in oligonucleotides
Moore framed Codexis’ market opportunity around limitations in current oligonucleotide manufacturing methods. She said the RNA medicines market is growing strongly, citing siRNA (RNA interference) medicines growing “somewhere between 5% and 10% per year.” She also said there is significant interest in expanding RNA medicines into larger patient population indications, including cardiometabolic and central nervous system (CNS) indications.
According to Moore, the primary manufacturing challenge is that solid-phase organic synthesis, the commonly used approach for oligonucleotide production, is scale-limited. She said maximum batch sizes for traditional chemistry are “maybe around 5 kilos to 10 kilos at most,” which can serve early-stage production but becomes difficult and expensive when companies seek to support large patient populations or aim for very large production volumes. Moore said Codexis estimates the total addressable market (TAM) at $2 billion by 2030.
Legacy biocatalysis business: competition, commoditization, and Phase III exposure
Moore said Codexis’ small-molecule-focused pharma biocatalysis business has experienced increased competition over time, with commoditization occurring in enzymes that are more commonly used. She added that Codexis continues to produce and engineer sophisticated, highly customized enzymes for clients.
She characterized the outlook for the legacy pharma biocatalysis segment as “low single-digit growth,” supported by a portfolio of customer assets in late-stage development. Moore said Codexis supports a set of Phase III assets and noted that “only in the last four months,” two out of three of those assets successfully passed their Phase III goals and are preparing for launch. She also said Codexis has “11 more assets” in its pipeline supporting Phase III therapeutics with readouts expected over the next one to three years, which she said underpins expectations for low growth over a five- to seven-year period in that portion of the business.
Merck supply assurance agreement and CDMO traction
Moore provided clarification on Codexis’ previously communicated 2025 agreement with Merck, describing it as a “supply assurance agreement.” She said Codexis makes enzymes that are critical to Merck’s supply chain and that Merck paid Codexis to create specific cell banks supporting those enzymes. Moore said the cell banks were moved into an escrow geography to provide additional access in the event of a catastrophic disruption. She characterized the arrangement as a supply chain risk management action, while adding that Codexis expects ongoing licensing arrangements with customers in the future.
Moore also discussed Codexis’ engagement with contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), saying the company currently has three agreements in place with CDMOs. She said these are contracts supporting work initially in Codexis’ Innovation Lab and often involve an innovator asset. Codexis is demonstrating the ECO Synthesis platform can generate these assets and is executing technology transfer into CDMO facilities, including one transfer currently underway. Moore said the goal would be to progress toward a commercial licensing agreement with at least one CDMO.
She described the CDMO market as important to Codexis’ expansion, while emphasizing Codexis expects to work “hand in hand” with large production CDMO partners. Moore also said some customers have longstanding relationships with CDMOs and want confidence in GMP supply, making multi-party agreements involving innovators and their CDMOs a logical structure.
Scaling plans, facility investment, and customer pipeline dynamics
Moore said Codexis has used the TIDES conference as a platform to communicate progress, including scalability and operational simplicity of ECO Synthesis, as well as high product quality enabled by an enzyme-based approach. She also highlighted topics the company has presented, including:
- Potential for stereoisomer-controlled products
- In-process control to assess real-time fidelity of nucleotide addition
- Process control and product quality themes aligned with FDA interest
Moore said these disclosures have increased interest, noting a “huge influx” following the TIDES U.S. meeting in May that translated into ongoing service projects. She characterized current customer projects as feasibility work aimed at validating whether the platform works for specific assets, and said Codexis is working to translate that work into more substantive licensing arrangements.
On commercial strategy, Moore said Codexis aims to “land and expand” in 2026 and has “more than 50 active conversations” in its sales funnel. She said some customers are large biopharmaceutical companies, while others are startups pursuing large cardiovascular opportunities, which she suggested can help validate the technology’s value. She added Codexis is also being approached about challenges in other oligonucleotide therapeutics and has taken on small feasibility assessments, while seeking to remain judicious about prioritization.
Operationally, Moore said Codexis’ ECO Innovation Lab in Redwood City is currently operating at a 100-gram scale, supporting multiple projects with varying material needs. She said the company aims to progress toward kilo scale by the end of the year, citing customer interest in that milestone for alignment with pipeline timelines.
Moore also outlined plans for Codexis to bring its own small manufacturing facility online by the end of 2027, targeting kilo-scale operations and “tens of kilos” of output, with potential to invest further toward hundreds of kilos depending on business direction. She said getting to kilo scale requires both process understanding—such as defining operating ranges and robustness—and equipment investment. Moore stated Codexis achieved a 25% expense reduction in 2025 and has channeled those efficiencies into manufacturing plans, including leasing a preexisting GMP facility requiring minimal construction and new equipment purchases. She said Codexis expects to invest $20 million to $25 million in capital improvements for the facility and that its financial plans include cash through the end of 2027, including operationalizing the site.
In closing remarks, Moore acknowledged expectations for competition given the scaling constraints in the market. However, she said Codexis believes it is “far in the lead” in enzymatic synthesis and intends to maintain that position through proprietary technology and continued engagement with innovators looking for solutions to large-scale oligonucleotide manufacturing challenges.
About Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS)
Codexis, Inc, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading protein engineering company focused on the development of innovative enzyme solutions for pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and specialty chemical applications. The company’s proprietary directed evolution platform, CodeEvolver®, enables the rapid identification and optimization of enzymes with enhanced activity, selectivity and stability. By leveraging this technology, Codexis provides custom biocatalysts designed to improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
Since its founding in 2002, Codexis has expanded its capabilities from early-stage research to commercial-scale production.
