Previously Announced Strategy Focus Prioritizes Opportunities in Rice and Biofragrance Products and Sustainable Ingredients with Initiatives Expected to Reduce Annual Net Cash Usage to Approximately $30M by 2026
Cibus Well Situated to Pursue Partner Funding to Support its Advanced Productivity Trait Portfolio
SAN DIEGO, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cibus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBUS) (the "Company"), a leading agricultural technology company that develops plant traits to license to seed companies for royalties, announced a reduction in force ("RIF") as a pivotal step in implementing its previously announced streamlined business focus, prioritizing its nearest-term and currently funded commercial opportunities. The RIF is expected to result in related one-time charges of approximately $0.5 million in the third quarter of 2025.
Cibus expects the RIF, along with other initiatives, to reduce its annual net cash usage to approximately $30 million by 2026. The Company's streamlined priorities and resulting restructuring initiatives are intended to optimize Cibus' Trait MachineTM gene editing processes with a focus on the commercial advancement of its HT1, HT3 and other trait combinations for weed management traits in Rice, while continuing advancement of its customer-funded and supported crop-based sustainable ingredients programs and bio-based fermentation fragrance products.
Dr. Peter Beetham, Co-Founder and Interim CEO of Cibus stated, "The whole Cibus team has made incredible contributions to advance the burgeoning gene edited trait industry. We are proud of the leadership this team has shown in the development of value-added crop traits. As in many industries, we also see a natural evolution in our markets that drives our commercial focus and development efforts. While we are streamlining to prioritize our efforts on weed management in Rice, sustainable ingredients and biofragrance products, I believe we have significant opportunities to capitalize on our remaining portfolio of developed and advanced traits through industry partnerships in areas such as disease resistance in Canola, WOSR, and Soybean."
About Cibus
Cibus is a leader in gene edited productivity traits that address critical productivity and sustainability challenges for farmers such as diseases and pests, which the United Nations estimates cost the global economy approximately $300 billion annually. Cibus' long-term focus is productivity traits for farmers for the major global row crops. Cibus is not a seed company. It is a technology company that uses proprietary high-throughput gene editing technology to develop traits at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding and to license them to seed companies in exchange for royalties on seed sales.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included herein, including statements regarding Cibus' revenue opportunities, cost-savings initiatives, anticipated cash burn reductions and the timing thereof and anticipated costs associated with the RIF. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "expect," "plan," "scheduled," "could," "would" and "will," or the negative of these and similar expressions.
These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and assumptions of Cibus' management about future events, which are based on currently available information. Cibus' actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements could be materially different than those expressed, implied, or anticipated by forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the control of Cibus. The industry in which Cibus operates is emerging and subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the "Risk Factors" section of Cibus' Annual Report on Form 10-K which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 20, 2025 and other subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K as may be filed with the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.
In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Cibus' views as of the date hereof. Cibus specifically disclaims any obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Cibus' views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
CIBUS CONTACTS:
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Jeff Sonnek
jeff.sonnek@icrinc.com
MEDIA RELATIONS
media@cibus.com
Colin Sanford
colin@bioscribe.com
203-918-4347
