ABCM Abcam PLC

PART I

We may not be able to successfully implement these strategies, and these strategies may not result in the expected growth of our business. Failure to anticipate and respond to our competitors’ actions may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We must develop new products and enhance existing products, adapt to significant technological and innovative changes, and respond to introductions of new products by competitors to remain competitive.

We sell our products in industries that are characterized by significant technological changes, frequent new product and technology introductions and enhancements and evolving industry standards. As a result, our customers’ needs continue to evolve. If we do not appropriately innovate and invest in new products or technologies, our product offerings may become less desirable in the markets we serve, and our customers could move to new technologies offered by our competitors or even choose to make products themselves. Though we believe customers in our markets display a significant amount of loyalty to a particular product, we also believe that because of the initial time investment required by many of our customers to reach a purchasing decision for a new product, it may be difficult to regain that customer once the customer purchases a product from a competitor. In order to maintain positive relationships with and maintain the trust of our customers, it is crucial that we are able to continue to innovate and create new products that directly support our customers’ research goals in a cost effective, timely and efficient manner. If our competitors are able react more directly and effectively to a customer’s specific demand, this could harm our ability to retain our customers, even if we manufacture a product that is responsive to their needs.

There is also a risk that we may invest significant amounts of time and resources into a new product or product enhancement that fails to meet our high-quality standards or does not perform in the way that was intended, which could adversely affect our business. Without the timely introduction of new products, services, and enhancements to existing products or adequately meeting the changing demands of the industry, our offerings will likely become less competitive over time, in which case our competitive position, sales and operating results could suffer. Further, if a competitor were able to create a product or service that either eliminated or reduced the need for RUO antibodies and the related tools and solutions, or if there were an innovative development in the industry that made the use of antibodies no longer necessary for life science research, this could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Accordingly, we focus significant efforts and resources on the research, development and identification of new products and services that are attractive to our customers and gain acceptance in the markets we serve to further broaden our offerings. It can take significant time to identify an unmet customer need and develop a product to meet that need, and to the extent we fail to adequately anticipate or meet our customers’ needs or fail to obtain desired levels of market acceptance, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our estimates of our addressable market include several key assumptions based on our industry knowledge, industry publications, third-party research, and other surveys, which may be based on a small sample size and may fail to accurately reflect market opportunities. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, no independent source has verified such assumptions. Industry publications, research, surveys, studies, and forecasts generally state that the information they contain has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but that the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed. If any of our assumptions or estimates, or these publications, research, surveys, or studies prove to be inaccurate, then the actual market for our products may be smaller than we expect, and as a result, our product revenue may be limited and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business may be harmed if our customers discontinue or spend less on research, development, production, or other scientific endeavors.

A majority of our revenue is derived from consumers who are publicly funded through research grants. We have three primary categories of customers including: academic institutions, research institutions and pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies. Many factors, including public policy spending priorities, available resources and product and economic cycles, have a significant effect on the capital spending policies of these entities. For example, the United Kingdom’s (“U.K.”) withdrawal from the European Union (“E.U.”) has caused, and may continue to cause, uncertainty in the European markets regarding the availability of public funding for research, which has had an indirect, but not significant, impact on our U.K. business. Furthermore, the potential U.S. statutory debt limit crisis could create uncertainty in the U.S. markets regarding availability of government grants and other public funding of scientific research. Fluctuations in the research and development budgets of our customers could have a significant effect on the demand for our products. Our

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customers determine their research and development budgets based on several factors, including the need to develop new products, continued availability of governmental and other funding, competition, and the general availability of resources. If research and development budgets are reduced, or if any funding source were to influence customer selection toward another supplier, the impact could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may not successfully identify or integrate acquired businesses or assets into our operations or be able to fully recognize the anticipated benefits of businesses or assets that we acquire.

A key element of our business strategy is to complement our organic growth with acquisitions. We routinely explore acquiring other businesses and assets, and we have completed six acquisitions in the last four years, including: BioVision, Inc. (“BioVision”) in October 2021, Marker Gene Technologies, Inc. in March 2020, the gene editing platform and oncology product portfolio of Applied StemCell, Inc. in January 2020, the proteomics and immunology businesses from Expedeon AG in January 2020, the entire live cell line and lysates portfolio of EdiGene Inc. in July 2019, and Calico Biolabs Inc. in January 2019. In addition, we have acquired minority interests in SomaServe Limited and BrickBio Inc.

However, we may be unable to identify or complete promising acquisitions for many reasons, including any misjudgment of the key elements of an acquisition, competition among buyers, the high valuations of businesses in our industry, the need for regulatory and other approvals or certifications, lack of internal resources to actively pursue all attractive opportunities and availability of capital. When we do identify and complete acquisitions, we may face financial, managerial and operational challenges, including diversion of management attention and resources needed for existing operations, difficulty with integrating acquired businesses, acquiring business that are not consistent with our long-term strategies, integration of different corporate cultures, increased expenses, potential dilution of our brand, assumption of unknown liabilities, indemnities, potential disputes with the sellers and the need to evaluate the financial systems of and establish internal controls for acquired entities. Further, we seek out acquisitions of companies that maintain the same high quality standards that we maintain, and if we misjudge or overestimate a company’s product quality standards, we may not be able to use these products or implement the strategies that were the primary reason for the acquisition, which would lead to a significant loss both financially and in time spent by our teams trying to integrate the product or implement the strategy. There can be no assurance that we will engage in any additional acquisitions or that we will be able to do so on terms that will result in any expected benefits.

In addition, our ability to realize the benefits we anticipate from our acquisition activities, including any anticipated sales growth, cost synergies and other anticipated benefits, will depend in large part upon whether we are able to integrate such businesses efficiently and effectively. Integration is an ongoing process, and we may not be able to fully integrate such businesses smoothly or successfully, and the process may take longer than expected. Further, the integration of certain operations and the differences in operational culture following such activity will continue to require the dedication of significant management resources, which may distract management’s attention from day-to-day business operations. There may also be unasserted claims or assessments that we failed or were unable to discover or identify in the course of performing due diligence investigations of target businesses. If we are unable to successfully integrate the operations of acquired businesses into our business, we may be unable to realize the sales growth, cost synergies and other anticipated benefits of such transactions, and our business, results of operations and cash flow could be adversely affected.

A regional or global health pandemic, including COVID-19 and its variants which have adversely affected elements of our business, and could severely affect our business, operating results and financial condition due to impacts on our operations and supply chains, as well as actions taken to contain the disease or treat its impact, and the speed and extent of the recovery.

We engage in business globally, which subjects us to a number of unpredictable or unexpected risks and factors outside our control, including risks associated with public health crises such as epidemics and pandemics, including COVID-19 and its variants which have adversely affected global economies, financial markets and the overall environment in which we do business, and the extent to which it may impact our future results of operations and overall financial performance remains uncertain.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, elements of our business (including elements of our operations, supply chains and distribution systems) as a result of impacts associated with preventive and precautionary measures that we, other businesses, our communities and governments have taken and are taking. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers in our primary

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locations of business, including the United States, United Kingdom, and China, temporarily closed sites and required their employees to work from home if they were able to do so. Further, as the research community began to focus on COVID-19, other types of research were put on hold, which resulted in many of our customers’ research labs being forced to temporarily shut down or to operate at reduced capacity. These site closures included some of our customers’ labs, which have caused and may continue to cause customers to delay or forego purchases of our products. While many of our customers’ labs have reopened, such labs may be required to continue to operate at reduced capacity, and there can be no assurance that our customers will not be subject to further shutdowns or reductions in capacity in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. As a substantial majority of our catalogue revenue is purchased for research use only, these shutdowns and reductions in capacity have negatively impacted the global demand for our products, which resulted in slower than expected revenue growth. As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain, we may continue to experience slower than normal sales activity.

In an effort to halt the outbreak of COVID-19, many countries throughout the world, including China, placed significant restrictions on travel, including business travel, closed their borders, imposed prolonged quarantines, and many jurisdictions, such as China, may continue to close borders, impose prolonged quarantines and further restrict travel and business activity, which has impacted and could significantly impact our ability to support our operations and customers, the ability of our employees to get to their workplaces to produce products and provide services, and the availability of materials for production of our products, as well as significantly hinder or increase the costs associated with our products from moving through the supply chain. Despite the roll out of vaccines in many of our countries in which we operate, due to uncertainties to be dictated by the length of time that the COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions continue, there can be no assurance that our operations will not continue to be adversely impacted.

The duration and extent of the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic depends on future developments that cannot be accurately predicted at this time, such as continued vaccine and booster rollouts, impact of vaccine hesitancy, the severity and transmission rate of the virus and variants, and the extent and effectiveness of containment actions and the impact of these and other factors on our employees, customers, suppliers, and partners. Such impact on our business, cash flows and/or financial condition, and results of operations could be material.

To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic and associated preventive and precautionary measures adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section.

Our business depends on our ability to use and access information systems as well as our public websites, and any failure to successfully maintain these systems or public websites or implement new systems or new public websites to handle our changing needs could materially harm our operations.

We depend on standardized procedures and multiple information systems, including our online platform and distribution and Oracle Cloud ERP systems, for our operations, customer service and quality and safety procedures. Furthermore, we rely on information technology systems to process, transmit, store, and protect electronic information, including confidential customer, supplier, employee, or other business information. Through our online platform, we collect and store confidential information that customers provide in order to, among other things, purchase products and services and register on our website.

We are currently updating our systems and processes by implementing Oracle Cloud ERP and other software solutions to replace our legacy IT systems, such as Adminsite (an in house developed inventory system tracking sales order processing and finished goods), on a scale reflecting the increased size, scope and complexity of our operations. The process of migrating away from our legacy systems has disrupted and could continue to disrupt our ability to timely and accurately process information. In addition, we are also updating our public websites. Any significant delay, failure, increase in costs of these projects, any issues in transitioning from our legacy systems to new information systems (which have had and could continue to have a negative impact on our ability to upgrade our information systems) or any issues in transitioning from our current public websites to our new public websites, including those that are customer facing, may consequently adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, see Item 15. “Controls and Procedures”.

We also utilize other commercially available third-party technology solutions, software, and software systems with some proprietary configurations. We also store data using third-party cloud services. Our information systems and our public websites are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches, vandalism, catastrophic events, natural

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disasters, terrorist attacks, hackers, and other security issues as well as human error. Given the age and lack of support of some of our legacy systems, these risks may be greater. If our new or legacy information systems or our new or our current public websites are damaged, fail to work properly or otherwise become unavailable, we may incur substantial costs to repair or replace them, including inflation-related costs, and we may experience a loss of critical information, customer disruption and interruptions or delays in our ability to perform essential functions and implement new and innovative services. If the cloud service providers we use were to experience unplanned downtime, delays or other issues delivering data to our information technology systems or our public websites, including due to increased usage as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, it could significantly and adversely impact business operations. A compromise of our information systems or those with which we interact could harm our reputation and expose us to regulatory actions and claims from customers and other persons, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, we may not have the necessary resources to enhance existing information systems or implement new systems where necessary to handle our increasing volume and/or our changing needs, and as a result we may continue to experience unanticipated delays, complications, and expenses in implementing and integrating our systems. Any interruptions in operations would adversely affect our ability to properly allocate resources and timely deliver our products, which could result in customer dissatisfaction. For example, we implemented a new Oracle Cloud ERP system sales and distribution module, which in the second half of the year ended December 31, 2022 (predominately September and October) interrupted operations and resulted in delays in our ability to ship finished products and collect revenue, and there can be no assurance that we will not encounter such problems in the future. For more information, see Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Results of Operations” Furthermore, as we currently still rely on certain legacy systems that are no longer supported by the manufacturers, with only a small number of current employees able to maintain these systems. Any failure of these systems could have a significant business impact. The failure to successfully implement and maintain information systems have had and could continue to have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain new business, retain existing business and maintain or increase our sales and profit margins, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Cyber security risks and the failure to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our computer hardware, software and internet applications and related tools and functions, could result in damage to our reputation, data integrity and/or subject us to costs, fines or lawsuits under data privacy or other laws or contractual requirements.

The integrity and protection of our own data, and that of our customers and employees, is critical to our business. The regulatory environment governing information, security and privacy laws is increasingly demanding and continues to evolve. Implementing and maintaining compliance with applicable security and privacy regulations may increase our operating costs and/or adversely impact our ability to market our products and services to customers. Although our computer and communications hardware are protected through physical and software safeguards, they are still vulnerable to fire, storm, flood, power loss, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, physical or software break-ins, software viruses, and similar events. Furthermore, the increase in remote working may also result in additional consumer privacy, IT security, and fraud-related risks. These events could lead to the unauthorized access, disclosure, and use of non-public information.

We could be subject to risks caused by misappropriation, misuse, leakage, falsification, system malfunction or intentional or accidental release or provision of access to or loss of information maintained in our information systems and networks and those of our third-party suppliers. The contractors, consultants, business partners, and/or other third parties that we work with may not maintain the same high-quality physical and software safeguards and information and technology systems and controls to prevent cyber security threats that we maintain. Further, these third parties may be vulnerable to breakdown, intrusions, or other damage or interruption from service interruptions, system malfunctions, natural disasters, terrorism, cyberattack, and telecommunication and electrical failures, as well as security breaches from their own inadvertent or intentional actions. For example, in the year ended December 31, 2022, one of our contractors mistakenly posted the application programming interface (“API”) credentials of some of Abcam’s commercial production and business environments in a public workspace. As a result, there was the potential for an unauthorized third party with knowledge of how to use such API credentials to gain access to sensitive information. While we reported the incident and notified those that could have been affected, we have no evidence to suggest that our systems or any such information was accessed by any unauthorized third party, but we cannot guarantee that such incidents will not have an impact in the future. Furthermore, any companies we acquire may not maintain the same high-quality physical and software safeguards and information and technology systems and controls to prevent cyber security threats that we maintain. There may also be pre-existing cybersecurity incidents or risks that we failed or were unable to

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discover or identify in the course of performing due diligence investigations of target businesses. In addition, the techniques used by criminal elements to attack computer systems are sophisticated, change frequently and may originate from less regulated and remote areas of the world. As a result, we may not be able to address these techniques proactively or implement adequate preventative measures. We are also reliant on the quality of our training of employees to allow them to spot and appropriately respond to cyber security threats.

We have been subject to a number of actual and attempted cyber-attacks such as through phishing scams and require employees to remain vigilant to ensure that such attempts are unsuccessful. Although none of these actual or attempted cyber-attacks has had a material adverse impact on our operations or financial condition, we cannot guarantee that any such incidents will not have such an impact in the future. If our computer systems are compromised, we could be subject to fines, damages, litigation and enforcement actions, customers could curtail or cease using its applications, and we could lose trade secrets, the occurrence of which could harm our business. If we are unable to maintain reliable information technology systems and appropriate controls with respect to global data privacy and security requirements and prevent data breaches, we may suffer regulatory consequences in addition to business consequences. As a global organization, we are subject to data privacy and security laws, regulations, and customer-imposed controls in numerous jurisdictions as a result of having access to and processing confidential, personal and/or sensitive data in the course of our business. There are numerous U.S. federal and state laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of personal information. In particular, regulations promulgated pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) establish privacy and security standards that limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information (known as “protected health information”) and require the implementation of administrative, physical and technological safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. Determining whether protected health information has been handled in compliance with applicable privacy standards and our contractual obligations can require complex factual and statistical analyses and may be subject to changing interpretation. Although we take measures to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, use or disclosure, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or viruses or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other malicious or inadvertent disruptions. Any such breach or interruption could compromise our networks, and the information stored there could be accessed by unauthorized parties, manipulated, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, breach or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings and liability under federal or state laws that protect the privacy of personal information, such as the HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act and may result in regulatory penalties. Notice of breaches must be made to affected individuals, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), and for extensive breaches, notice may need to be made to the media or state Attorneys General. Such a notice could harm our brand and reputation and adversely affect our ability to compete.

Additionally, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (along with its implementing regulations) (the “GLBA”) restricts certain collection, processing, storage, use and disclosure by covered companies of certain personal information, requires notice to individuals of privacy practices and provides individuals with certain rights to prevent the use and disclosure of certain non-public or otherwise legally protected information. The GLBA also imposes requirements regarding the safeguarding and proper destruction of personal information through the issuance of data security standards or guidelines. In addition, many U.S. states in which we operate now or may operate in the future have laws that protect the privacy and security of sensitive and personal information. Certain U.S. state laws may be more stringent or broader in scope, or offer greater individual rights, with respect to sensitive and personal information than federal, international or other state laws, and such laws may differ from each other, which may complicate compliance efforts. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), which went into effect on January 1, 2020, imposes stringent data privacy and security requirements and obligations with respect to the personal information of California residents and households. Among other things, it requires covered companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers and provide such consumers new data protection and privacy rights, including the ability to opt-out of certain sales of personal information. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for certain data breaches that result in the loss of personal information that may increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. It remains unclear how various provisions of the CCPA will be interpreted and enforced, and multiple states have enacted or are expected to enact similar laws. The effects of the CCPA and other similar state laws on our business are potentially significant and may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur costs and expenses in an effort to comply. State laws are changing rapidly, and there is discussion in U.S. Congress of a new federal data protection and privacy law to which we may be subject.

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In Europe, laws, regulations, and standards in many jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, use, retention, security, disclosure, transfer and other processing of personal information. For example, in the European Economic Area (the “EEA”), the collection and use of personal data is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). The GDPR came into effect in May 2018, superseding the European Union Data Protection Directive and imposing more stringent data privacy and security requirements on companies in relation to the processing of personal data of European Union (“EU”) data subjects. The GDPR, together with national legislation, regulations and guidelines of EU member states govern the processing of personal data, impose strict obligations and restrictions on the ability to collect, use, retain, protect, disclose, transfer, and otherwise process personal data. In particular, the GDPR includes obligations and restrictions concerning the consent and rights of individuals to whom the personal data relates; providing detailed disclosures about how personal data is collected and processed (in a concise, intelligible and easily accessible form); demonstrating that an appropriate legal basis is in place or otherwise exists to justify data processing activities; granting rights for data subjects in regard to their personal data (including data access rights, the right to be “forgotten” and the right to data portability); introducing the obligation to notify data protection regulators or supervisory authorities (and in certain cases, affected individuals) of significant data breaches; imposing limitations on retention of personal data; maintaining a record of data processing; and complying with the principle of accountability and the obligation to demonstrate compliance through policies, procedures, training and audit.

Fines for certain violations of the GDPR are significant. e.g., up to 4.0% of a company’s global annual revenue or €20 million, whichever is greater. Such fines are in addition to any civil litigation claims by customers and data subjects. European data protection authorities may interpret the GDPR and national laws differently and` impose additional requirements, which contributes to the complexity of processing personal data in or from the EEA. Guidance on implementation and compliance practices is often updated or otherwise revised. From January 1, 2021, we are subject to the GDPR and also the UK GDPR, which, together with the amended UK Data Protection Act 2018, retains the GDPR in UK national law. The UK GDPR mirrors the fines under the GDPR, e.g. fines up to the greater of €20.0 million / £17.5 million or 4.0% of global turnover.

We are also subject to EU and United Kingdom rules with respect to cross-border transfers of personal data out of the EEA and the United Kingdom, respectively. Recent legal developments in Europe have created complexity and uncertainty regarding transfers of personal data from the EEA and the United Kingdom to the United States. Most recently, on July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework (“Privacy Shield”) under which personal data could be transferred from the EEA to US entities who had self-certified under the Privacy Shield scheme.

While the CJEU upheld the adequacy of the standard contractual clauses (a standard form of contract approved by the European Commission as an adequate personal data transfer mechanism, and potential alternative to the Privacy Shield), it made clear that reliance on them alone may not necessarily be sufficient in all circumstances. Use of the standard contractual clauses must now be assessed on a case-by-case basis taking into account the legal regime applicable in the destination country, in particular applicable surveillance laws and rights of individuals and additional measures and/or contractual provisions may need to be put in place. The European Commission has published revised standard contractual clauses for data transfers from the EEA: the revised clauses have been mandatory for relevant transfers since September 27, 2021; existing standard contractual clauses arrangements must be migrated to the revised clauses by December 27, 2022. The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office has published new data transfer standard contracts for transfers from the UK under the UK GDPR. This new documentation will be mandatory for relevant data transfers from September 21, 2022; existing standard contractual clauses arrangements must be migrated to the new documentation by March 21, 2024.

Several other countries, such as China and Russia, have also passed laws that require personal data relating to their citizens to be maintained on local servers and impose additional data transfer restrictions, which could increase the cost and complexity of delivering our products and services.

We are also reliant on certain manual processes for collecting and processing data, and any failures in these processes or failure to handle the data collected in accordance with relevant regulations could lead to enforcement actions. Complying with all applicable laws, regulations, standards, and obligations relating to data privacy, security and transfers may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to modify our data processing practices and processes. Government enforcement actions can be costly and interrupt the regular operation of our business, and data breaches or violations of data privacy laws can result in significant fines, reputational damage, and civil lawsuits, any of which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and

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results of operations. We may not be able to respond quickly or effectively to regulatory, legislative, and other developments, and these changes may in turn impair our ability to commercialize our products or increase our cost of doing business. In addition, if our practices are not consistent or viewed as not consistent with legal and regulatory requirements, including changes in laws, regulations and standards or new interpretations or applications of existing laws, regulations, and standards, we may become subject to audits, inquiries, whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, loss of export privileges, severe criminal or civil sanctions or reputational damage. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our business may suffer if we do not successfully manage our current and potential future growth.

We have rapidly expanded our operations and anticipate expanding further as we pursue our growth strategies. Such expansion increases the complexity of our business and places a significant strain on our management, operations, technical systems, financial resources, and internal control over financial reporting functions. Our current and planned personnel, systems, procedures, and controls may not be adequate to support and effectively manage our future operations, especially as we employ personnel and maintain manufacturing facilities and distribution networks in several geographic locations. Across a range of business areas, we currently use systems and processes that are overly manual and reaching the limit of their scalability, and as we continue to grow and expand our business, these systems and processes will become outdated and will need to be replaced with more automated and up-to-date systems to maintain our growth. These systems and processes also interact with our inventory management and demand planning, and any failure in these systems or in the transition to updated systems, may make it more likely we do not adequately anticipate and plan for business growth, which has resulted in increased times for order fulfilment or order backlogs, and potentially may reduce customer satisfaction and reduced order conversion. In addition, given the rapid growth of our business on these overly manual systems, there may be certain contractual terms, including royalties, that are not properly monitored. We may not be able to manage our expansion effectively, and failure to update and replace these systems and processes may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are also continuously expanding our product portfolio and establishing and developing these new products requires significant management time and attention. If these products do not achieve the anticipated success or require greater levels of time and investment to reach the expected levels, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Failure to appropriately integrate new products and business lines into our existing operations and systems can also affect the success of these products, and failure to adequately anticipate and plan for this integration could affect the success of these products and may also negatively impact our existing product offerings.

Significant interruptions in our operations could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Manufacturing, distribution, service, and logistics problems can and do arise, including in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and any such problems could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Accordingly, any significant disruptions to the operations of our manufacturing or distribution centers or logistics providers for any reason, including labor relations issues, power interruptions, severe weather, fire or other circumstances beyond our control could cause our operating expenses to increase without coverage or compensation or seriously harm our ability to fulfill our customers’ orders or deliver products on a timely basis, or both. We must also maintain sufficient production capacity in order to meet anticipated customer demand, which carries fixed costs that we may not be able to offset if orders slow, which would adversely affect our operating margins. If we are unable to manufacture or source our products consistently, in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, our sales, gross margins and our other operating results will be materially and adversely affected. Prompt shipment of our products is also very important to our business. We have experienced problems with or delays in our production, shipping and logistics capabilities, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and implementation of new systems across a range of business areas to replace processes that are overly manual and reaching the limit of their scalability as we continue to grow and expand our business that resulted in delays in our ability to ship finished products, and there can be no assurance that we will not encounter such problems in the future. If we experience significant delays in our manufacturing, shipping, or logistics processes, this could cause disruption to our customers and damage our current and future customer relationships and may adversely affect our business. Such delays may also adversely impact our new product development. For example, if we were to lose one of our sites where new product development is undertaken, we may not be able to transfer or replicate that product development at another site, with the result of

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a loss of the time and financial costs of development of the new product. We also use small quantities of high-risk chemicals in the manufacture of certain of our products, which are subject to handling risks, and any disruption in our ability to source or appropriately store these chemicals could adversely affect our manufacturing operations.

In addition, as we are reliant on biological processes to manufacture many of our products, any loss or interruption to the systems that allow us to maintain optimal growth or storage conditions for our materials or products could lead to a loss of significant sections of our product portfolio, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If a biological contaminant, such as bacteria, mold, yeasts, viruses or mycoplasma, were to affect our materials or our products, or if our materials or products were cross contaminated, it could affect the quality of our products, our inventory levels and disrupt our manufacturing and distribution processes, as well as those of our customers. We have quality control procedures in place to detect and correct such disruptions, but there can be no assurance that these procedures will always function properly. Any disruption to our manufacturing operations would disrupt our ability to serve our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, any contamination of our customers’ laboratories caused by our products could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our offerings are highly complex, and, if our products do not satisfy applicable quality criteria, specifications, and performance standards, we could experience lost sales, delayed or reduced market acceptance of our products, increased costs and damage to our reputation.

The products we offer are highly exacting and complex due to their biological nature and demanding customer specifications. Providing high-quality products in terms of specificity, sensitivity, and consistency, together with extensive product validation data is a fundamental driver of customer loyalty and our reputation with life science researchers. Our operating results depend on our ability to execute and, when necessary, improve our global quality control systems, including our ability to effectively train and maintain our employees with respect to quality control. A failure of our global quality control systems could result in problems with facility operations or preparation or provision of defective or non-compliant products. In each case, such problems could arise for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with critical materials and components, or environmental factors and damage to, or loss of, manufacturing operations. Such problems could affect production of a particular batch or series of batches of products, requiring the destruction of such products or a halt of facility production altogether.

Our success depends on our customers’ confidence that we can provide reliable, consistently high-quality products, which includes our ability to provide validated data to support our customers’ use of our products. Our reputation and the public image of our products and technologies may be impaired if our products fail to perform as expected or fail to meet our or our customers’ applicable quality criteria, specifications, or performance standards. High-quality reagents, for example, are necessary for critical research progress; unreliable reagents may impede researchers’ ability to reproduce experiments and can lead to wasted time and money. If our products experience, or are perceived to experience, a material defect or error, this could result in loss or delay of sales, damaged reputation, diversion of development resources and increased insurance or warranty costs, any of which could harm our business. These risks are amplified in respect of our new product lines as we implement appropriate quality control criteria. We are reliant to an extent on customer feedback on the quality of our products, and it may take additional time for new products to meet the desired quality. Such defects or errors could also result in our inability to timely deliver products to our customers, which could in turn cause disruptions to our customers’ ability to obtain results, narrowing the scope of the use of our products and ultimately hindering our or their success in relevant markets. Even after any underlying concerns or problems are resolved, any lingering concerns in our target markets regarding our technology, product defects or performance standards could continue to result in lost sales, delayed market acceptance and damaged reputation, among other things. If problems in preparation or manufacture of a product, or failures to meet required quality standards for that product, or other product defects are not discovered before such product is released to our customers, we may be subject to adverse legal or regulatory actions, including halting of manufacture and distribution, restrictions on our operations, civil sanctions, including monetary sanctions, and criminal actions. In addition, such problems or failures subject us to other litigation claims, including claims from our customers for reimbursement for the cost of lost or damaged materials. Our customers also require specific information regarding our products and their uses, and any inaccuracies in this information could lead to products being sold for the wrong uses and may result in our having to refund or replace the products in question. Any of the above problems may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.

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If we fail to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We believe that maintaining and enhancing our brand and reputation are of significant importance to the success of our business. We work to set a very high standard for the quality of our products and our ethical business practices, and we believe that this has been crucial to our success. We have employed and will continue to employ different types of consumer experience and interaction touchpoints designed to gauge consumer satisfaction with our products, including our customer website, e-sales and digital marketing, and we also engage in rigorous product validation in order to continue to improve our product quality. We cannot guarantee, however, that these activities will be successful or that we will be able to continue to maintain our brand and reputation as we expect. For example, in the year ended December 31, 2022, we implemented a new branding approach: “progress happens together,” which includes articles and podcasts that are dedicated to bringing scientists together by telling their stories, highlighting the importance of teamwork and collaboration among scientists, and other scientific customer experiences. We cannot guarantee that our new branding approach will be successful or that we will be able to continue to maintain our brand and reputation as we expect. If our brand strength deteriorates, or if our brand is no longer associated with high-quality products, it could lead to fewer publication citations for our products, which could in turn further weaken our brand recognition and reputation. Customers often choose the most-cited brand or product, and if another brand were to overtake ours in frequency of citations, our business could be adversely affected. In addition, our competitors may increase the intensity of their consumer interactions or customer feedback processes, which may force us to increase our advertising spend to engage with our customer base and maintain brand and reputational awareness. Our ability to attract and retain customers is also influenced by our prominence in search engines. Any changes to our prominence in search engines, whether as a result of revised algorithms, improved search engine optimization by our competitors or failure to respond to changes in online activity may negatively impact our brand and reputation or to convert customer interactions into sales.

In addition, any negative publicity relating to our products or services, regardless of its veracity, could harm our brand and the perception of our brand in the market. With an increasing global focus on ethical business practices and good corporate behavior, and with such issues directly influencing consumer behavior, any failure to achieve or maintain the levels of corporate governance, social and environmental impact and corporate behaviors expected of us, including demonstrating dedication to the benefits of diversity, could negatively impact our brand and reputation. If our brand is harmed, we may not be able to gain new customers or continue to maintain positive relationships with our customers, and our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Part of our growth strategy is to increase direct customer interactions in multiple countries. Failure to anticipate and react to particular geographic requirements and sensitivities may have a negative impact on our brand and reputation, which may result in a decrease in sales or sales growth in such countries, which may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

The loss of a significant number of customers or a reduction in orders from a significant number of customers could reduce our sales and harm our operating results.

Our operating results could be negatively affected by the loss of revenue from a significant number of our customers. Our sales are widely distributed, and many of our customers typically place smaller value orders in high volumes. We have other customers with whom we maintain close business relationships, working closely to build the specific custom tools they need, which will then become part of our product portfolio. These relationships often present larger commercial opportunities, and our operating results could be adversely affected by the loss of a significant number of these customers, particularly during the product development phase. For the year ended December 31, 2022, no single customer accounted for more than 3% of our revenue.

Though we often offer pricing and volume incentives, our customers are generally not obligated to purchase any fixed quantities of products, and they may stop placing orders with us at any time. If a significant number of customers purchase fewer of our products, defer orders, or fail to place additional orders with us for any reason, our sales could decline, and our operating results may not meet our expectations. In addition, if those customers order our products, but fail to pay on time or at all, our liquidity and operating results could be adversely affected.

Our contracts generally do not contain minimum purchase requirements, and the majority of our sales are on a purchase order basis. Therefore, our sales are subject to changes in demand from our customers. The level and

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timing of orders placed by our customers vary for a number of reasons, including individual customer strategies, the introduction of new technologies, the desire of our customers to reduce their exposure to any single supplier and general economic conditions. If we are unable to anticipate and respond to the demands of our customers, if we have an inadequate supply of products, insufficient capacity in our sites or if we experience any disruptions to our supply chain or distribution network, we may lose customers. Alternatively, we may have excess inventory or excess capacity, and either of these factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Though we do generate a portion of our sales from long-term contracts, the majority of these contracts are non-exclusive and do not require a minimum purchase volume. This makes it difficult to estimate our customers’ demand for our products and our critical material and component needs. In addition, though we believe customers in our markets display a significant amount of loyalty to a particular product, we may not be able to renew a contract on favorable pricing terms if our competitors reduce their prices in order to procure business, or if a customer insists that we lower the price charged under the contract being renewed in order to retain the contract. In addition, if we enter into a contract with a customer on unfavorable terms, it may harm our ability to negotiate our future contracts with that customer or with other customers. The loss of sales obtained through long-term contracts, or the reduced profitability of such sales could adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations depend upon the availability of critical materials and components.

Our operations depend upon our ability to obtain high-quality third-party products and materials meeting our specifications and other requirements at reasonable prices, including various components, storage and growth media and other materials. Our ability to maintain an adequate supply of such critical materials and components could be impacted by the availability and price of those materials and maintaining relationships with suppliers. While we may seek to minimize the impact of price increases and potential shortages by, among other things, entering into long-term supply agreements, increasing our own prices and implementing cost-saving measures, our earnings and cash flows could be adversely affected in the event these measures are insufficient to cover our costs. Moreover, while we aim to maintain a large network of product suppliers, we are unable to predict any interruption or disruption in service from our key suppliers, due to for example health epidemics, pandemics, and other outbreaks, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Any interruption or disruption in service from particular suppliers of components and materials means that interruptions or stoppages in such deliveries could adversely affect our operations until arrangements with alternate suppliers, to the extent any alternate suppliers acceptable to us and, if applicable, to our customers, even exist. If this occurs, we could expend substantial expense and time in re-establishing relationships with third-party suppliers that meet the appropriate quality, cost and regulatory requirements needed for commercially viable manufacture of our products or in re-designing our products to incorporate different components and materials that are available from third-party suppliers. If we are unable to obtain the materials we need at reasonable prices or at all, we may not be able to produce certain of our products at a marketable price or at all. If our supply of materials and components is adversely affected, including among other reasons, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we could impact our customers’ ability to conduct their research, damage our relationship with current and prospective customers and our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Moreover, we are dependent upon the ability of our suppliers to provide materials and components that meet our specifications, quality standards, other applicable criteria and delivery schedules. Our suppliers’ failure to provide expected materials or components that meet such criteria could adversely affect production schedules and contract profitability. The continued supply of high-quality third-party products and materials from our suppliers is subject to a number of risks, including:

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If we experience problems with suppliers, we may not be able to find acceptable alternatives, and any such alternatives could result in increased costs for us and possible forward losses on certain contracts. Even if acceptable alternatives are found, the process of locating and securing such alternatives might be disruptive to our business, might lead to termination of our supply agreements with our customers and might disrupt the operations of our customers leading to potential claims, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to risks associated with global operations.

We engage in business globally, with 64% and 57% of our catalogue revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, respectively, coming from outside the United States. Global operations subject us to a number of risks, some of which have been and could continue to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as international economic, political and labor conditions; currency fluctuations; any unstable banking systems; tax laws (including U.S. taxes on foreign subsidiaries); increased financial accounting and reporting burdens and complexities; unexpected changes in, or impositions of, legislative or regulatory requirements; failure of laws to protect intellectual property rights adequately; inadequate local infrastructure and difficulties in managing and staffing international operations; delays resulting from difficulty in obtaining import or export licenses; limitations on repatriation of funds; tariffs, quotas and other trade barriers and restrictions; transportation delays; operating in locations with a higher incidence of corruption and fraudulent business practices; limitations on our ability to enforce legal rights and remedies with third parties and other factors beyond our control, including terrorism, war (including in light of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine which may divert governmental and other funding from life sciences to the Ukraine military effort), natural disasters, climate change and diseases. Overall demand for our products could be reduced as a result of a global economic recession or political unrest, especially in areas such as healthcare, education and research. In addition, geopolitical conflicts have had an impact on global economic conditions and has led to increased inflationary pressure and rising interest rates, which we expect will lead to an increase in rental payments we owe in connection with certain of our leases as they come up for renewal or rent review, including our headquarters located at Discovery Drive, Cambridge, United Kingdom, the rent for which is up for review during 2023, which may have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Customers or suppliers may experience cash flow problems, including in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and related response measures, and as a result, customers have and may continue to modify, delay or cancel plans to purchase our products. Any inability of current and/or potential customers to purchase and/or pay for our products due to, among other things, declining economic conditions as a result of inflation, rising interest rates, changes in spending patterns and the effects of governmental initiatives to manage economic conditions may have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in U.S. social, political (including as a result of the potential U.S. statutory debt limit standoff), regulatory and economic conditions or laws and policies governing banking and healthcare systems and drug prices, foreign trade, manufacturing and development and investment in the territories and countries where we or our customers operate could adversely affect our business and our operating results.

The application of laws and regulations implicating global transactions is often unclear and may at times conflict. Compliance with these laws and regulations may involve significant costs or require changes in our business practices that result in reduced revenue and profitability. For example, we may be exposed to any changes in national or international regulations governing the transport of biological products across borders. Non-compliance could also result in fines, damages, criminal sanctions, prohibited business conduct and damage to our reputation. We incur additional legal compliance costs associated with our global operations and could become subject to legal penalties in foreign countries if we do not comply with local laws and regulations, which may be substantially different from those in the United Kingdom or United States. Any such non-compliance, even if prohibited by our internal policies, could have an adverse effect on our business and result in significant fines or penalties.

Trade relations between China and the United States could materially and adversely affect our business.

Changes in political conditions in the United States and China and changes in the state of China-U.S. relations are difficult to predict and could adversely affect our business. We currently sell products in China and

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have invested, and will continue to invest, in providing localized product support, operations and technology to better serve customers in China, and if the Chinese government makes any changes to its laws or policy concerning foreign ownership of companies or assets located within China, or imposes any significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into or out of China, it could have a significant impact on our business and financial results.

In addition, because of our continuing focus on strategic investment into providing more products to the life science and academic research market in China, any deterioration in political or trade relations might cause a public perception in the United States or elsewhere that may cause our products to become less attractive. We cannot predict what effect any changes in China-U.S. relations may have on our ability to access capital or effectively operate in China, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Geopolitical conflicts have had an impact on global economic conditions and has led to increased inflationary pressure and rising interest rates, which may have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

For example, the United States has recently experienced historically high levels of inflation. The annual inflation rate for the United States was approximately 6.5% for the year ended December 31, 2022. Similarly, the United Kingdom has recently experienced historically high levels of inflation. The annual inflation rate for the United Kingdom was approximately 9.2% for the year ended December 31, 2022 As inflation rates continue to increase or persist for a prolonged period of time, it may continue to affect our expenses, including, but not limited to, employee compensation expenses and benefits as well as increased general administrative costs, such as rents and utilities. In the event inflation continues to increase, we may have to consider increasing the prices of our products and services in order to maintain satisfactory margins. Any attempts to offset cost increases with price increases may result in reduced sales, increase customer dissatisfaction, or otherwise harm our reputation. Moreover, to the extent inflation has other adverse effects on the market, it may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As a multinational corporation, we are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which could adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.

International markets contribute a substantial portion of our revenue, and we intend to continue expanding our presence in these regions. The exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates takes on different forms. International revenue and costs are subject to the risk that fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our reported revenue and profitability when translated into pounds sterling for financial reporting purposes. The majority of our revenue is denominated in U.S. dollars, and the majority of our costs and our borrowings under our revolving credit facility are in British pounds sterling. These fluctuations could also adversely affect the demand for products and services provided by us. As a multinational corporation, our businesses occasionally invoice third-party customers in currencies other than the one in which they primarily do business (the “functional currency”). Movements in the invoiced currency relative to the functional currency could adversely impact our cash flows and our results of operations. As our international sales grow, exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates could have a larger effect on our financial results. In the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, currency translation had a negative effect of £10.9 million and a positive effect of £19.0 million, respectively, on revenue due to the exchange rate between Pound Sterling and U.S. Dollar. See Item 11. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”

We are subject to product liability and other claims in the ordinary course of business.

Our business involves risk of product liability, claims related to providing incorrect product information at the time of purchase and other claims in the ordinary course of business arising from the products that we source from various manufacturers or produce ourselves. Furthermore, there may be product liability risks that are unknown, or which become known in the future. Substantial, complex, or extended litigation on any claim could cause us to incur significant costs and distract our management. For example, lawsuits by governmental authorities, employees, shareholders, suppliers, collaborators, distributors, customers, competitors, or others could be very costly and substantially disrupt our business. Our exposure to such claims may increase as we seek to increase the geographic scope of our sourcing and sales activities and to the extent that we expand our manufacturing operations. We maintain insurance policies and, in some cases, our suppliers, customers and predecessors of acquired companies have indemnified us against certain claims. We cannot assure you that our insurance coverage or indemnification agreements will be available in all pending or any future cases brought

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against us. Furthermore, our ability to recover under any insurance or indemnification arrangements is subject to the terms and conditions of such insurance or indemnification agreement, as well as the financial viability of our and such third parties’ insurers, as well as legal enforcement under the local laws governing these arrangements. Insurance coverage in general or coverage for certain types of liabilities, such as product liability in developing markets, may not be readily available for purchase or cost-effective for us to purchase. Furthermore, many of our insurance policies are subject to deductibles and retentions. Accordingly, we could be subject to uninsured and unindemnified future liabilities requiring us to provide additional reserves to address such liabilities. An unfavorable result in a case for which adequate insurance or indemnification is not available could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are also involved in various disputes, litigation, and regulatory matters incidental to and in the ordinary course of our business, including employment matters, commercial disputes, government compliance matters, environmental matters, and other matters arising out of the normal conduct of our business. Where merited, we will vigorously defend ourselves in such matters. While the impact of this litigation has or may be immaterial, there can be no assurance that the impact of the pending and any future claims will not be material to our business, financial condition, or results of operations in the future.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations depend upon maintaining our relationships with suppliers.

Our ability to sustain our gross margins has been, and will continue to be, dependent in part upon our ability to obtain favorable terms from our suppliers. These terms may change from time to time, and such changes could adversely affect our gross margins over time. In addition, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely impacted by the acceleration of payment terms to our suppliers and/or the imposition of more restrictive credit terms and other contractual requirements. Further, if for any reason we enter into a contract with a supplier on unfavorable terms, it may harm our ability to negotiate our future contracts with that supplier or with other suppliers.

Some of our competitors are increasing their manufacturing operations both internally and through acquisitions of manufacturers, including manufacturers that supply products to us. In addition, we manufacture certain products that may compete directly with products we source from our suppliers. To date, we have not experienced an adverse impact on our ability to continue to source products from manufacturers that have been vertically integrated or otherwise compete with us, although there is no assurance that we will not experience such an impact in the future.

The loss of one or more of our large suppliers, including as a result of consolidation, a material reduction in their supply of products or provision of services to us, extended disruptions or interruptions in their operations or material changes in the terms we obtain from them, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are highly dependent on our management and employees. Competition for our employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees that we need to support our business and our intended future growth.

Our success largely depends on the skills, experience, and continued efforts of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our senior leadership. The replacement of certain members of our global leadership team would likely involve the expenditure of significant time and financial resources, and the loss of any such individual may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives. As we continue to grow, our success also depends on our ability to attract, motivate, and retain highly qualified individuals who will also fit within the Abcam culture. Competition for senior management and other personnel in our industry is intense, and the pool of suitable candidates is limited. If qualified personnel become scarce or difficult to attract or retain in our industry for compensation-related or other reasons, we could experience higher labor, recruiting or training costs. Further, new hires may require significant training and time before they achieve full productivity and may not become as productive as we expect. The failure to attract, retain and properly motivate members of our senior management team and other employees, to find suitable replacements for them in the event of death, illness, or their desire to pursue other professional opportunities, or to maintain our corporate culture as we continue to grow, could have a negative effect on our operating results.

We are also reliant on contractors in certain key operational roles. While we are seeking to replace such contractors with permanent employees, until such appointments are made, we are subject to the risk inherent in

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the use of contractors, including the risk that they accept an alternative engagement or that they are not sufficiently motivated, incentivized or aligned to our commercial objectives.

We may be required to record a significant charge to earnings if our goodwill and other amortizable intangible assets or other investments become impaired.

We are required under IFRS to test goodwill for impairment at least annually and to review our goodwill, amortizable intangible assets and other investments, including those acquired through acquisition activity, for impairment when events or changes in circumstance indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors that could lead to impairment of goodwill, amortizable intangible assets, and other investments, including those acquired through acquisitions, include significant adverse changes in the business climate and actual or projected operating results and declines in the financial condition of our business.

During the year ended 31 December 2022, assets relating to Firefly BioWorks multiplex and assay technology, were actively marketed, and classified as held for sale. We were not successful in locating a buyer for these assets and a decision was made to discontinue our investment in these products and technology. As such we incurred an impairment charge of £18.3m for the assets classified as held for sale, of which £1.6m and £15.8m related to assets reclassified out of goodwill and amortizable intangibles respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we experienced an impairment charge of £2.1 million as a result of a software asset developed as part of the Oracle Cloud ERP project that was no longer required. In this same period, we experienced an impairment charge of £1.1 million in internally developed technology assets related to AxioMx, Inc. for which the technology developed will not be used. The assets were capitalized in 2020. In addition, for the year ended June 30, 2020, we experienced an impairment charge of £14.9 million that was related to the full impairment of the acquisition intangible in respect of our in vitro monoclonal antibody production technology that we acquired from AxioMx, Inc. in 2015 and subsequent post-acquisition expenditures that were capitalized. This arose following an appraisal of the ability to utilize at scale this technology, whereby, although technical feasibility remains valid, the challenges to realize material commercial returns have resulted in the conclusion not to further pursue active development and substantive utilization of this specific acquired technology.

Our reputation, ability to do business and results of operations may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, agents, or business partners.

We cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and compliance systems will always protect us from acts committed by employees, agents, or business partners of ours (including third-party suppliers, distributors or of businesses we acquire or partner with) that would violate U.S. and/or other national laws, including the laws governing payments to government officials, bribery, fraud, kickbacks and false claims, pricing, sales and marketing practices, conflicts of interest, competition, export and import compliance, money laundering and data privacy. In particular, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, and we operate in many parts of the world that have experienced corruption to some degree. We may enter new jurisdictions and will need to abide by anti-bribery laws in those jurisdictions. All of our employees are required to undertake regular training on topics like anti-bribery, corruption and data protection legislation, among others. Additionally, we require our suppliers and distributors to sign up and abide by our Supplier and Distributor Codes of Conduct; however, there can be no assurance that our employees, suppliers, and distributors will not engage in improper actions. Any such improper actions or allegations of such acts could damage our reputation and subject us to civil or criminal investigations in the United States and in other jurisdictions, and any related shareholder lawsuits could lead to substantial civil and criminal, monetary and nonmonetary penalties and could cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees. In addition, a government may seek to hold us liable as a successor for violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire. We also rely on our suppliers to adhere to our supplier standards of conduct, and material violations of such standards of conduct could occur that could have a material effect on our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

The indemnification provisions of acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies or businesses may not fully protect us, and we may face unexpected liabilities.

Certain of the acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies or businesses require the former owners to indemnify us against certain liabilities related to the operation of the company or business before we acquired it. In most of these agreements, however, the liability of the former owners is limited, and certain former owners may be unable to meet their indemnification responsibilities. While we have limited

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escrow and retention agreements in place relating to our acquisitions, these may not be enough to cover our exposure if a significant liability arose in connection with any acquisition agreement. We cannot assure you that these indemnification provisions, escrow agreements and retention agreements will protect us fully or at all, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Certain aspects of our business rely on relationships with collaborative partners, distributors and other third parties for development, supply and marketing of certain products and potential products, and such collaborative partners or other third parties could fail to perform sufficiently.

We believe that success in penetrating certain geographic markets depends in part on our ability to develop and maintain relationships with key distributors. Relying on distribution relationships is risky because, among other things, our distributors may: not devote sufficient resources to the sales of our products; fail to obtain approvals necessary to distribute our products; be acquired by other companies and terminate our distribution agreements or become insolvent; or decline to renew existing agreements on acceptable terms. Because these and other factors may be beyond our control, the distribution of our products in certain jurisdictions may be delayed or otherwise adversely affected. If we or any of our distributors terminate a distribution agreement, we may be required to devote additional resources to commercialization and distribution, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in our tax rates, unavailability of certain tax credits or reliefs or exposure to additional tax liabilities or assessments could affect our profitability, and audits by tax authorities could result in additional tax payments for prior periods.

We are affected by various U.S. and non-U.S. taxes, including direct and indirect taxes imposed on our global activities, such as corporate income, withholding, customs, excise, value-added, sales and other taxes. Significant judgment is required in determining our provisions for taxes, and there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is not fully certain, or an alternative calculation has been applied.

The amount of income tax we pay is subject to ongoing audits by U.S. federal, state and local tax authorities and by non-U.S. tax authorities. If audits result in payments or assessments different from our reserves, our future results may include unfavorable adjustments to our tax liabilities, and our financial statements could be adversely affected. Any further significant changes to the tax system and tax rates in the United States or in other jurisdictions (including changes in the taxation of international income as further described below) could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We carry out extensive research and development activities, and as a result, we benefit in the United Kingdom from HMRC’s research and development expenditure credit (“RDEC”), which provides relief against U.K. corporation tax. Broadly, RDECs provide a tax credit currently equal to 13% of “qualifying research and development expenditure” (expected to increase to 20.0% for qualifying research and development expenditure incurred after April 1, 2023) by certain companies where certain criteria are met. Based on criteria established by HMRC, a portion of expenditures incurred in relation to our research and development and manufacturing development activities are eligible for RDEC relief. Our qualifying research and development expenditures largely consist of employment costs for research staff, consumables and certain internal overhead costs incurred as part of research projects for which we do not receive revenue and are loss generating. To the extent a company cannot utilize the RDEC against U.K. corporation tax, then certain rules apply that allow the RDEC to reduce the tax liability of certain specified taxes, and to the extent it is not possible to utilize the RDEC in full, then the net tax credit is repaid to the company by HMRC.

We also benefit from the U.K.’s “patent box” regime, which allows certain profits attributable to revenues from patented products (and other qualifying income) to be taxed at an effective corporation tax rate of 10%.

If, however, there are unexpected adverse changes in U.K. tax legislation governing the RDEC scheme or the “patent box” regime, or for any reason we are unable to qualify for such advantageous tax legislation, in full or in part, then our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. In particular, HM Treasury and HMRC launched a consultation in January 2023 entitled “R&D Tax Reliefs Review, Consultation on a single scheme” which seeks views on the possible merger of the RDEC scheme and the “SME R&D Relief” scheme applicable to “small and medium” sized companies, the outcome of which is currently uncertain. If it is decided to merge the schemes, any new regime is expected to apply with effect from April 1, 2024.

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Changes in tax law relating to multinational corporations could adversely affect our tax position.

The U.S. Congress, government agencies in non-U.S. jurisdictions where we and our affiliates do business, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) have recently focused on issues related to the taxation of multinational corporations. One example is in the area of “base erosion and profit shifting,” where profits are claimed to be earned for tax purposes in low-tax jurisdictions, or payments are made between affiliates from a jurisdiction with high tax rates to a jurisdiction with lower tax rates. The OECD has released several components of its comprehensive plan to create an agreed set of international rules for addressing base erosion and profit shifting.

As we operate in numerous taxing jurisdictions, the application of tax laws can be subject to diverging and sometimes conflicting interpretations by tax authorities of these jurisdictions. It is not uncommon for taxing authorities in different countries to have conflicting views, for instance, with respect to, among other things, whether a permanent establishment exists in a particular jurisdiction, the manner in which the arm’s length standard is applied for transfer pricing purposes, or with respect to the valuation of intellectual property. For example, if the taxing authority in one country where we operate were to reallocate income from another country where we operate, and the taxing authority in the second country did not agree with the reallocation asserted by the first country, we could become subject to tax on the same income in both countries, resulting in double taxation. If taxing authorities were to allocate income to a higher tax jurisdiction, subject our income to double taxation or assess interest and penalties, it could increase our tax liability, which could adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.

Due to the potential for changes to tax laws and regulations or changes to the interpretation thereof (including with respect to the Inflation Reduction Act which, among other changes, introduced a 15% corporate minimum tax on certain U.S. corporations and a 1% excise tax on certain stock redemptions by U.S. corporations, which the U.S. Treasury indicated may also apply to certain stock redemptions by a foreign corporation funded by certain United States affiliates), the ambiguity of tax laws and regulations, the subjectivity of factual interpretations, uncertainties regarding the geographic mix of earnings in any particular period, and other factors, our estimates of effective tax rate and income tax assets and liabilities may be incorrect and our financial statements could be adversely affected. The impact of the factors referenced in the first sentence of this paragraph may be substantially different from period-to-period.

The application of indirect taxes could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The application of indirect taxes, such as sales and use tax, value-added tax, provincial taxes, goods and services tax, business tax and gross receipt tax, to our business is a complex and evolving issue. Significant judgment is required to evaluate applicable tax obligations. As a result, amounts recorded may be subject to adjustments by the relevant tax authorities. In many cases, the ultimate tax determination is not fully certain because it is not clear how new and existing statutes might apply to our business. A number of jurisdictions globally have introduced (or are looking to introduce) additional reporting, record-keeping or value-added tax (or similar taxes) calculation, collection and remittance obligations on businesses like ours that are engaged in ecommerce.

Further, in the United States, states are able to tax their residents on remote sales. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2018 in South Dakota v. Wayfair, a U.S. state may require by way of “economic nexus laws” an online seller to collect sales taxes imposed by that state, even if the seller has no physical presence in that state, thus permitting a wider enforcement of such sales tax collection requirements against non-U.S. companies that have historically not been responsible for state or local tax collection unless they had physical presence in the U.S. customer’s state. Such legislation could require us to incur substantial costs in order to comply, including costs associated with legal advice, tax calculation, collection, remittance and audit requirements, which could make selling in such markets less attractive and could adversely affect our business.

We are required to comply with a wide variety of laws and regulations and are subject to regulation by various federal, state, and foreign agencies.

The vast majority of our products are marketed and sold as being for research use only, and as such, they are not generally subject to the extensive laws and regulations that would apply if our products were to be marketed and sold for diagnostic or therapeutic use.

RUO products are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) as medical devices, and include in vitro diagnostic products in the laboratory research phase of development that are being shipped or

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delivered for an investigation that is not subject to the FDA’s investigational device exemption requirements. Although medical devices are subject to stringent FDA oversight, products that are intended for RUO and are labeled as RUO are exempt from compliance with most FDA requirements, including premarket clearance or approval, manufacturing requirements, and others. A product labeled RUO but which is actually intended for clinical diagnostic use may be viewed by the FDA as adulterated and misbranded under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), and subject to FDA enforcement action. The FDA has indicated that when determining the intended use of a product labeled RUO, the FDA will consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding distribution and use of the product, including how the product is marketed and to whom. The FDA could disagree with our assessment that our products are properly marketed as RUOs, or could conclude that products labeled as RUO are actually intended for clinical diagnostic use and could take enforcement action against us, including requiring us to stop distribution of our products until we are in compliance with applicable regulations, which would reduce our revenue, increase our costs and adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. In the event that the FDA requires us to obtain marketing authorization of our RUO products in the future, there can be no assurance that the FDA will grant any clearance or approval requested by us in a timely manner, or at all.

In the event that the applicable laws and regulations were to change such that our products were subject to greater regulatory control, it could have a significant impact on our ability to market and sell our products and could require us to spend significant amounts to ensure and monitor compliance with such laws and regulations such that our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Similarly, if we fail to appropriately market and sell our products as being for research use only, we may be found to be selling products for diagnostic use and in breach of the appropriate laws and regulations. Though we are careful to ensure that our products are clearly identified as being for research use only and have processes in place to ensure we are not selling our products to customers who may intend to use our products other than for research, including for diagnostic use, we cannot be certain that our customers will not use our products for purposes other than those for which they are manufactured, identified and marketed.

Generally, we are subject to various local, state, federal, foreign, and transnational laws and regulations, which include the requirements of the FDA, the HHS and other comparable agencies and, in the future, any changes to such laws and regulations could adversely affect us. In particular, for a very small number of our products which are regulated as non-RUO medical devices, we are subject to laws and regulations concerning current good manufacturing practices and certain other requirements applicable to medical devices. We also maintain certain quality management systems accreditations at our facilities in Cambridge, United Kingdom, Hangzhou, China (ISO9001) and Fremont, California (ISO13485). Our subsidiaries may be required to register for permits and/or licenses with and may be required to comply with the laws and regulations of, the FDA, the HHS, foreign agencies and/or comparable state agencies as well as certain accrediting bodies depending upon the type of operations and location of product distribution, manufacturing, and sale. The manufacture, distribution, and marketing of certain of our products are subject to extensive ongoing regulation by the FDA and other equivalent local, state, federal and non-U.S. regulatory authorities. In addition, we are subject to inspections by these regulatory authorities and audits by notified bodies. Failure by us or by our customers to comply with the requirements of these regulatory authorities or quality accreditation agencies, including without limitation, remediating any inspectional observations to the satisfaction of these regulatory authorities, could result in warning letters, product recalls or seizures, monetary sanctions, injunctions to halt manufacture and distribution, restrictions on our operations, civil or criminal sanctions or withdrawal of existing or denial of pending approvals, or certifications including those relating to products or facilities. In addition, such a failure could expose us to contractual or product liability claims, contractual claims from our customers, as well as ongoing remediation and increased compliance costs, any or all of which could be significant.

Although we do not sell such products ourselves, a limited number of our products are classified as in vitro diagnostic medical devices (“IVD”) in the E.U. The E.U. regulatory landscape concerning medical devices (including IVD) recently evolved.

Regulation (E.U.) 2017/746 of the European Parliament and of the Council on IVD and repealing Directive 98/79/EC and Commission Decision 2010/227/EU (“E.U. IVDR”) IVDR became applicable on May 26, 2022. However, on October 14, 2021, the European Commission proposed a “progressive” roll-out of the E.U. IVDR to prevent disruption in the supply of IVD.

Subject to the transitional provisions (i.e., a tiered system extending the grace period for many IVD (depending on their risk classification) before they have to be fully compliant with the EU IVDR) and in order for our products to be sold in the E.U., our products must comply with the general safety and performance

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requirements of the E.U. IVDR. Compliance with these requirements is a prerequisite to be able to affix the European Conformity (“CE mark”) to our products, without which they cannot be sold or marketed in the EU. All IVD placed on the market in the E.U. must meet the general safety and performance requirements laid down in Annex I to the EU IVDR including the requirement that an IVD must be designed and manufactured in such a way that, during normal conditions of use, it is suitable for its intended purpose. IVD must be safe and effective and must not compromise the clinical condition or safety of patients, or the safety and health of users and – where applicable – other persons, provided that any risks which may be associated with their use constitute acceptable risks when weighed against the benefits to the patient and are compatible with a high level of protection of health and safety, taking into account the generally acknowledged state of the art. To demonstrate compliance with the general safety and performance requirements manufacturers must undergo a conformity assessment procedure, which varies according to the type of IVD and its (risk) classification. Except for (general) IVD (i.e., all IVD other than those covered by Annex II to the EU IVDD and IVD for self-testing), where the manufacturer can self-assess the conformity of its products with the essential requirements, a conformity assessment procedure requires the intervention of a notified body. The notified body would typically audit and examine the technical file and the quality system for the manufacture, design and final inspection of our IVD. If satisfied that the relevant product conforms to the relevant general safety and performance requirements, the notified body issues a certificate of conformity, which the manufacturer uses as a basis for its own declaration of conformity. The manufacturer may then apply the CE mark to the IVD, which allows the IVD to be placed on the market throughout the E.U.

If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we would be unable to affix the CE mark to our products, which would prevent them from being sold within the E.U. The aforementioned E.U. rules are generally applicable in the EEA. Non-compliance with the above requirements would also prevent our IVD from being sold in these three countries.

We are also subject to a variety of federal, state, local and international laws and regulations that govern, among other things, the importation and exportation of products, animal welfare, the handling, transportation, and manufacture of substances that could be classified as hazardous, laws governing government contracts and our business practices such as anti-corruption and antitrust laws. Although we believe that we comply in all material respects with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that a regulatory agency or tribunal would not reach a different conclusion concerning the compliance of our operations with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or renew existing permits, licenses or other regulatory approvals or obtain, without significant delay, future permits, licenses, or other approvals needed for the operation of our businesses. Furthermore, loss of a permit, license, or other approval in any one portion of our business may have indirect consequences in other portions of our business if regulators or customers, for example, cease doing business with such other portion due to fears that such loss is a sign of broader concerns about our ability to deliver products or services of sufficient quality.

Any noncompliance by us with applicable laws and regulations or the failure to maintain, renew or obtain necessary permits, certifications and licenses could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations can lead to agency action, including warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, monetary sanctions, injunctions to halt manufacturing or distribution, restrictions on our operations, withdrawal of existing or denial of future approvals, permits, certifications or registrations, including those relating to products or facilities and civil and criminal sanctions. To the extent these agencies were to take enforcement action, such action may be publicly available, and such publicity could harm our ability to sell these regulated products globally and may harm our reputation. In addition, such actions could limit the ability of our customers to obtain regulatory clearance, certifications or approval for their products in the United States or abroad and/or our customers may incur significant costs in obtaining or maintaining such regulatory clearances, certifications or approvals in the United States or abroad. In addition, any such failure relating to the products we provide exposes us to direct and third-party product liability claims as well as contractual claims from our customers, including claims for reimbursement for lost or damaged products, as well as potential recall liability, which could be significant. Customers may also claim loss of profits due to lost or delayed sales, although our direct contracts with end customers typically place limits on such claims. There can be no assurance that any such contractual limitation will be applicable or sufficient or fully enforced in any given situation.

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Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology, products and potential products, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

We rely, and will continue to rely, upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our proprietary technologies, products, and potential products. In the aggregate, these intellectual property assets are of material importance to our business. We believe, however, that no single patent, technology, trademark, trade secret, intellectual property asset or license is material in relation to Abcam’s business as a whole. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to secure and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our technology, current products and potential products, and any future potential products and technology we may develop. We seek to protect our proprietary position by filing or collaborating with our licensors to file patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our proprietary technologies, products, and potential products. Our pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued which protect our technology or their intended uses or which effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies or products.

The patent prosecution process is expensive, time consuming and complex, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, defend, enforce, or license all necessary or desirable patents at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner in all desirable jurisdictions. As a result, we may not be able to prevent competitors or other third parties from developing and commercializing competitive products in all such fields and jurisdictions.

It is possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output or fail to take the necessary steps to seek patent protection before it is too late to obtain patent protection. We may not have the right to control the preparation, filing, and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the rights to patents licensed from third parties. Therefore, these patents and patent applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. The patent applications that we own, or in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our relevant proprietary products and technology, including current products, potential products, and any future potential products we may develop in the United States or in other foreign countries, in whole or in part. Our existing patents may have issues with claims that fail to cover our relevant proprietary products and technology, including current products, potential products, and any future potential products we may develop in the United States or in other foreign countries, in whole or in part. Alternately, our existing patents and any future patents we obtain may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from using our technology or from developing competing products and technologies. Patents may not be granted for a number of reasons, including known or unknown prior art, deficiencies in the patent application or the lack of novelty of the underlying invention or technology. In addition, publications of discoveries in scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases, not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications or that we or our licensors were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions.

Even if patents do successfully issue and even if such patents cover our current products, current potential products, and any future potential products we may develop, third parties may challenge their validity, ownership, enforceability, or scope thereof, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable or circumvented. We may become involved in proceedings challenging our owned or licensed patent rights, including, but not limited to, opposition, derivation, reexamination, inter partes review, post grant review or interference. Any successful challenge to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any of our products and may result in loss of patent rights or freedom to operate, loss of exclusivity, or patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, any of which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or could limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology, products and potential products. Such proceedings also may result in substantial costs and require significant time from our management and employees, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. In addition, the issuance of a patent does not give us the right to practice the patented invention. Third parties may have blocking patents that could prevent us from marketing our products, if approved, or practicing our own patented technology. Our competitors may also be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative potential products in a non-infringing manner.

The patent position of life sciences companies can be uncertain, involves complex legal, scientific, and factual questions, and is characterized by the existence of large numbers of patents and litigation based on

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allegations of patent or other intellectual property infringement, misappropriation, violation, or invalidity. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability, and commercial value of our patent rights are uncertain. If the patent applications we hold or have in-licensed with respect to our technology products and potential products fail to issue, if the validity, breadth or strength of protection of our patents and patent applications with respect to our technology, products and potential products is threatened or if they fail to provide meaningful exclusivity for any of our current or future technology products and potential products, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us, encourage competitors to develop competing products or technologies and threaten our ability to commercialize future potential products. Any such outcome could harm our business.

In addition, although we seek to protect our ownership of intellectual property rights by ensuring that our agreements with our employees, consultants, collaborators, independent contractors and other third parties with whom we do business include provisions requiring such parties to assign rights in inventions to us, we may in the future be subject to claims by former employees, consultant, collaborators, independent contractors or other third parties asserting an ownership right in our owned or licensed patents or patent applications. An adverse determination in any such submission or proceeding may result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar products, potential products or technology, without payment to us, or could limit the duration of the patent protection covering our products, potential products and technology. Such challenges may also result in our inability to develop, manufacture, or commercialize our products, potential products, and technologies without infringing third-party patent rights. In addition, if the breadth or strength of protection provided by our owned or licensed patents and patent applications is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to license, develop or commercialize current or future products, potential products, or technologies. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Variability and developments in patent laws or patent jurisprudence could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products and potential products.

As is the case with other companies in our industry, our success depends in part on obtaining, maintaining, enforcing, and defending intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the life science industry involves technological and legal complexity, and obtaining and enforcing life science patents is costly, time-consuming, and inherently uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or their interpretation in the United States or other jurisdictions may increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patents, diminish our ability to protect our inventions, obtain, maintain, defend, and enforce our intellectual property rights and, more generally, affect the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent rights.

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the “AIA”), which was passed in September 2011, resulted in significant changes to the U.S. patent system. An important change introduced by the AIA is that, as of March 16, 2013, the United States transitioned from a “first-to-invent” to a “first-inventor-to-file” system for deciding which party should be granted a patent when two or more patent applications are filed by different parties claiming the same invention. Under a “first-inventor-to-file” system, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application generally will be entitled to a patent on the invention regardless of whether another inventor had made the invention earlier. A third party that files a patent application in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”), after March 16, 2013 but before us could therefore be awarded a patent covering an invention similar or identical to one of ours even if we made our invention before the third party made theirs. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application and be diligent in filing patent applications, but circumstances could prevent us from promptly filing patent applications on our inventions.

Among some of the other changes introduced by the AIA are changes that limit where a patentee may file a patent infringement suit and provide additional opportunities for third parties to challenge any issued patent in the USPTO. This applies to all of our U.S. patents, even those issued before March 16, 2013. Because of a lower evidentiary standard in USPTO proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in U.S. federal district courts necessary to invalidate a patent claim, a third party could potentially provide evidence in a USPTO proceeding sufficient for the USPTO to hold a claim invalid even though the same evidence would be insufficient to invalidate the claim if first presented in a district court action. Accordingly, a third party may attempt to use the USPTO procedures to invalidate our patent claims that would not have been invalidated if first challenged by the third party as a defendant in a district court action. It is not clear what, if any, impact the AIA will have on the operation of our business. However, the AIA and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs

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surrounding the prosecution of our or our licensors’ patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our or our licensors’ issued patents.

In addition, the United States federal government retains certain rights in inventions produced with its financial assistance under the Bayh-Dole Act. The federal government retains a “nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license” for its own benefit. The Bayh-Dole Act also provides federal agencies with “march-in rights.” March-in rights allow the government, in specified circumstances, to require the contractor or successors in title to the patent to grant a “nonexclusive, partially exclusive, or exclusive license” to a “responsible applicant or applicants.” If the patent owner refuses to do so, the government may grant the license itself. Some of our licensed patents are subject to the provisions of the Bayh-Dole Act. If our licensors fail to comply with the regulations of the Bayh-Dole Act, they could lose title to any patents subject to such regulations, which could affect our license rights under the patents and our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit patent protection for our technology and products.

The United States and many other countries have adopted a doctrine of “patent exhaustion,” which provides that once a patentee sells one of its products, it can no longer exercise control over the specific product. This could limit our ability to rely on our patents to prevent the import of products we have placed into the market in one jurisdiction into another jurisdiction.

Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations, and there are other open questions under patent law that courts have yet to decisively address. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by Congress, the federal courts and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways and could weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future. In addition, European patent laws can be complex and uncertain, and there could be similar changes in the laws of foreign jurisdictions that may impact the value of our patent rights or our other intellectual property rights. Complying with these laws and regulations could limit our ability to obtain new patents in the future that may be important for our business, and changes in such laws may have an adverse effect on our patent rights and our ability to protect, defend and enforce our patent rights in the future, as well as on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

The USPTO, European Patent Office (“EPO”) and other patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In addition, periodic maintenance and annuity fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO, EPO and other patent agencies over the lifetime of the patent. While an inadvertent failure, including due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on us or our patent maintenance vendors, to make timely payment of such fees or to comply with such provisions can in many cases within a reasonable timeframe be cured by additional payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations and time frames in which non-compliance with such provisions will result in the abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, and the partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents within prescribed time limits. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our products and potential products or if we or our licensors otherwise allow our patents or patent applications to be abandoned or lapse, it can create opportunities for competitors to enter the market, which would hurt our competitive position and could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our products.

We enjoy only limited geographical protection with respect to certain patents, and we may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents covering our technology, products and potential products in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and even in countries where we have sought protection for our intellectual property, such protection can be less extensive than those in the United States. The

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requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly developing countries, and the breadth of patent claims allowed can be inconsistent. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. In-licensing patents covering our products and potential products in all countries throughout the world may similarly be prohibitively expensive, if such opportunities are available at all. And in-licensing or filing, prosecuting, and defending patents even in only those jurisdictions in which we develop or commercialize our products and potential products may be prohibitively expensive or impractical. Competitors may use our and our licensors’ technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection or licensed patents to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we and our licensors have patent protection, but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States or the European Union. These products may compete with our products, and our or our licensors’ patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many jurisdictions have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many jurisdictions limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these jurisdictions, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patents. If we or any of our licensors are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be adversely impacted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Europe’s planned Unified Patent Court may in particular present uncertainties for our ability to protect and enforce our patent rights against competitors in Europe. In 2012, the European Patent Package, or E.U. Patent Package, regulations were passed with the goal of providing a single pan-European Unitary Patent and a new European Unified Patent Court, or UPC, for litigation involving European patents. Implementation of the E.U. Patent Package will likely occur in the first half of 2023. Under the UPC, all European patents, including those issued prior to ratification of the European Patent Package, will by default automatically fall under the jurisdiction of the UPC. The UPC will provide our competitors with a new forum to centrally revoke our European patents and allow for the possibility of a competitor to obtain pan-European injunctions. It will be several years before we will understand the scope of patent rights that will be recognized and the strength of patent remedies that will be provided by the UPC. Under the E.U. Patent Package as currently proposed, we will have the right to opt our patents out of the UPC over the first seven years of the court’s existence, but doing so may preclude us from realizing the benefits of the new unified court.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal system in certain foreign jurisdictions, particularly those in certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement, misappropriation or other violation of our patents or other intellectual property rights, or the marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights in these jurisdictions. Proceedings to enforce our patent and other intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents and other intellectual property rights at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our products and potential products for an adequate amount of time.

The term of any individual patent depends on applicable law in the country where the patent is granted. In the United States, provided all maintenance fees are timely paid, a patent generally has a term of 20 years from its application filing date or earliest claimed non-provisional filing date. Extensions and adjustments may be available under certain circumstances. For example, upon issuance, the life of a patent can be increased based on certain delays caused by the USPTO, but this increase can be concomitantly reduced or eliminated based on certain delays caused by the patent applicant during patent prosecution. Regardless, the life of a patent and, correspondingly, the protection it affords is limited. For example, in the United States, patent term extension based on regulatory delay may be available, but only a single patent can be extended for each marketing approval, and any patent can be extended only once, for a single product, and patent protection only extends to

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the scope of the single product as approved. Laws governing the ability to obtain multiple patents from a single patent family in foreign jurisdictions also varies widely. Additionally, we may not receive an extension if we fail to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, apply within applicable deadlines, fail to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise fail to satisfy applicable requirements. Even if we, or our licensors, obtain patents covering our products and potential products, when the terms of all patents covering a product or potential product expire, our business may become subject to competition with respect to that product. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours for an adequate amount of time.

We may not be able to rely on our patents to stop certain activities by third parties.

The United States and many other countries have provisions that exempt certain activities from patent infringement. For example, in the United States, “safe harbor” provisions shield infringement activities that are reasonably related to obtaining regulatory approval for certain medicinal products. This may limit our ability to stop others from using our technology, products, and potential products. Third parties might use our patented technology, make, and sell our patented products or otherwise perform an act that infringes one or more of our patents. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct appropriate litigation or other proceedings to stop such infringing acts. This could diminish the value of our patents.

We depend on proprietary technology licensed from others. If we lose our existing licenses or are unable to acquire or license additional proprietary rights from third parties, we may not be able to continue developing our potential products.

We are a party to certain license agreements for certain intellectual property and proprietary technology, and we may enter into additional agreements, including license agreements, with other parties in the future that impose diligence, development and commercialization timelines, milestone payments, royalties, insurance and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our obligations to our licensors or any of our other current or future collaborators, our counterparties may have the right to terminate these agreements, in which event we might not be able to develop, manufacture or market any product, potential product or other technology that is covered by these agreements, which could adversely affect the value of the potential product being developed under any such agreement, or we may face claims for monetary damages or other penalties under these agreements. Termination of these agreements or reduction or elimination of our rights under these agreements may result in us having to negotiate new or reinstated agreements with less favorable terms or cause us to lose our rights under these agreements, including our rights to important intellectual property or technology. In addition, such an event may cause us to experience significant delays in the development and commercialization of our products, potential products or technologies or incur liability for damages. If any such license is terminated, our competitors or other third parties could have the freedom to seek regulatory approval of, and to market, products and technologies identical or competitive to ours, and we may be required to cease our development and commercialization of certain of our products, potential products or technologies.

We may rely on third parties from whom we license proprietary technology to file and prosecute patent applications and maintain patents and otherwise protect the intellectual property we license from them. We may have limited control over these activities or any other intellectual property that may be related to our in-licensed intellectual property. For example, we cannot be certain that such activities by these licensors will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in valid and enforceable patents and other intellectual property rights. We may have limited control over the manner in which our licensors initiate an infringement proceeding against a third-party infringer of the intellectual property rights or defend certain of the intellectual property that may be licensed to us. It is possible that the licensors’ infringement proceeding, or defense activities may be less vigorous than if we conduct them ourselves.

The growth of our business may depend in part on our ability to acquire or in-license additional proprietary rights. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any relevant third-party intellectual property rights that we identify as necessary or important to our business operations. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all, which would harm our business. In that event, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to redesign our products, potential products or technologies or the methods for manufacturing them or to develop or license replacement technology, all of which may not be feasible on a technical or commercial basis. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected products, potential products or technologies, which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Even if we are able to obtain a license under

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such intellectual property rights, any such license may be non-exclusive, which may allow our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us.

Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including:

In addition, the agreements under which we license intellectual property or technology from third parties are, and any such future license agreements are likely to be, complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our diligence, financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, or we may face claims for monetary damages or other penalties under these agreements, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Moreover, if disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed or any other dispute described above related to our license agreements prevent or impair our ability to maintain our licensing arrangements on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected products, potential products or technologies. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our technology licensed from third parties may be subject to retained rights.

Any license we may enter into could provide for the retention by the licensor of certain rights under their agreements with us, including the right to use the underlying technology for non-commercial academic and research use, to publish general scientific findings from research related to the technology, and to make customary scientific and scholarly disclosures of information relating to the technology. It is difficult to monitor whether any future licensors will limit their use of the technology or their scholarly disclosures of information relating to the technology, and we may incur substantial expenses to enforce our rights to our licensed technology in the event of misuse.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful and have an adverse effect on the success of our business.

Competitors or other third parties may infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate our patents or other intellectual property. If we or one of our licensors were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our products or potential products, the defendant could counterclaim that our patent is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States and in European countries, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Third parties may initiate invalidity proceedings even in the absence of infringement proceedings. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, for example, lack of novelty, obviousness, lack of written description, non-enablement, or lack of entitlement. Third parties might allege unenforceability of our patents in the United States because during prosecution of the patent an individual connected with such prosecution withheld relevant information or made a misleading statement. Interference or derivation proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us or declared by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications. The outcome of proceedings involving assertions of invalidity and unenforceability during patent litigation is unpredictable.

If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on our products, potential products and other technology, which

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may allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or could require us to obtain license rights from the prevailing party in order to be able to manufacture or commercialize our products, potential products or technologies without infringing third-party patent rights. Even if a defendant does not prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, our patent claims may be construed in a manner that would limit our ability to enforce such claims against the defendant and others. Furthermore, many of our current and potential competitors may have, or may gain, the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to enforce and defend their intellectual property rights than we can. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating or otherwise violating our intellectual property rights. Thus, even if we were to ultimately prevail, or to settle at an early stage, such litigation could burden us with substantial unanticipated costs. Our patents and other intellectual property rights also will not protect our technology, products, and potential products if competitors design around our protected technology, products and potential products without infringing our patents or other intellectual property rights.

We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our technology.

We have not performed comprehensive searches or analyses of third-party patents that may be relevant to our technology. We may not be able to conduct complete and thorough searches, we may not be able to identify all relevant third-party patents, and we may not be able to fully predict the scope of the patent claims or the expiration of relevant third-party patent applications that may issue as patents. We cannot be certain that we are aware of all third-party patents and pending applications in the United States and abroad that are relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of our technology in any jurisdiction.

The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent’s prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to market our technology. We may incorrectly determine that our technology is not covered by a third-party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third-party’s pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our technology. Our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our technology.

Third parties may assert claims against us alleging infringement, misappropriations or other violations of their patents and proprietary rights, or we may need to become involved in lawsuits to defend or enforce our patents, either of which could result in substantial costs or loss of productivity, delay or prevent the development and commercialization of our products and potential products or prohibit our use of proprietary technology or sale of products.

Our commercial success depends, in part, upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our products and other technologies without alleged or actual infringement, misappropriation or other violation of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. However, our research, development and commercialization activities may be subject to claims that we infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate patents or other intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties. Litigation relating to infringement or misappropriation of patent and other intellectual property rights in the life science industry is common, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, derivation, and administrative law proceedings, inter partes review and post-grant review before the USPTO, as well as oppositions and similar processes in foreign jurisdictions. The various markets in which we plan to operate can be subject to litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Our competitors in both the United States and abroad, many of which have substantially greater resources and have made substantial investments in patent portfolios and competing technologies, may have applied for or obtained or may in the future apply for or obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use and sell our products. In addition, many companies in intellectual property-dependent industries, including the life science industry, have employed intellectual property litigation as a means to gain an advantage over their competitors. Some claimants may have substantially greater resources than we do and may be able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we could. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us.

We may be subject to third-party claims including infringement, interference or derivation proceedings, post-grant review and inter partes review before the USPTO or similar adversarial proceedings or litigation in

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other jurisdictions. Even if we believe such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable and infringed, and the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize the applicable product or potential product unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that our products, potential products, or technologies may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies, products and potential products infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our products, potential products or technologies, the holders of any such patents may be able to prohibit our commercialization of the applicable product, potential product or technology until such patent expires or is finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable or unless we obtained a license.

In addition, defending such claims would cause us to incur substantial expenses and, if successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages if we are found to be infringing a third party’s patent rights. These damages potentially include royalties, increased damages (possibly treble damages) and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have infringed such rights willfully. Further, if a patent infringement suit is brought against us, our development, manufacturing, or sales activities relating to the product, potential product or technology that is the subject of the suit may be delayed or terminated, as parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief. As a result of patent infringement claims, or in order to avoid potential infringement claims, we may choose to seek, or be required to seek, a license from the third party, which may require payment of substantial royalties or fees, or require us to grant a cross-license under our intellectual property rights. These licenses may not be available on reasonable terms or at all. Even if a license can be obtained on reasonable terms, the rights may be nonexclusive, which would give our competitors access to the same intellectual property rights. If we are unable to enter into a license on acceptable terms, we could be prevented from commercializing one or more of our products, potential products or technologies, or forced to modify such products or potential products, or to cease some aspect of our business operations, which could harm our business significantly. We might also be forced to redesign or modify our products, potential products or technologies so that we no longer infringe the third-party intellectual property rights, which may result in significant cost or delay to us, or which redesign or modification could be impossible or technically infeasible.

Even if we were ultimately to prevail, any of these events could require us to divert substantial financial and management resources that we would otherwise be able to devote to our business. Intellectual property litigation, regardless of its outcome, may cause negative publicity, adversely impact prospective customers, cause product shipment delays, or prohibit us from manufacturing, importing, marketing or otherwise commercializing our products, potential products, services, and technology. In addition, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors view these announcements in a negative light, the price of our common stock could be adversely affected. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce our resources available for development activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have an adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

Our trade secrets may be misappropriated or disclosed, and confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and protect other proprietary information.

We consider proprietary trade secrets, confidential know-how and unpatented know-how to be important to our business. We may rely on trade secrets and confidential know-how to protect our technology, especially where patent protection is believed by us to be of limited value. However, trade secrets and confidential know-how are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets and confidential know-how used by our licensors, collaborators, and suppliers.

To protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by competitors, our policy is to require our employees, consultants, contractors, and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with us prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third

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parties to use or disclose our confidential information, including our trade secrets. However, current or former employees, consultants, contractors and advisers may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. For example, one of our contractors mistakenly posted the API credentials of some our commercial production and business environments in a public workspace. As a result, there was the potential for an unauthorized third party with knowledge of how to use such API credentials to gain access to our confidential information. While we reported the incident and notified those that could have been affected, we have no evidence to suggest that our systems or any such information was accessed by any unauthorized third party, but we cannot guarantee that such incidents will not have an impact in the future. The need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our competitive position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary technologies will be effective. Enforcing a claim that a third party obtained illegally and is using trade secrets and/or confidential know-how is expensive, time consuming and unpredictable, and the enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect proprietary information, technology and know-how. Furthermore, if any of our trade secrets and confidential know-how were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or information to compete with us, and our competitive position would be harmed.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of their former employers or other third parties, and we may be subject to claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

We do and may employ individuals who were previously employed at universities or other life science companies, including our licensors, competitors, or potential competitors. Although we seek to protect our ownership of intellectual property rights by ensuring that our agreements with our employees, consultants, collaborators, independent contractors and other third parties with whom we do business include provisions requiring such parties to assign rights in inventions to us and to not use the know-how or confidential information of their former employer or other third parties, we may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants, collaborators or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed know-how or confidential information of their former employers or other third parties. We may also be subject to claims that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. There is no guarantee of success in defending these claims, and if we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable personnel or intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property, which could result in customers seeking other sources for the technology, or in ceasing from doing business with us. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to commercialize our technology or potential product. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial cost and reputational loss and be a distraction to our management and other employees. Moreover, any such litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our reputation, our ability to form strategic alliances, engage with scientific advisors or hire employees or consultants, each of which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, while we typically require our employees, consultants and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. Furthermore, even when we obtain agreements assigning intellectual property to us, the assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing, or the assignment agreements may be breached, each of which may result in claims by or against us related to the ownership of such intellectual property to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. In addition, individuals executing agreements with us may have pre-existing or competing obligations to a third party, such as an academic institution, and thus an agreement with us may be ineffective in perfecting ownership of inventions developed by that individual. If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. Even if we are

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successful in prosecuting or defending any of the foregoing claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our management and employees.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected. We currently own issued trademark registrations and have trademark applications pending, any of which may be the subject of a governmental or third-party objection, which could prevent the registration or maintenance of the same. We cannot assure you that any currently pending trademark applications or any trademark applications we may file in the future will be approved. During trademark registration proceedings, we may receive rejections and although we are given an opportunity to respond to those rejections, we may be unable to overcome such rejections. In addition, in proceedings before the USPTO and in proceedings before comparable agencies in many foreign jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings. If we are unsuccessful in obtaining trademark protection for our primary brand, we may be required to change our brand name, which could adversely affect our business.

We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition among potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. At times, competitors may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of our unregistered trademarks or trade names. Over the long term, if we are unable to successfully register our trademarks and trade names and establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively, and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily protect us from all potential threats.

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:

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Should any of these events occur, they could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Risks Relating to Our ADSs

The price of our ADSs may be volatile and may fluctuate due to factors beyond our control.

The initial public offering price for the ADSs was determined through negotiations between the underwriters and us. If you purchased at the initial public offering price, you may not be able to resell those ADSs at or above that price. The market price of our ADSs may fluctuate significantly due to a variety of factors, including:

These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for our ADSs to fluctuate substantially, regardless of our actual operating performance, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their ADSs and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our ADSs. In addition, the stock market in general, and pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies, in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. In the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the issuer. If any of the holders of our ADSs were to bring such a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit and the attention of our senior management would be diverted from the operation of our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.

We cannot assure you that a market for our ADSs will be sustained to provide adequate liquidity, and public trading markets may experience volatility. Investors may not be able to resell their ADSs at or above the price they pay.

We cannot assure you that an active trading market will be sustained for our ADSs. If a market is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your ADSs. Public trading markets may also experience volatility and disruption. This may affect the pricing of the ADSs in the secondary market, the transparency and availability of

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trading prices, the liquidity of the ADSs and the extent of regulation applicable to us. We cannot predict the prices at which our ADSs will trade. It is possible that, in future quarters, our operating results may be below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. As a result of these and other factors, the price of our ADSs may decline.

If securities or industry analysts initiate coverage and publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our ADSs and our trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ADSs will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, or if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our ADSs or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our ADSs could decrease, which might cause the price of our ADSs and trading volume to decline.

There may be significant price volatility associated with ADSs representing our ordinary shares or lower liquidity given the AIM delisting.

Currently, our ADSs are trading on Nasdaq. Our ordinary shares were also listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange until December 14, 2022, when the shares were delisted from AIM in an effort to enhance liquidity of trading by combining all transactions on Nasdaq and to reduce costs through removing duplicative listing and compliance fees. Following the AIM delisting, there is no trading market for our ordinary shares. As of December 31, 2022, 213,886,386 of our ordinary shares were converted into ADSs. Given that only those shares outstanding in the form of ADSs are tradeable on Nasdaq, the trading volume of our ADSs is uncertain and may be volatile, which may impact price volatility.

We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we are not subject to U.S. proxy rules and are subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. domestic public company.

We report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including (i) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; (ii) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and (iii) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events. In addition, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F until four months after the end of each year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 60 days after the end of each year. Foreign private issuers also are exempt from Regulation Fair Disclosure, aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. As a result of the above, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers, some investors may find the ADSs less attractive, and there may be a less active trading market for the ADSs.

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.

As a foreign private issuer listed on Nasdaq, we are subject to corporate governance listing standards. However, Nasdaq rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country in lieu of certain Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards, provided that we disclose which requirements that we have not complied with in any year and confirm the U.K. corporate governance practices we have complied with. Certain corporate governance practices in the United Kingdom, which is our home country, may differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards. For example, neither the laws of the United Kingdom nor our articles of association (“Articles of Association”) have quorum requirements similar to Nasdaq Rule 5602(c). Although we voluntarily comply with the higher corporate governance standards of the U.K. Corporate Governance Code, we could include non-independent directors as members of our

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nomination and remuneration committee, and our independent directors would not necessarily hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present. We may in the future elect to follow home country practices in the United Kingdom with regard to other matters. Therefore, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would have under Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. See Item 6.C. “Directors, Senior Management and Employees—Board Practices.”

We may lose our foreign private issuer status, which would then require us to comply with the Exchange Act’s domestic reporting regime and cause us to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses.

As discussed above, we are a foreign private issuer, and therefore we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer’s most recently completed second quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2023. In order to maintain our current status as a foreign private issuer, either (a) a majority of our ordinary shares must be either directly or indirectly owned of record by non-residents of the United States or (b)(i) a majority of our executive officers or directors cannot be U.S. citizens or residents, (ii) more than 50% of our assets must be located outside the United States and (iii) our business must be administered principally outside the United States. If we lose our status as a foreign private issuer, we would be required to comply with the Exchange Act reporting and other requirements applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including the requirement to prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which are more detailed and extensive than the requirements for foreign private issuers. We may also be required to make changes in our corporate governance practices in accordance with various SEC and Nasdaq rules. The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws if we are required to comply with the reporting requirements applicable to a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly higher than the cost we would incur as a foreign private issuer. As a result, we expect that a loss of foreign private issuer status would increase our legal and financial compliance costs and would make some activities highly time consuming and costly. If we lose foreign private issuer status and are unable to comply with the reporting requirements applicable to a U.S. domestic issuer by the applicable deadlines, we would not be in compliance with applicable SEC rules or the rules of the Nasdaq, which could cause investors to lose confidence in our public reports and could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs. We also expect that if we were required to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, it would make it more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These rules and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors.

Failure to comply with requirements to design, implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our business. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.

As a public company in the United States, we are required to evaluate our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We must maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in order to report in an accurate and timely manner the results of our operations and financial condition. The process of designing and implementing effective internal control over financial reporting is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments and to expend significant resources to maintain a system of internal control that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligations as a public company. If we are unable to maintain appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations on a timely basis, result in material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements and harm our results of operations. In addition, we are required, pursuant to Section 404(a), to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment must include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. The rules governing the standards that must be met for our management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation. Testing and maintaining internal controls may divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to our business.

In connection with the implementation of the necessary procedures and practices related to our internal control over financial reporting, we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remediate.

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For the year ended December 31, 2021, we disclosed six material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. As of December 31, 2022, three of those material weaknesses remain: Inventory (first disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F in 2021), Revenue and Accounts Receivable (first disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F in 2021), and Information Technology (“IT”) General Controls (“ITGC”), including Adminsite (an in house developed sales order processing and finished goods inventory system) (first disclosed in our Registration Statement Form F-1 in 2020). See Item 15. “Controls and Procedures” for more information.

We cannot give assurance that the measures we are taking to remediate the aforementioned material weaknesses will be sufficient or that they will prevent future material weaknesses. As management continues to evaluate and work to improve our internal control over financial reporting, we may determine it necessary to take additional measures or modify the remediation measures. Obstacles including complexities in our operational environment, challenges in fully transitioning to the Oracle Cloud ERP system globally, and resource constraints to complete an effective risk assessment process and implement controls in a timely manner may require further remediation efforts, all of which individually and in aggregate may increase implementation time.

With respect to (i) Inventory, we plan to implement measures intended to improve incorporation of stock data and controls into the Oracle Cloud ERP environment, continuing to evaluate and refine the design, implementation, and documentation of the internal controls to help ensure controls address the relevant risks, and continue training to reenforce expectations regarding appropriate evidence of the performance of the controls, including proper evidence over the completeness and accuracy of data within key reports leveraged in the execution of internal controls; (ii) Revenue and Accounts Receivable, we plan to implement and roll out the final key pieces of our Oracle Cloud ERP system globally, specifically covering pricing, promotions, and discounts, and conduct a review of the current internal controls within this area to ensure the controls address the relevant risks and are properly designed and implement controls which incorporate the new process imposed by the system, including new reports; and (iii) ITGC, including Adminsite (an in house developed sales order processing and finished goods inventory system), we plan to enhance privileged access and change management reviews, globally implement and roll out the final key pieces of our Oracle Cloud ERP system (including those covering pricing, promotions, and discounts), to enable elimination of Adminsite as one of our information systems relevant to preparation of our financial statements, and design and implement new ITGC controls for the new Oracle Cloud ERP system components. See Item 15. “Controls and Procedures” for more information.

In undertaking complex system implementations across the inventory, revenue and accounts receivable, and our information technology and information technology general controls, we may have interruptions in our existing operational processes impacting critical data and information from being captured or reported on a timely basis if at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations. Furthermore, the operation of existing controls over financial reporting may be temporarily impacted as we implement new processes and controls. For example, it may take longer than anticipated to deploy the required integrations between various system components. During new system deployment initial data quality may be insufficient to allow the effective operation of internal controls over financial reporting. The development of system generated reports required for the operation of such controls may take longer than anticipated. Relatedly, as the deployment of new systems and processes will be phased in through the coming year and, as a result, we may not be able to operate the complete suite of internal controls over financial reporting, in particular IT general controls, across the whole of the year, if at all.

If our remedial measures are insufficient to address any of the material weaknesses we have identified, these will continue to be disclosed as material weaknesses. Additionally, if there is a change in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedure deteriorates, internal review of our internal control over financial reporting or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm may reveal other deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed material weaknesses. If this occurs, our consolidated financial statements or disclosures may contain material misstatements and we could be required to restate our financial results. In addition, if we are unable to successfully remediate any of these material weaknesses, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting or our independent registered public accounting firm may not in future issue an unqualified opinion, each of which could lead to investors losing confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs, and we may be unable to maintain compliance with applicable stock exchange listing requirements.

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We continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a non-U.S. public company in the United States and loss of our status as an emerging growth company as of December 31, 2021, and our management is required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.

As a non-U.S. public company in the United States, we incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses, and as a result of our ceasing to qualify as an emerging growth company as of December 31, 2021. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of Nasdaq and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on non-U.S. reporting public companies, including the establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased our legal and financial compliance costs and have made some activities more time consuming and costly. Moreover, these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance.

These rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to furnish a report by our senior management on our internal control over financial reporting and are also required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm.

As of December 31, 2021, we no longer qualified as an emerging growth company. To achieve compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and as part of our efforts to remediate the material weaknesses we have identified, we have had to dedicate internal resources, engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to evaluate and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, we have not been able to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Any failure to implement and maintain effective remediations to our internal control over financial reporting and to mitigate the identified material weaknesses could continue to adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. If we identify any additional material weaknesses, or we are unable to remediate the existing material weaknesses, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. As a result, the market price of our shares could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

A significant portion of our total issued and outstanding ADSs are eligible to be sold into the market, which could cause the market price of our ADSs to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

Sales of a substantial number of our ADSs in the public market, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of ADSs intend to sell, could reduce the market price of our ADSs. As of December 31, 2022, we had 229,309,701 ordinary shares (including those represented by ADSs) outstanding. All of our ADSs are freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, except for any of our ADSs that may be held by our directors, executive officers and other affiliates, as that term is defined in the Securities Act, which will be control or restricted securities under the Securities Act. Control or restricted securities may not be sold in the public market unless the sale is registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from registration is available.

In the future, we may also issue additional securities if we need to raise capital or make acquisitions, which could constitute a material portion of our then-issued and outstanding ADSs.

If we issue shares in future financings, shareholders may experience dilution and, as a result, our ADS price may decline.

We may from time-to-time issue additional shares at a discount from the trading price of our shares. As a result, our shareholders would experience immediate dilution upon the issuance of any of our shares at such

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discount. In addition, as opportunities present themselves, we may enter into financing or similar arrangements in the future, including the issuance of debt or equity securities. If we issue shares or securities convertible into shares of our share capital, our shareholders would experience additional dilution and, as a result, our ADS price may decline.

Because we may not pay any cash dividends on our ADSs in the future, capital appreciation, if any, may be the sole source of gains and our ADS holders may never receive a return on your investment.

Under current U.K. law, a company’s accumulated realized profits, so far as not previously utilized by distribution or capitalization, must exceed its accumulated realized losses so far as not previously written off in a reduction or reorganization of capital duly made (on a non-consolidated basis), before dividends can be paid. Therefore, we must have distributable profits before issuing a dividend. In the future, our board of directors may decide, in its discretion, whether dividends may be declared and paid. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, on our ADSs may be the sole source of gains for ADS holders, and such ADS holders will suffer a loss on their investment if an ADS holder is unable to sell the ADSs that the ADS holder holds at or above the price the ADS holder acquired the ADSs the ADS holder holds. See Item 8.A. “Financial Information—Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Dividend Policy.”

Our ADS holders may not be able to exercise the right to vote their ordinary shares underlying the ADSs that the ADS holder holds.

ADS holders may only exercise voting rights with respect to the ordinary shares underlying their respective ADSs in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement, which provides that a holder may vote the ordinary shares underlying any ADSs for any particular matter to be voted on by our shareholders either by withdrawing the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs or, to the extent permitted by applicable law and as permitted by the depositary, by requesting a temporary registration as shareholder and authorizing the depositary to act as proxy. However, an ADS holder may not know about the meeting far enough in advance to withdraw those ordinary shares, and after such a withdrawal you would no longer hold ADSs, but rather would directly hold the underlying ordinary shares. An ADS holder also may not know about the meeting far enough in advance to request a temporary registration.

The depositary will try, as far as practical, to vote the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs as instructed by the ADS holders. In such an instance, if we ask for your instructions, the depositary, upon timely notice from us, will notify you of the upcoming vote and arrange to deliver our voting materials to our ADS holders. We cannot guarantee that ADS holders will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that our ADS holders can instruct the depositary to vote such ADS holder’s ordinary shares or to withdraw such ADS holder’s ordinary shares so that such holder can vote them directly. If the depositary does not receive timely voting instructions from an ADS holder, it may give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us to vote the ordinary shares underlying the ADS holder’s ADSs; provided, however, that no such discretionary proxy shall be given with respect to any matter to be voted upon as to which we inform the depositary that (i) we do not wish such proxy to be given, (ii) substantial opposition exists, or (iii) the rights of holders of ordinary shares may be adversely affected. Voting instructions may be given only in respect of a number of ADSs representing an integral number of ordinary shares or other deposited securities. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that an ADS holder may not be able to exercise any right to vote that the holder may have with respect to the underlying ordinary shares, and there may be nothing an ADS holder can do if the ordinary shares underlying the ADS holder’s ADSs are not voted as such holder requested. In addition, the depositary is only required to notify ADS holders of any particular vote if it receives notice from us in advance of the scheduled meeting.

Holders of the ADSs will not directly hold our ordinary shares, and as such will not be able to exercise the pre-emptive subscription rights related to the ordinary shares that they represent and may suffer dilution of their equity holding in the event of future issuances of our ordinary shares.

English law generally provides shareholders with preemptive rights when new shares are issued for cash. Shareholders’ preemptive subscription rights, in the event of issuances of ordinary shares against cash payment, may be disapplied by a special resolution of the shareholders at a general meeting of our shareholders. On November 13, 2019, our shareholders approved the exclusion of preemptive rights, with such authority expiring at the conclusion of our next annual general meeting or, if earlier, the date 15 months after the date of approval. Such exclusion will need to be renewed upon expiration on the conclusion of our next annual general meeting to remain effective but may be sought more frequently for additional five-year terms (or any shorter period). The absence of preemptive rights for existing equity holders may cause dilution to such holders.

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Furthermore, the ADS holders would not be entitled, even if such rights accrued to our shareholders in any given instance, to receive such preemptive subscription rights related to the ordinary shares that they represent.

Rather, the depositary is required to endeavor to sell any such subscription rights that may accrue to the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs and to remit the net proceeds therefrom to the ADS holders pro rata. In addition, if the depositary is unable to sell rights, the depositary will allow the rights to lapse, in which case you will receive no value for these rights. Further, if we offer holders of our ordinary shares the option to receive dividends in either cash or ordinary shares, under the deposit agreement, ADS holders will not be permitted to elect to receive dividends in ordinary shares or cash but will receive whichever option we provide as a default to shareholders who fail to make such an election.

Purchasers of ADSs may not receive distributions on our ordinary shares in the form of ADSs or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical to make them available to holders of ADSs.

The depositary for our ADSs has agreed to pay to purchasers of ADSs the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. Purchasers of our ADSs will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of our ordinary shares their ADSs represent. However, in accordance with the limitations set forth in the deposit agreement, it may be unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to holders of ADSs. We have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of our ADSs, ordinary shares, rights, or anything else to holders of our ADSs, which means that purchasers of ADSs may not receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value from them if it is unlawful or impractical to make them available to them. These restrictions may have a material adverse effect on the value of a purchaser’s ADSs.

Purchasers of ADSs may be subject to limitations on transfer of their ADSs.

ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement.

ADS holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our ordinary shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, holders and beneficial owners of ADSs irrevocably waive the right to a jury trial of any claim that they may have against us or the depositary arising from or relating to our ordinary shares, our ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. The waiver continues to apply to claims that arise during the period when a holder holds the ADSs, even if the ADS holder subsequently withdraws the underlying ordinary shares.

However, you will not be deemed, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, to have waived our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. In fact, you cannot waive our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. If we or the depositary opposed a demand for jury trial relying on above-mentioned jury trial waiver, it is up to the court to determine whether such waiver was enforceable considering the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law.

If this jury trial waiver provision is prohibited by applicable law, an action could nevertheless proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a jury trial waiver under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by a federal court or by the United States Supreme Court. Nonetheless, we believe that a jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a federal or state court in the City of New York. In determining whether to enforce a jury trial waiver provision, New York courts will consider whether the visibility of the jury trial waiver provision within the agreement is sufficiently prominent such that a party has knowingly waived any right to trial by jury. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. In addition, New York courts will not enforce a jury trial waiver provision in order to bar a viable setoff or counterclaim sounding in fraud or one which is based upon a creditor’s negligence in failing to liquidate

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collateral upon a guarantor’s demand, or in the case of an intentional tort claim, none of which we believe are applicable in the case of the deposit agreement or the ADSs. If an ADS holder or any other ADS holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary relating to the matters arising under the deposit agreement or our ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, such an ADS holder or such other ADS holder or beneficial owner may not have the right to a jury trial regarding such claims, which may limit and discourage lawsuits against us or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us or the depositary according to the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may have different outcomes compared to that of a jury trial, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.

Moreover, as the jury trial waiver relates to claims arising out of or relating to the ADSs or the deposit agreement, we believe that, as a matter of construction of the clause, the waiver would likely continue to apply to ADS holders who withdraw the ordinary shares from the ADS facility with respect to claims arising before the cancellation of the ADSs and the withdrawal of the ordinary shares, and the waiver would most likely not apply to ADS holders who subsequently withdraw the ordinary shares represented by ADSs from the ADS facility with respect to claims arising after the withdrawal. However, to our knowledge, there has been no case law on the applicability of the jury trial waiver to ADS holders who withdraw the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs from the ADS facility.

ADS holders have limited choice of forum, which could limit an ADS holder’s ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us, the depositary or our respective directors, officers or employees.

The deposit agreement governing our ADSs provides that, (i) the deposit agreement and the ADSs will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, and (ii) as an owner of ADSs, the ADS holder irrevocably agrees that any legal action arising out of the deposit agreement and the ADSs involving us or the depositary may only be instituted in a state or federal court in the city of New York. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any our ADSs, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. This choice of forum provision may increase the ADS holder’s cost and limit the ADS holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that the ADS holder finds favorable for disputes with us, the depositary or our and the depositary’s respective directors, officers, or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us, the depositary and our and the depositary’s respective directors, officers or employees. However, it is possible that a court could find such choice of forum provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable. The enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable.

To the extent that any such claims may be based upon federal law claims, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, actions by our ADS holders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, the Securities Act or the respective rules and regulations thereunder must be brought in a federal court in the city of New York. Our ADS holders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights typically offered to shareholders of a U.S. corporation.

We are incorporated under English law. The rights of holders of ordinary shares and, therefore, certain of the rights of holders of ADSs, are governed by English law, including the provisions of the U.K. Companies Act 2006 (the “Companies Act 2006”), and by our Articles of Association. These rights differ in certain respects from the rights of shareholders in typical U.S. corporations. See Exhibit 2.3 to this Annual Report for a description of the principal differences between the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to us and, for example, the Delaware General Corporation Law relating to shareholders’ rights and protections.

Claims of U.S. civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.

We are incorporated under English law. The majority of our assets are located outside the United States. The majority of our management and board of directors reside outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon such persons or to enforce

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judgments obtained in U.S. courts against them or us, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.

The United States and the United Kingdom do not currently have a treaty providing for recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and commercial matters. Consequently, a final judgment for payment given by a court in the United States, whether or not predicated solely upon U.S. securities laws, would not automatically be recognized or enforceable in the United Kingdom. In addition, uncertainty exists as to whether U.K. courts would entertain original actions brought in the United Kingdom against us or our directors or senior management predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. Any final and conclusive monetary judgment for a definite sum obtained against us in U.S. courts would be treated by the courts of the United Kingdom as a cause of action in itself and sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary, provided that certain requirements are met. Whether these requirements are met in respect of a judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws, including whether the award of monetary damages under such laws would constitute a penalty, is an issue for the court making such decision. If an English court gives judgment for the sum payable under a U.S. judgment, the English judgment will be enforceable by methods generally available for this purpose. These methods generally permit the English court discretion to prescribe the manner of enforcement.

As a result, U.S. investors may not be able to enforce against us or our executive officers, board of directors or certain experts named herein who are residents of the United Kingdom or countries other than the United States any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities laws.

If we are classified as a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes, U.S. Holders may incur adverse tax consequences.

Based on the nature and composition of our income, assets and operations and the income, assets and operations of our subsidiaries, we do not believe that we were a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes (a “PFIC”), for the taxable year ending December 31, 2022, and we do not expect to be a PFIC in the foreseeable future. However, this is a factual determination that depends on, among other things, the nature and composition of our income and assets, and the market value of our shares and assets, including the nature and composition of income and assets and the market value of shares and assets of our subsidiaries, from time to time. Therefore, no assurance can be given that we were not a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2022, or will not be classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or any future taxable year.

If we are considered a PFIC at any time that a U.S. Holder (as defined below under Item 10.E. “Material United States Tax Considerations”) holds the ordinary shares or ADSs, U.S. Holders may suffer material adverse tax consequences, including with respect to any “excess distribution” received from us and any gain from a sale or other taxable disposition of the ordinary shares or ADSs. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors about the potential application of the PFIC rules to an investment in the ordinary shares or ADSs and the potential consequences related thereto. For further discussion, see Item 10.E. “Material United States Tax Considerations.”

If a United States person is treated as owning at least 10% of the ordinary shares or ADSs, such holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.

If a United States person (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) is treated as owning (directly, indirectly, or constructively) at least 10% of the value or voting power of the ordinary shares or ADSs, such person may be treated as a “United States shareholder” with respect to each “controlled foreign corporation” (a “CFC”) in our group (if any). Under current law, if our group includes one or more U.S. subsidiaries, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries could be treated as CFCs regardless of whether or not we are treated as a CFC. A United States shareholder of a CFC may be required to report annually and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income” and investments in U.S. property by CFCs, regardless of whether the Company makes any distributions. An individual that is a United States shareholder with respect to a CFC generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a United States shareholder that is a U.S. corporation. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations may subject a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such United States shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist holders of the ordinary shares or ADSs in determining whether we or any of our

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non-U.S. subsidiaries are treated as a CFC or whether any holder of the ordinary shares or ADSs is treated as a United States shareholder with respect to any such CFC or furnish to any United States shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with the aforementioned reporting and tax paying obligations. The United States Internal Revenue Service has provided limited guidance on situations in which investors may rely on publicly available information to comply with their reporting and taxpaying obligations with respect to foreign-controlled CFCs. A U.S. Holder should consult its advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to an investment in the ordinary shares or ADSs.

Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, we operate across 13 locations around the world, supported by our world-class team of approximately 1,800 employees (including day-rate contractors), including over 150 with PhDs, and have served customers in over 130 countries.

Our addressable market can be broadly classified into two categories, based on the application of our products and type of customer they serve:

We have developed an industry leading innovation platform that is informed by data analytics, research area specialists and the relationships we have built with our customers, enable us to anticipate and align our innovation efforts with our customers’ research priorities. Today, nearly all of our primary antibody innovation pipeline is driven by our proprietary algorithms that interrogate a wide variety of internal and external data sources, including research literature and our web data, to predict product and market demand, which inform our development efforts. We leverage this data to anticipate which tools researchers will need in the future in order to help advance their research, as well as to identify breakthrough opportunities in areas where there is a lack of high-quality products or where we identify custom opportunities in collaboration with our customers.

We offer a large and differentiated portfolio of approximately 90,000 products as of December 31, 2022. Our flexible sourcing model enables us to grow our product offering in line with researchers’ needs. This is achieved by developing and manufacturing in-house products, as well as sourcing products from our suppliers. We demand high product quality standards from our suppliers, and we enhance the utility of these products for our customers by providing additional data and product validation as well as by making them available through our global distribution platform and customer service. Over the last several years, we have increased focus on the development of in-house products for research areas we expect to be in high demand by our customers. Notably, our portfolio of proprietary recombinant monoclonal antibodies and immunoassays, which are recognized for their market leading high specificity, sensitivity, and consistency, approximates to over 29,000 of our products as of December 31, 2022. Alongside these highly validated protein binders, we offer additional related tools and reagents that customers require to study biological pathways and diseases. This focus has seen our proprietary portfolio grow to represent 67% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to 61% of our total revenue in the year ended December 31, 2021. We are continuously expanding our portfolio to provide our customers with additional solutions and further expand within our addressable markets.

We make our extensive product characterization and validation data available to our customers across our portfolio. This data is sourced by our in-house laboratories, our network of collaborators and independent consumer product reviews. Researchers use this to be able to select the right product for their highly specific needs. Stringent quality control and validation processes are carried out by our global laboratories to check the activity, stability, and performance of our products. Whether it is antibodies, kits, proteins or other products, the validation process is continuous, and the data obtained is made available on our product datasheets and in our protocols. We are continuing to invest in product validation in order to raise quality standards.

Since 2001, we have sold our products and services to customers in over 130 countries through a variety of channels, including our ecommerce sites, a network of distributors and a targeted field sales team. As of December 31, 2022, we estimate a global population of approximately one million life science researchers based within academic, research, government, and biopharmaceutical organizations that we aim to serve. As of

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December 31, 2022, we had seven manufacturing facilities and a global distribution network that enables prompt delivery to our customers, with orders generally shipped within 24 to 48 hours of ordering. Our multilingual scientific support team, which is mostly comprised of individuals with PhDs, together with our customer support team are available to help customers around the world with technical and order related queries.

We recorded revenue of £361.7 million, a loss after tax of £8.5 million and Adjusted Operating Profit of £76.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded revenue of £315.4 million, a profit after tax of £4.4 million and Adjusted Operating Profit of £60.4 million. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our revenue grew by approximately 15% on a reported basis compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. For the definition of Adjusted Operating Profit and a reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Profit to profit for the year, please see Item 5.B. “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Products and Services

Catalogue Products

In total, we offer approximately 90,000 products in our catalogue as of December 31, 2022. These catalogue products support the research of proteins in biological pathways. Ultimately, findings from this research can translate into treatments for diseases such as cancer and immune deficiency disorders.

In the year ended December 31, 2022, catalogue sales comprised 94% of our total revenue.

Principal catalogue product lines include the following:

Primary and secondary antibodies

We provide antibodies intended for basic research, or those that are typically used in academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology laboratories to investigate fundamental scientific questions. High quality research antibodies are critical to scientists’ research and their ability to reproduce experiments, as unreliable research reagents lead to wasted time and money. We strive to offer high-quality antibodies that provide specificity, sensitivity, and consistency, which helps to increase confidence in research outcomes and reduce waste across the industry.

Conjugated antibodies and conjugation kits

Conjugation is the process of attaching a label to an antibody to enable visualization and measurement. Labels come in many forms, such as enzymes, fluorescent molecules, and metals. We offer directly conjugated primary antibodies and antibody conjugation labelling kits which enable customers to conjugate their own antibodies.

Singleplex immunoassays

An immunoassay is a test that uses one or more antibodies to detect and quantify a molecule of interest within a sample. We offer ELISA kits, which are based on reliable and optimized matched antibody pairs. Our matched antibody pairs are recombinant, monoclonal antibodies that are developed and optimized for use in relevant sample types like plasma and serum for reliable performance.

Our antibodies and antibody pairs are also made available to a range of third parties developing either novel multiplex platforms or upgrading their existing platforms.

Proteins and peptides

We offer a range of peptides and proteins, which include cytokines (initiate an immune response), growth factors (used for culturing cells in a laboratory), and enzymes (catalyze reactions). Scientists use these proteins and peptides as part of more complex experiments to test how cells and organisms function.

Edited cell lines and lysates

Cell lines and lysates are an important tool for antibody validation by both our customers and in our own labs. We offer a range of knockout cell lines and lysates, which are used for our in-house validation needs and are also made available to our customers for their own research.

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Other products

We offer a wide variety of other products, including cellular activity kits, biochemicals and cell signaling pathway tools, which help researchers to find molecules needed for their research.

Custom Products and Licensing

Alongside our catalogue offering we provide a comprehensive range of solutions for custom antibody, protein, and cell line development. Our custom antibody development incorporates initial evaluation and target identification through to the delivery of purified, fit for purpose antibodies for research, diagnostic or therapeutic application.

In other situations, antibodies that are already available on our online catalogue for research use purposes are requested for potential clinical use. In such case, we work with those customers to provide a license for commercial use on third-party platforms or within in vitro diagnostics. Antibody-based IVD assays are tools typically used in a clinical setting, such as a hospital or medical institute laboratory, to help diagnose a disease or condition. These tools are used on patient samples (such as blood, urine, or tissue) and help clinicians to diagnose or assess the progression of a disease. IVD assays can also provide information on the type of treatment to use and assist with disease prognosis.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, Custom Products and Licensing revenue comprised 6% of our total revenue.

Research & Development

We are constantly searching for new ways to bring more products in house and to improve our internal innovation capabilities through the use of data analytics. Especially where we see that customer needs are not being fulfilled or if there is demand for a higher quality alternative. We are engaged in ongoing research and development in all of our major product lines and believe that our future success depends, to a large extent, on our ability to continue to serve our customers’ needs and keep pace with changing technologies. In the year ended December 31, 2022, we developed approximately 5,500 new products.

Underpinning our differentiated and innovative product development capability is a strong and dedicated team of experts, which we increased by sixteen after we acquired BioVision in October 2021. For more information about BioVision, see Item 10.C. “Additional Information—Material Contracts.”

Manufacturing and Distribution

As of December 31, 2022, we have seven manufacturing facilities strategically located across four continents in close proximity to many of the largest clusters of life science research hubs. This enhances supply chain efficiency and ensures that, in most cases, our customers are able to have the product they require for their research within 24 to 48 hours of ordering. In October 2021, we acquired BioVision, which added a manufacturing facility in Milpitas, California. For more information about BioVision, see Item 10.C. “Additional Information—Material Contracts.”

We have the expertise and government licenses to manage multiple controlled environments globally, enabling us to handle highly regulated chemicals and other materials in a compliant manner. We are committed to maintaining industry leading standards for our manufacturing processes at our global facilities in order to continue to provide our high-quality products to our customers. We follow strict global quality control procedures across all of our manufacturing facilities to ensure consistent lot-to-lot performance for our customers. We also impose the same quality standards on our third-party suppliers, to ensure that our customers receive a consistently high level of quality across products offered in our catalogue.

Our manufacturing site, based in Hangzhou, China, is ISO 9001:2015 certified and all other sites work to these standards. The facility of our IVD group, located in Fremont, California, is registered as a medical device establishment with the FDA and is subject to the FDA’s Quality System Regulation (“QSR”) and in compliance with ISO 13485:2016. This facility has a Device Manufacturing License granted by the California Department of Public Health.

Customers

We have three primary categories of customers including: academic institutions, research institutions, and pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies. While across all categories our end customers are life

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science researchers, customer orders are received from individual scientists ordering on their own behalf, laboratory managers ordering on behalf of their lab teams, purchasing managers ordering on behalf of several labs, or central procurement teams ordering on behalf of labs, divisions, or entire organizations. Orders can be received directly, through a variety of means, or via one of our distributors. As of December 31, 2022, 45% of our total revenue came from The Americas, with 55% of our total revenue originating from all other countries in which we operate.

As of December 31, 2022, we estimate a worldwide population of approximately one million life science researchers based within academic, research, government, and biopharmaceutical organizations that we aim to serve. For the year ended December 31, 2022, excluding sales through our distribution partners, approximately 61% of our catalogue revenue was derived from academic institutions, and the remaining approximately 39% was derived from our other customers including research institutes and biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostics companies. Our sales are widely distributed, and no single customer accounted for more than 3% of our revenue for the ended December 31, 2022.

Sales Channels

Since 2001, we have sold our products and services to customers in over 130 countries through a variety of channels, including our ecommerce sites, a network of distributors and a targeted field sales team. These channels provide customers the flexibility to purchase our products quickly and from any location in the world. We continue to focus on ways to improve the ease and efficiency with which customers are able to find and access the products and services they need. In addition to our digital platform, we have an extensive range of offline channels, which include our global sales and customer and scientific support teams and Abcam and other industry hosted conferences, among others. In the year ended December 31, 2022, approximately 70% of our total revenue was sold through our direct channels, with approximately 30% sold through our global network of distributors.

Suppliers

We maintain a large network of product suppliers and collaborators. We select suppliers that adhere to high-quality and ethical standards, and we monitor their performance through audits, reviewing the progress of any corrective action plans and measuring of key performance indicators. If any of our suppliers do not comply with our high quality and ethical standards or underperform on key performance indicators, we reassess our relationship with such supplier. In some cases, we delist a noncomplying third-party product from our platform and supply channels. Our product suppliers benefit from our global distribution network, digital platform, and recognized brand to support the sales of their products. Our suppliers are widely distributed, with no single third-party supplier accounting for more than 2% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022.

We are transparent about how we work in terms of ethics, quality, the environment, and general business principles, and aim to build long-term collaborative relationships based on trust.

Competition

We operate in a highly competitive environment with a diverse and fragmented base of competitors, many of whom focus on specific regions, customers and/or specific product segments. While many customers weigh and balance competitive factors differently in our industry, many focus upon consistency of product quality and performance, service and delivery, breadth of product line, consistency across products, price, customer support, online capabilities, and the ability to meet the special and local needs of our customers. Market success is primarily dependent upon product innovation and quality, selection of products, price and reputation. For certain customers, competition is driven not only by the product quality across our industry, but also by the adaptability of the supplier as a developmental and commercial partner. We rely on our scale, expertise, deep customer access, depth of product offering, marketing strategies and sales force, acquisition strategy, financial profile, and management team to deliver superior solutions to our customers and provide extensive market channel access to our suppliers.

Although only a few competitors have significant global scale and liquidity, the marketplace for reagents and biological tools, including RUO antibody suppliers, is fragmented and competitive, reflecting the wide range of technologies and applications that use these products and the unregulated status of the market. For a discussion of risks related to competition, see “Item 3.D. Risk Factors.”

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Intellectual Property and Licenses

Our success depends in part upon our ability to protect our core technologies and intellectual property. We own significant intellectual property, including patents, patent applications, technology, trade secrets, know-how, copyrights and trademarks in the United States and other countries. Abcam is also licensed under domestic and foreign patents, patent applications, technology, trade secrets, know-how, copyrights and trademarks owned by others. In the aggregate, these intellectual property assets and licenses are of material importance to our business. We believe, however, that no single patent, technology, trademark, intellectual property asset or license is material in relation to Abcam’s business.

Patents

As of December 31, 2022, we owned approximately 71 issued U.S. patents, we had 3 pending U.S. patent applications, we issued 191 foreign patents, and we had 16 pending foreign patent applications.

As of December 31, 2022, we exclusively licensed from MIT, through our acquisition of Firefly Bioworks Inc., five issued U.S. patents and 15 issued foreign patents. We also have non-exclusive patent licenses with the Broad Institute, Inc., ERS Genomics Limited, and Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC, allowing us to use certain patented CRISPR technology to manufacture and sell CRISPR modified cell lines for research use.

Antibodies

Through our acquisition of Epitomics Inc., as of December 31, 2022, we own several patent families related to the generation of antibodies, including, for example: (i) a patent family consisting of six issued U.S. patents related to a fusion partner and the generation of monoclonal rabbit antibodies therefrom. Patents in this family are expected to expire in June 2026, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity; (ii) a patent family consisting of one issued U.K. patent, one issued Australian patent, and four pending patent applications in Europe, Canada, China and the United States, related to the method of producing a recombinant allotype specific rabbit monoclonal antibody, with the issued U.K. patent expected to expire in December 2034 and any patents issuing from the pending applications (including a U.K. patent which may be obtained through the pending European application) expected to expire in December 2035, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity; and (iii) a patent family consisting of one issued U.S patent and a pending application in Europe, related to methods of generating rabbit monoclonal antibodies by B cell panning and proliferation (without using any fusion partner), with the issued patent and any patents issuing from the pending applications are expected to expire in March 2036, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity.

Through our acquisition of AxioMx, Inc., as of December 31, 2022, we own several patent families related to the generation of recombinant antibodies, including, for example, a patent family consisting of two issued U.S. patents, an issued patent in Australia, an issued patent in China and an issued patent in five European countries, together with three pending applications in China, Canada, and Europe, all related to methods and compositions for producing a chimeric polypeptide, such as converting single-chain variable fragment to properly folded immunoglobulin. The issued patents and any patents issuing from the pending applications are expected to expire in June 2036, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity.

Assays

Through our acquisition of Firefly Bioworks, Inc., as of December 31, 2022, we have rights to, through ownership and exclusive license, several patent families related to our Fireplex product, consisting of nine issued U.S. patents, one pending U.S. patent application, 45 issued foreign patents, and one pending foreign patent applications, of which five issued U.S. patents and 15 issued foreign patents are exclusively licensed from MIT. The issued patents and any patents issuing from the pending applications in those families are expected to expire between 2026 and 2035, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity.

Through the Expedeon Acquisition, as of December 31, 2022, we own two patent families related to the CaptSure technology utilized in our SimpleStep ELISA kits, consisting of four issued U.S. patents, 10 issued foreign patents in France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and one pending foreign patent application in Europe. The issued patents and any patents issuing from the pending applications in those families are expected to expire between 2030 and 2036, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity.

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Conjugation

Through the Expedeon Acquisition, as of December 31, 2022, we own four patent families related to our conjugation products, consisting of four issued U.S. patents, and 39 issued foreign patents. The issued patents are expected to expire between 2026 and 2034, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity.

Individual patents have terms for varying periods depending on the date of filing of the patent application or the date of patent issuance and the legal term of patents in the countries in which they are obtained. Generally, utility patents issued for applications filed in the United States are granted a term of 20 years from the earliest effective filing date of a non-provisional patent application. The duration of foreign patents varies in accordance with provisions of applicable local law, but typically is also 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. All taxes, annuities, or maintenance fees for a patent, as required by the USPTO and certain foreign jurisdictions, must be timely paid in order for the patent to remain in force during this period of time.

The actual protection afforded by a patent may vary on a product-by-product basis, from country to country and can depend upon many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, the availability of regulatory-related extensions and the availability of legal remedies in a particular country and the validity and enforceability of the patent. Our patents and patent applications may be subject to procedural or legal challenges by others. We may be unable to obtain, maintain and protect the intellectual property rights necessary to conduct our business, and we may be subject to claims that we infringe or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others, which could materially harm our business. For more information, see the “Item 3.D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property.”

Trademarks

As of December 31, 2022, we own trademark registrations or registration applications including ABCAM, RABMAB, FIREPLEX, SIMPLESTEP ELISA, and LIGHTNING LINK in the United States and in other foreign jurisdictions, such as in Europe and China.

Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information

In addition to patents and trademarks, we rely upon unpatented trade secrets and know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. However, trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect. We seek to protect our proprietary information, in part, by executing confidentiality agreements with our collaborators and scientific advisors, and non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality, and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, and independent contractors. We have also executed agreements requiring assignment of inventions with selected scientific advisors and collaborators. The confidentiality agreements we enter into are designed to protect our proprietary information and the agreements or clauses requiring assignment of inventions to us are designed to grant us ownership of technologies that are developed through our relationship with the respective counterparty. We cannot guarantee, however, that we have executed such agreements with all applicable counterparties, such agreements will not be breached, or that these agreements will afford us adequate protection of our intellectual property and proprietary rights. See “Item 3.D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property.”

People and Culture

We employed approximately 1,800 full-time and part-time employees (including day-rate contractors)

as of December 31, 2022.

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Our people are guided by our purpose, to serve life scientists to achieve their mission faster, and our culture. Attracting, developing, and retaining talented people in research and development, marketing, sales, digital, manufacturing and logistics and other positions is crucial to executing our strategy and our ability to compete effectively in a highly competitive industry. Our ability to recruit and retain such talent depends on several factors, including compensation and benefits, talent development and career opportunities, and our unique culture. To that end, we continually invest in our people in order to create an exceptional workplace and be an employer of choice.

Engagement, Diversity, and Inclusion

We aim to create an exceptional work environment where people feel valued, respected, and engaged. We encourage open, frequent dialogue through a number of channels, including our group-wide intranet, “town hall” meetings and global updates from our CEO and other members of the Leadership Team. In March 2020, we implemented a new employee insights tool to track engagement and better understand how our people feel. The tool, which includes access to global comparative data, enables managers to receive real-time, actionable insights.

For our business to succeed and effectively serve our global customers, we believe it is vital that our business includes people from diverse backgrounds and a culture of inclusion, which is free from bias and discrimination. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we launched our first Diversity and Inclusion strategy, which was focused on providing a welcoming working environment for all employees, continued education, a broadening of our recruitment pools and implementing and sustaining inclusion programs. Our active Employee Resource Groups (“ERGs”) offer mentorship, support, and engagement to help our employees, including those from underrepresented groups, succeed and thrive.

In December 2022, we launched a new two-year Diversity and Inclusion action plan that superseded our 2021 strategy. As of December 31, 2022, we had seven ERGs operating globally. Furthermore, as of December 31, 2022, 57% of our total employee population was female, 52% of our managerial employees were female, and 46% of our employees graded as leaders were female. In our latest U.K. Gender Pay Gap Report, covering the 12-month period ended April 2022, our median and mean hourly pay gap were 20.5% and 25.4%, respectively, a decrease of 0.3% and 2.0%, respectively, compared to the 12-month period ended April 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2022, 70% of promotions to senior leadership graded positions were women. In recent years we have increased our effort to recruit and develop women through our organization by, for example: (i) introducing Diversity and Inclusion targets that form part of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating that impacts senior leadership remuneration and (ii) increasing our recruitment target of at least two women on every shortlist for all vacancies.

Training and Development

We offer a range of online and offline development opportunities to support personal and provisional growth. For the year ended December 31, 2022, approximately 2,000 internal courses were delivered online and offline, and over 17,500 digital content items were delivered via our curated learning platform, Abcampus. In the year ended December 31, 2022, we offered 11 different apprenticeship standards at levels two to seven in the United Kingdom and had 24 active apprentices including 13 senior leader’s masters apprenticeships and 6 digital and technology solutions degree apprenticeships. We aim to create a positive, collaborative culture, and we want to ensure everyone is aware of the contribution they can make across our business. We recognize that the work environment has an impact on productivity, innovation, and collaboration, which is why we have dedicated resources to building new facilities. We want employees to be engaged and motivated and have opportunities to develop and progress.

Compensation and Benefits

We believe rewarding employees fairly, equitably, and competitively is crucial to attracting, retaining, and maintaining a motivated workforce. To that end, we believe we offer a comprehensive and wide-ranging compensation and benefits program (which varies by region) including market competitive pay, broad-based share awards and bonuses, healthcare benefits, pension contributions, paid time off and family leave, flexible

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work schedules, employee well-being education and resources. With an emphasis on flexibility and personalization, each year we review and implement enhancements with the goal of offering benefits that are inclusive and meet the needs of our people.

In particular, we are focused on fostering an ‘owner mindset’ throughout the organization through greater share ownership. A central initiative of this effort was our AbShare scheme, an all-employee share plan. The scheme vested in November 2021, with over 90% of our global employees becoming shareholders as a result. Two subsequent successor plans, the “Profitable Growth Incentive Plan” for senior leaders, and the “Abcam Growth Plan” for all other employees, have since been launched.

Currently, none of our employees are represented by a trade or labor union other than one employee labor union in Hangzhou, China. Employee turnover has not had a material impact on our operations to date. In certain countries in which we operate, we are subject to local labor law requirements, which may automatically make our employees subject to industry-wide collective bargaining agreements. We have not experienced any work stoppages and we consider our relationship with our employees to be good.

Information Technology

Data Privacy and Security

We may also be subject to data privacy and security regulations by state, federal and foreign governments in which we conduct our business. Numerous state, federal and foreign laws, including consumer protection laws and regulations, govern the collection, dissemination, use, access to, confidentiality and security of critical or sensitive personal information. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including state data breach notification laws, federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations (for example, Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)), govern the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of personal information could apply to our operations or the operations of our partners. In particular, regulations promulgated pursuant to HIPAA establish privacy and security standards that limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information (known as “protected health information” or “PHI”) and require the implementation of administrative, physical and technological safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. Determining whether protected health information has been handled in compliance with applicable privacy standards and our contractual obligations can require complex factual and statistical analyses and may be subject to changing interpretation. State laws may be more stringent, broader in scope or offer greater individual rights with respect to PHI than HIPAA, and state laws may differ from each other, which may complicate compliance efforts. Entities that are found to be in violation of HIPAA as the result of a breach of unsecured PHI, a complaint about privacy practices, or an audit by the HHS, may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative fines and penalties and/or additional reporting and oversight obligations, as well as significant reputational harm, if required to enter into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with HHS to settle allegations of HIPAA noncompliance.

In addition, state laws govern the privacy and security of health information in specified circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts. Five U.S. states have now enacted data privacy legislation: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia. For example, California recently enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), which creates new individual privacy rights for California consumers, as defined in the law, and places increased privacy and security obligations on entities handling certain personal data of consumers or households. The CCPA requires covered companies to provide new disclosures to consumers about such companies’ data collection, use and sharing practices, provide such consumers new ways to opt out of certain sales or transfers of personal information. The CCPA also provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for certain data breaches that result in the loss of personal information that may increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. Additionally, a new privacy law, the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), was approved by California voters on November 3, 2020. When it goes into effect on January 1, 2023, the CPRA will modify significantly the CCPA, potentially resulting in further uncertainty and requiring us to incur additional costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Both the CCPA and CPRA could impact our business activities depending on how they are interpreted and exemplifies the vulnerability of our business to not only cyber threats but also the evolving regulatory environment related to personal data and protected health information.

E.U. member states, Switzerland, China, Russia, and other countries, have also adopted data protection laws and regulations that impose significant compliance obligations. For instance, the collection and use of personal

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health data in the EEA is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The GDPR became effective on May 25, 2018, and imposes strict obligations and restrictions on the ability to collect, analyze, and transfer personal data. In particular, these obligations and restrictions concern the consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, the information provided to the individuals, rights for data subjects in regard to their personal data (including data access rights, the right to be “forgotten” and the right to data portability), limitations on retention of personal data, the principle of accountability and the obligation to demonstrate compliance through policies, procedures, training and audit, demonstrating that an appropriate legal basis is in place or otherwise exists to justify data processing activities, the transfer of personal data out of the EEA, security breach notifications, security and confidentiality of the personal data, and the imposition of substantial potential fines for breaches of the data protection obligations. Data protection authorities from the different E.U. member states may impose additional requirements, which add to the complexity of processing personal data in the E.U. From January 1, 2021, we are subject to the GDPR and also the U.K. GDPR, which, together with the amended UK Data Protection Act 2018, retains the GDPR in U.K. national law. The U.K. GDPR mirrors the fines under the GDPR, e.g., fines up to the greater of €20.0 million / £17.5 million or 4.0% of global turnover. The European Commission has adopted an adequacy decision in favor of the United Kingdom, enabling data transfers from E.U. member states to the United Kingdom without additional safeguards. However, the U.K. adequacy decision will automatically expire in June 2025 unless the European Commission reassesses and renews/ extends that decision and remains under review by the Commission during this period. In September 2021, the U.K. government launched a consultation on its proposals for wide-ranging reform of U.K. data protection laws following Brexit. There is a risk that any material changes which are made to the U.K. data protection regime could result in the Commission reviewing the U.K. adequacy decision, and the U.K. losing its adequacy decision if the Commission deems the U.K. to no longer provide adequate protection for personal data. These changes will lead to additional costs and increase our overall risk exposure.

We are also subject to E.U. rules with respect to cross-border transfers of personal data out of the E.U. and EEA; for example, in July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union limited how organizations could lawfully transfer personal data from the EEA to the United States by invalidating the E.U.-U.S. Privacy Shield and imposing further restrictions on use of the standard contractual clauses, which could increase our costs and our ability to efficiently process personal data from the EEA. We are subject to the supervision of local data protection authorities in those E.U. jurisdictions where we are established or otherwise subject to the GDPR. Fines for certain breaches of the GDPR are significant: up to the greater of €20 million or 4% of total global annual turnover. In addition to the foregoing, a breach of the GDPR or other applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations could result in regulatory investigations, reputational damage, orders to cease/change our use of data, enforcement notices, or potential civil claims including class action type litigation.

Compliance with these and any other applicable privacy and data security laws and regulations is a rigorous and time-intensive process, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new data protection rules. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Industry—Cyber security risks and the failure to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our computer hardware, software and internet applications and related tools and functions, could result in damage to our reputation, data integrity and/or subject us to costs, fines or lawsuits under data privacy or other laws or contractual requirements.”

On August 20, 2021, China passed the Personal Information Protection Law (“PIPL”), effective on November 1, 2021. Notably, the PIPL, similar to the GDPR, applies extraterritorially. The PIPL is intended to clarify the scope of application, the definitions of personal information and sensitive personal information (which includes medical and health information), the legality of personal information processing and the basic requirements of notice and consent, among other things. The PIPL also sets out data localization requirements for operators of critical information infrastructure (“CIIOs”) and personal information processors who process personal information above a certain threshold prescribed by the relevant authorities. The PIPL also includes a list of rules which must be complied with prior to the transfer of personal information outside of China, such as compliance with a security assessment or certification by an agency designated by the relevant authorities or entering into standard form model contracts approved by the relevant authorities with the overseas recipient. Failure to comply with PIPL can result in fines of up to RMB 50.0 million or 5.0% of the prior year’s total annual revenue for the personal information processor and/or a suspension of services or data processing activities. Other potential penalties include a fine of up to RMB one million on the person in charge or directly responsible personnel and, in serious cases, individuals and entities may be exposed to criminal liabilities under other local Chinese law, such as the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China. The PIPL also prohibits responsible personnel for violations of the PIPL from holding high level management or data protection officer positions in relevant enterprises.

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Regulatory Matters

U.S. Regulation

Our products and operations are subject to regulation by the FDA and other federal, state, or local authorities, as well as foreign regulatory authorities. The FDA regulates, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacturing, clearance, approval, labeling, storage, recordkeeping, advertising, promotion, marketing, distribution, postmarket monitoring, and reporting, and import and export of medical devices. The vast majority of our products are currently marketed as research use only medical devices.

Pursuant to its authority under the FDCA, the FDA has jurisdiction over medical devices, which are defined to include, among other things, IVD devices. IVD devices that are marketed as RUO are not intended for use in a clinical investigation or for clinical diagnostic use outside an investigation and must be labeled “For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.” Products that are intended for RUO and are properly labeled as RUO are exempt from compliance with the FDA’s requirements applicable to medical devices more generally, including the requirements for clearance or approval and compliance with manufacturing requirements known as the QSR. A product labeled RUO but intended to be used diagnostically may be viewed by the FDA as adulterated and misbranded under the FDCA and is subject to FDA enforcement. The FDA may consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding distribution and use of an RUO product, including how the product is marketed, when determining its intended use.

RUO products cannot make any claims related to safety, effectiveness or diagnostic utility, and they cannot be intended for human clinical diagnostic use. In November 2013, the FDA issued a final guidance on products labeled RUO, which, among other things, reaffirmed that a company may not make any clinical or diagnostic claims about an RUO product. If the FDA were to determine, based on the totality of circumstances, that our products labeled and marketed for RUO are intended for diagnostic purposes, they would be considered medical devices that could require clearance or approval prior to commercialization.

Regulation of In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices in the European Union

A limited number of our products are classified as IVD in the European Union (“E.U.”). The E.U. has adopted specific directives and regulations regulating the design, manufacture, clinical investigations, conformity assessment, labeling and adverse event reporting for medical devices (including IVD).

Until May 25, 2022, IVD were regulated by Directive 98/79/EC (“E.U. IVDD”), which has been repealed and replaced by Regulation (E.U.) No 2017/746 (“E.U. IVDR”). Our current certificates have been granted under the E.U. IVDD whose regime is described below. However, as of May 26, 2022, some of the E.U. IVDR requirements apply in place of the corresponding requirements of the E.U. IVDD with regard to registration of economic operators and of IVD, post-market surveillance and vigilance requirements. Pursuing marketing of IVD in the E.U. will notably require that our IVD be certified under the new regime set forth in the E.U. IVDR when our current certificates expire.

In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive

Under the E.U. IVDD, all IVD placed on the market in the E.U. must meet essential requirements laid down in Annex I of the E.U. IVDD including the requirement that an IVD must be designed and manufactured in such a way that it will not compromise the clinical condition or safety of patients, or the safety and health of users and others. In addition, the IVD must achieve the performances intended by the manufacturer and be designed, manufactured, and packaged in a suitable manner. The European Commission has adopted various standards applicable to IVD. There are also harmonized standards relating to design and manufacture. While not mandatory, compliance with these standards is viewed as the easiest way to satisfy essential requirements as a practical matter as it creates a rebuttable presumption that the IVD satisfies that essential requirement.

To demonstrate compliance with the essential requirements laid down in Annex I of the E.U. IVDD and IVD manufacturers must undergo a conformity assessment procedure, which varies according to the type of IVD and its (risk) classification. As a general rule, demonstration of conformity of IVD and their manufacturers with essential requirements must be based, among other things, on the evaluation of clinical data supporting the safety and performance of the products during normal conditions of use. Specifically, a manufacturer must demonstrate that the IVD achieves its intended performance during normal conditions of use, that the known and foreseeable risks, and any adverse events, are minimized and acceptable when weighed against the benefits of its intended performance, and that any claims made about the performance and safety of the IVD are supported by suitable

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evidence. Except for (general) IVD (i.e., all IVD other than those covered by Annex II to the E.U. IVDD and IVD for self-testing), where the manufacturer can self-assess the conformity of its products with essential requirements, a conformity assessment procedure requires the intervention of a notified body. Notified bodies are independent organizations designated by E.U. member states to assess the conformity of devices before being placed on the market. A notified body would typically audit and examine a product’s technical dossiers and the manufacturer’s quality system (the notified body must presume that quality systems which implement the relevant harmonized standards – which is ISO 13485:2016 for Medical Devices Quality Management Systems – conform to these requirements). If satisfied that the relevant product conforms to the relevant essential requirements, the notified body issues a certificate of conformity, which the manufacturer uses as a basis for its own declaration of conformity. The manufacturer may then apply the CE mark to the IVD, which allows the IVD to be placed on the market throughout the E.U.

Throughout the term of the certificate of conformity, the manufacturer will be subject to periodic surveillance audits to verify continued compliance with the applicable requirements. In particular, there will be a new audit by the notified body before it will renew the relevant certificate(s).

In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation

The E.U. regulatory landscape concerning IVD recently evolved. On April 5, 2017, E.U. IVDR was adopted with the aim of ensuring better protection of public health and patient safety. The E.U. IVDR establishes a uniform, transparent, predictable, and sustainable regulatory framework across the E.U. for IVD and ensure a high level of safety and health while supporting innovation. Unlike the E.U. IVDD, the IVDR is directly applicable in all E.U. member states without the need for member states to implement into national law. This aims at reducing the risk of discrepancies in interpretation across the different European markets.

The E.U. IVDR became applicable on May 26, 2022, but there is a tiered system extending the grace period for many IVD (depending on their risk classification) before they have to be fully compliant with the regulation. However, even in this case, manufacturers must comply with a number of new or reinforced requirements set forth in the E.U. IVDR, in particular, the obligations described below.

The E.U. IVDR requires that before placing an IVD on the market, manufacturers (as well as other economic operators such as authorized representatives and importers) must register by submitting identification information to the electronic system (Eudamed), unless they have already registered. The information to be submitted by manufacturers (and authorized representatives) also includes the name, address and contact details of the person or persons responsible for regulatory compliance. The new Regulation also requires that before placing an IVD on the market, manufacturers must assign a unique identifier to the IVD and provide it along with other core data to the unique device identifier (“UDI”) database. These new requirements aim at ensuring better identification and traceability of the IVD. Each IVD – and as applicable, each package – will have a UDI composed of two parts: a device identifier (“UDI-DI”), specific to an IVD, and a production identifier (“UDI-PI”) to identify the unit producing the IVD. Manufacturers are also notably responsible for entering the necessary data on Eudamed, which includes the UDI database, and for keeping it up to date. The obligations for registration in Eudamed will become applicable at a later date (as Eudamed is not yet fully functional). Until Eudamed is fully functional, the corresponding provisions of the EU IVDD continue to apply for the purpose of meeting the obligations laid down in the provisions regarding exchange of information, including, and in particular, information regarding registration of IVD and economic operators.

All manufacturers placing IVD on the market in the E.U. must comply with the E.U. medical device vigilance system which has been reinforced by the E.U. IVDR. Under this system, serious incidents and Field Safety Corrective Actions (“FSCAs”) must be reported to the relevant authorities of the E.U. member states. These reports will have to be submitted through Eudamed – once functional – and aim to ensure that, in addition to reporting to the relevant authorities of the EU member states, other actors such as the economic operators in the supply chain will also be informed. Until Eudamed is fully functional, the corresponding provisions of the E.U. IVDD continue to apply. Manufacturers are required to take FSCAs, which are defined as any corrective action for technical or medical reasons to prevent or reduce a risk of a serious incident associated with the use of an IVD that is made available on the market. A serious incident is any malfunction or deterioration in the characteristics or performance of an IVD on the market (e.g., inadequacy in the information supplied by the manufacturer, undesirable side-effect), which, directly or indirectly, might lead to either the death or serious deterioration of the health of a patient, user, or other persons, or to a serious public health threat. An FSCA may include the recall, modification, exchange, destruction or retrofitting of the IVD. FSCAs must be communicated by the manufacturer or its legal representative to its customers and/or to the end users of the IVD through Field

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Safety Notices. For similar serious incidents that occur with the same IVD or IVD type and for which the root cause has been identified or a FSCA implemented or where the incidents are common and well documented, manufacturers may provide periodic summary reports instead of individual serious incident reports.

The advertising and promotion of IVD are subject to some general principles set forth in E.U. legislation. According to the E.U. IVDR, only IVD that are CE marked may be marketed and advertised in the E.U. in accordance with their intended purpose. Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative advertising and Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial practices, while not specific to the advertising of IVD, also apply to the advertising thereof and contain general rules, for example, requiring that advertisements are evidenced, balanced and not misleading. Specific requirements are defined at a national level. E.U. member states’ laws related to the advertising and promotion of IVD, which vary between jurisdictions, may limit or restrict the advertising and promotion of products to the general public and may impose limitations on promotional activities with healthcare professionals.

Many E.U. member states have adopted specific anti-gift statutes that further limit commercial practices for IVD, in particular vis-à-vis healthcare professionals and organizations. Additionally, there has been a recent trend of increased regulation of payments and transfers of value provided to healthcare professionals or entities and many E.U. member states have adopted national “Sunshine Acts” which impose reporting and transparency requirements (often on an annual basis), similar to the requirements in the United States, on IVD manufacturers. Certain countries also mandate implementation of commercial compliance programs.

In the E.U., regulatory authorities have the power to carry out announced and, if necessary, unannounced inspections of companies, as well as suppliers and/or sub-contractors and, where necessary, the facilities of professional users. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements (as applicable) could require time and resources to respond to the regulatory authorities’ observations and to implement corrective and preventive actions, as appropriate. Regulatory authorities have broad compliance and enforcement powers and if such issues cannot be resolved to their satisfaction can take a variety of actions, including untitled or warning letters, fines, consent decrees, injunctions, or civil or criminal penalties.

The aforementioned E.U. rules are generally applicable in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) which consists of the 27 E.U. member states plus Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

Regulation of Medical Devices in the United Kingdom

Since the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1, 2021, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) has not been directly subject to E.U. laws, however under the terms of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol, E.U. laws, including the E.U. IVDR, generally apply to Northern Ireland. Since January 1, 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) has become the sovereign regulatory authority responsible for Great Britain. New regulations require all medical devices (including IVD) to be registered with the MHRA, and since January 1, 2022, manufacturers based outside the U.K. have been required to appoint a U.K. responsible person that has a registered place of business in the U.K. to register devices with the MHRA.

On June 26, 2022, the MHRA published its response to a 10-week consultation on the post-Brexit regulatory framework for medical devices and diagnostics. Regulations implementing the new regime were originally scheduled to come into force in July 2023, but the Government has recently confirmed that this date has been postponed until July 2024. Devices which have valid certification issued by E.U. notified bodies under the E.U. IVDR or E.U. IVDD are subject to transitional arrangements. Following these transitional periods, it is expected that all medical devices will require a U.K. Conformity Assessment (“UKCA”) mark.

Insurance

We maintain commercial insurance programs with third parties in the areas of property and business interruption, employers’ liability, product liability and cyber security, among others. We self-insure certain risks inherent in our business which, taken together with the deductible levels and exclusions contained within our third-party programs, results in our recording of accruals for incurred claims. Our ultimate exposure may be mitigated by amounts we expect to recover from third parties associated with such claims.

C. Organizational Structure

The legal name of our company is Abcam plc and we are incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. We have 27 wholly-owned subsidiaries. Please refer to Note 16 to our audited consolidated financial

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statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for a listing of our significant subsidiaries, including name, country of incorporation, and proportion of ownership interest.

D. Property, Plant and Equipment

Corporate Offices

Our headquarters is located at Discovery Drive, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0AX United Kingdom, housing central support functions, and is leased for a term of 20 years expiring in 2038. The lease covers an aggregate of approximately 100,000 square feet, divided over three floors. We also operate from a property in Waltham, Massachusetts. Our Waltham, Massachusetts office is our main corporate facility in the United States, housing U.S. support functions, and is leased for a term of 12 years expiring in 2032. The lease currently covers 75,000 square feet with the option to extend square footage over the course of the lease to 98,985 square feet. We also operate from properties in Shanghai, China and Singapore.

Sales and Distribution

Our major sales and distribution offices are located in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore; Cambridge, United Kingdom; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and the United States including Waltham, Massachusetts; and Eugene, Oregon.

Research and Development, Supply Chain Operations and Manufacturing

Our research and development, supply chain operations and manufacturing sites are located in Adelaide, Australia; Hangzhou, China; Cambridge, United Kingdom and the United States including Branford, Connecticut; Eugene, Oregon; Fremont California; and Waltham, Massachusetts.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, to accommodate anticipated future growth and the relocation of activities from Milpitas, California in 2023, we continued the expansion of our new and existing leased office spaces in Waltham, Massachusetts. We believe that our existing facilities are adequate to meet current requirements and that suitable additional or substitute space will be available as needed to accommodate any further physical expansion of operations and for any additional offices.

IT Development hub

Our IT development hubs are located in Shanghai, China; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Financing

We are financing expansions and improvements to our property portfolio in part through our operations and other sources of liquidity, primarily our Revolving Credit Facility (“RCF”). We expect to continue to use these sources to fund our continued expansion and improvements.

Overview

We are a global life science company focused on identifying, developing, and distributing high-quality reagents and tools for our customers at the forefront of life science research. Our products are used by researchers to study biological pathways, which is critical for scientific research, diagnostics, and drug discovery. Our mission is to provide life science researchers with highly validated products and services to advance biological research and achieve their goals faster. We have increased our emphasis on continuous innovation and providing our customers with high-quality tools, together with expert customer support. Our product offering includes an extensive portfolio of antibodies and related protein research tools that are fundamental to our customers’ research and experimental workflow. Our customers are primarily scientists and researchers in academic institutions, research institutes and pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies. Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, we operate across 13 locations around the world, supported by our world class team of approximately 1,800 employees (including day-rate contractors), comprised of individuals, including over 400 in our Research & Development area, with over 150 employees holding a PhD. We serve our customers in over 130 countries.

We believe that our product portfolio enables breakthrough proteomics discovery by our customers and partners. Our customers and partners are working to innovate and discover proteomic mechanisms such as the role of signaling and regulatory proteins in biological pathways—ultimately leading to diagnostics and treatments for diseases such as cancer and immune deficiency disorders. Their success depends on rigorous product performance and reliability, and it is these factors that continue to guide our innovation efforts.

As part of our strategy to serve our customers with best-in-class in-house products, we have put more resources into innovating antibodies and immunoassays, and we have complemented these areas with extensions to conjugation kits, proteins/cytokines, engineered cell lines, and now a range of BioVision cellular and biochemical assays. In-house sales, including Custom Products and Licensing (“CP&L”) and BioVision, represent approximately 67% of our total sales and achieved approximately 18% CER revenue growth, and approximately 26% reported growth for the year ended December 31, 2022. Third-party product sales represent approximately 33% of our total sales and declined approximately 9% on a CER basis and approximately 4% on a reported basis.

In total, we launched approximately 5,500 new products in 2022. Since 2019, our cadence of new product introductions has resulted in over 28,000 products that contributed over 10% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022. We believe that our emphasis on customer data insights and our approach to innovation and marketing underly this strong growth driver from internal innovation.

In the year ended December 31, 2022, our teams continued to develop over 3,000 high-quality antibody products including recombinant RabMAb antibodies, antibody pairs, SimpleStep ELISA kits and new formulations that enable faster labelling and assay development. These new product introductions combined to meet two objectives for our new product development: fill unmet needs in research and increase product quality. Our focus on product quality has led us to validate developed products using a biopharmaceutical process and quality control thereby enabling higher standards of out-of-box quality for our customers. Together, these actions have substantially improved Abcam’s quality and our overall brand preference. As a global supplier of critical life science research reagents and tools, we are focused on strengthening our position as a partner of choice for organizations that are looking to access high-quality antibodies and antibody expertise for commercial use within their products and assays, a philosophy we refer to as “Abcam Inside.”

For the year ended December 31, 2022, CP&L have resulted in several customers and partners adopting our products for use on their third-party platforms or development of clinical products. Reported revenues were £21.9 million and grew approximately 5% on a CER basis and approximately 15% on a reported revenue basis for the year ended December 31, 2022.

In total, we entered into 33 new or expanded existing agreements with such organizations, including WuXi Diagnostics, NanoString, Twist Biosciences, Alamar Biosciences, Inc., and Roche Holding AG. In 2022, over 1,200 of our antibodies have been commercialized through these partners, for use on third-party platforms or as diagnostic tools. The total number of Abcam antibody clones commercialized to date is over 2,000. We believe that these areas present significant long-term opportunities for the Group. Note that revenues from these agreements appear in both catalogue and CP&L revenues.

We recorded revenue of £361.7 million, a loss after tax for the year of £8.5 million and adjusted operating profit of £76.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Revenue grew approximately 8% on a CER basis

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and reported revenues grew by approximately 15% for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. During the year, two factors impacted revenue growth. First, the implementation of the new Oracle Cloud ERP system disrupted revenues in September and October. Second, China revenues were impacted by COVID-19 controls and outbreaks. Based on the differences between forecasts and actual results we estimate the aggregate impact to sales was approximately £30m. We estimate this headwind negatively impacted revenue growth by approximately 10% on a reported and 9% on our CER growth rates.

From a geographic basis, total CER and reported revenue growth by region of total catalogue sales is as follows: 

From a served end markets basis, total CER and reported revenue growth of total catalogue sales is as follows:

We present our results of operations in the same way that we manage our business, evaluate our performance, and allocate our resources. We have determined that we only have one reportable segment, which is the sale of antibodies and related products.

Factors Affecting Our Performance

Our financial condition and results of operations have been, and will continue to be, affected by a number of important factors, including the following:

Product Mix, Growth, and Innovation

We offer a variety of products, and the products in our portfolio are sold at different prices and in different volumes. In any particular period, changes in the volume of particular products sold across our various markets and the prices of those products relative to other products will impact our cost of sales, our gross profit and our gross margin. We continue to increase our focus on our innovation platform to extend and improve our in-house proprietary product offering, which we believe will continue to expand our market share in research use only markets. Sales of in-house products generate a substantially higher gross margin than third-party product sales, and we also believe that in-house products will support continued market share expansion in research use markets while also enabling us to extend our product offering, through industry partners, to clinical applications. We expect to continue to devote significant resources to developing innovative new products, both as part of our existing portfolio and in complementary and adjacent markets. The acceptance and growth of such new products may vary. The volume of our products sold during a given period in any particular market will depend in part on successfully introducing new products that generate additional demand as well as the extent to which new products may impact our sales of existing products.

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Seasonality

We experience modest seasonal customer demand, generally as a result of vacation and academic schedules of our worldwide customer base. We typically see minor slowdowns around the summer and winter holidays and a slight increase during the academic year. We believe that this is caused by factors unique to those particular product markets such as customer manufacturing schedules, inventory levels in the supply chain and government approval processes. As a result, we may see fluctuations across periods as the timing of our customers’ demand for certain products may change.

Currency Exchange Rates

We have substantial global operations whose financial condition and results of operations have been, and will continue to be, impacted by changes in the exchange rate of pound sterling into other currencies.

Strategic Acquisitions

We have made, and intend to continue to make, strategic acquisitions in our existing and adjacent customer markets to supplement our organic growth, solidify our current market presence and expand into new markets. In October 2021, we acquired BioVision, Inc. (“BioVision”), a leading innovator of biochemical and cell-based assays, and developer, producer, and seller of a wide portfolio of other products including recombinant proteins, antibodies, enzymes, and biochemical compounds.

Our strategic acquisitions may affect our business growth and the comparability of our financial results. Following the successful integration of BioVision we generated £32.1 million in sales in 2022. The incremental impact on revenues was approximately 4% on a CER basis and 5% on a reported revenue growth basis.

We intend to continue to selectively pursue strategic acquisitions to further strengthen our competitiveness. We will evaluate and execute opportunities that complement and scale our business, optimize our profitability, help us expand into adjacent markets and add new capabilities to our business.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, including variants, has adversely affected, and has continued to adversely affect elements of our business and could continue to do so. Revenues in China were impacted by COVID-19, and the related preventative and precautionary measures, during the year ended December 31, 2022.

Global supply chains have faced significant challenges and delays. These additional pressures have largely been resolved by additional investment in manufacturing equipment and processes, while also introducing additional shift patterns in order to achieve better utilization of our resources. Further progress is expected as we pursue changes to our processes including quality control, kit development and logistics as well as benefits expected from our integrated business planning process.

Operating Expenses

We have been investing in sales and distribution, manufacturing and logistics, research and development and profit margins have been suppressed by the effects of both COVID-19 and the implementation of our five year-growth plan to 2024. Many of our major investment plans are now substantially complete, and as we look forward, we expect to see the rate of investment reduce and the resultant delivery of operational leverage as the value of our investments are realized.

For the year ended December 31, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2022, our operating profit margin was 2.3% and an operating margin of (2.8%), respectively, and our adjusted operating profit margins were 19.2%, and 21.1%, respectively.

As we look forward, we expect that anticipated growth of our in-house products coupled with slower operating expense growth will enable significant operating leverage. We are confident in our ability to achieve >30% adjusted operating profit margin in 2024 consistent with our five-year growth plan.

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A. Operating Results

auditing, tax, and general legal services, as well as expenses associated with the requirements of being a listed public company on Nasdaq. We expect that our general and administrative costs will modestly increase in the future as our business expands and we increase our headcount to support the expected growth in our operating activities. These increases will likely include increased costs related to the hiring of additional personnel and fees to outside consultants, lawyers, and accountants, among other expenses.

Research and Development expenses

Research activities, which are the early stages of product development, are expensed as incurred up until products reach commercial feasibility, after which point such development costs are capitalized and amortized over the anticipated commercial life of the asset. Such research and development expenses, which are expected to increase in the future, consist of salary related benefits, costs of related facilities, materials and equipment, costs associated with obtaining and maintaining patents and other intellectual property, depreciation of research and development specific assets and amortization of capitalized research and development projects, and include an offset in respect of research and development tax credits as described further below. Development activities generally relate to creating new products, creating variations of existing products, modifying existing products to meet new applications, or developing new technology platforms from which to derive new products, but these costs are only capitalized once commercial feasibility is attained whereby this category of capitalized cost is described as Internally Developed Technology (“IDT”).

We carry out extensive research and development activities, and as a result, we benefit in the United Kingdom from HMRC’s Research and Development Expenditure Credit (“RDEC”), which provides relief against UK corporation tax. Broadly, RDECs provide a tax credit currently equal to 13% of “qualifying research and development expenditure” made by certain companies where certain criteria are met. Based on criteria established by HMRC, a portion of expenditures incurred in relation to our research and development and manufacturing development activities are eligible for RDEC relief. Our qualifying research and development expenditures largely consist of employment costs for research staff, consumables and certain internal overhead costs incurred as part of research projects for which we do not receive revenue and are loss generating. To the extent a company cannot utilize the RDEC against UK corporation tax, then certain rules apply that allow the RDEC to reduce the tax liability of certain specified taxes, and to the extent it is not possible to utilize the RDEC in full, then the net tax credit is repaid to the company by HMRC.

Exceptional items, share-based payments, and amortization of acquisition intangibles

Exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles is comprised of certain cash and non-cash items that we believe are not reflective of the normal course of our business and where the separate disclosure of such items enables a reader to isolate and evaluate the impact of such items on results and allows for a fuller understanding of underlying performance of the business. We identify and determine items to be exceptional based on their nature and incidence or by their significance. As a result, the composition of exceptional items may vary from period to period and from year to year.

Current components consist of impairment of intangible assets including technology and software assets, systems and process improvement costs associated with our Oracle Cloud ERP system project that commenced in 2016, acquisition costs and integration and reorganization costs, impairment of assets held for sale, and costs related to a number of our share-based payment schemes offered to our employees and executives.

Costs associated with our share-based compensation schemes are non-cash charges and are determined using several factors, including expectations surrounding future performance, employee forfeiture rates, and the share price for employee payroll related tax items. These factors are beyond our direct control and generally unrelated to operational decisions and our performance in any particular period. Further, costs associated with our share-based compensation schemes are not reflective of the value ultimately received by the recipients of the awards. See Note 27 to our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report, for further discussion of our costs related to our share-based payment schemes.

Amortization of acquisition intangibles includes the amortization of intangible assets brought onto the balance sheet at a fair value in accordance with IFRS 3 Business Combinations and arising specifically from acquisition activity and the amortization of fair value adjustments to the balance sheet arising at the time of the acquisition.

Finance income

Finance income is comprised of interest received or receivable on cash deposits.

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Finance costs

Finance costs consist mainly of interest expense on our revolving credit facility (“RCF”) that was drawn down during the year ended December 31, 2022 and is treated as short term debt. Finance costs additionally include the amortization of upfront fees incurred in setting up our RCF and other related facility fees, such as those for non-utilization. We have no other borrowings upon which interest could be incurred. Finance costs also include interest expense representing the unwinding of discounted lease liabilities in respect of right-of-use assets now presented on our balance sheet in accordance with IFRS 16, which became effective on July 1, 2019.

Tax

Our tax expense or credit consists of income taxes, with U.K. income being taxed at the U.K. rate of tax and taxation for other jurisdictions calculated at the rates prevailing in each respective jurisdiction. Tax also includes the unwinding of temporary differences caused mainly by the manner in which intangible assets related to acquisitions are recognized, and therefore amortized, in our consolidated financial statements compared to the individual entity financial statements, which is the basis upon which taxation is calculated.

We also benefit from the U.K. “Patent Box” regime that allows profits attributable to revenue from patents registered in the United Kingdom or E.U. or patented products to be taxed at an effective rate of 10.0%, rather than the current U.K. statutory rate of 19.0%. The U.K. statutory rate of Corporation Tax is increasing to 25.0% with effect from April 1, 2023.

Segment Reporting

We present our results of operations in the same way that we manage our business, evaluate our performance, and allocate our resources. We have concluded that we have only one core business activity, and there are no separately identifiable business segments that provide individual products or services or a group of related products and services that would be subject to separate risks and returns. The financial information reported to our Chief Executive Officer, who is considered our chief operating decision maker, for the purposes of resource allocation and assessment of performance is based wholly on our overall activities. Therefore, we have determined that we only have one reportable segment, which is the sale of antibodies and related products.

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Revenue

Revenue was £315.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to £361.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, representing total CER revenue growth of approximately 8% and reported revenue growth of approximately 15%.

Revenue growth was driven by organic sales of our in-house products, the positive impact from the BioVision acquisition, which contributed approximately 5% to our reported revenue growth, and the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates of 7% as the U.K. pound weakened against several of our major trading currencies including the U.S. Dollar, Euro, and Japanese Yen.

Our revenue is broken down into the following geographical components:

Revenue by type can be further broken down as follows:

Total catalogue revenue can be further broken down as follows:

Catalogue Revenue

Catalogue revenue was £296.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to £339.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, representing approximately 8% CER revenue growth and approximately 15% reported revenue growth respectively. In-house catalogue revenue was £174.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to £222.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, representing CER revenue growth, including BioVision, of approximately 20% and approximately 28% reported revenue growth. During the year, two factors impacted revenue growth. First, the implementation of the new Oracle Cloud ERP system disrupted revenues in September and October. Second, China revenues were impacted by COVID-19 controls and outbreaks. Based on the differences between forecasts and actual results we estimate the aggregate impact to sales was approximately £30m. We estimate this headwind negatively impacted revenue growth by approximately 10% on a reported and 9% on our CER growth rates.

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Custom Products & Licensing (“CP&L”) revenue rose approximately 5% on a CER revenue growth basis and approximately 15% on a reported basis. Within CP&L, royalty and license sales grew 17% on a CER revenue basis as the number of out-licensed products and commercial deals continued to grow, and custom projects grew approximately 9% on a CER revenue basis as customer activity levels improved, while IVD declined.

Cost of sales

Cost of sales increased by £0.4 million to £91.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £90.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Cost of sales before exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles increased by £0.8 million, or approximately 1%, to £88.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £87.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Gross profit

Gross profit increased by £45.9 million, to £270.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £224.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Gross profit before exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles, increased by £45.5 million, to £273.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £227.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase predominantly reflects the favorable movement in product mix towards high margin in-house revenues, and the favorable impact of the BioVision acquisition.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by £34.8 million, to £224.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £189.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Selling, general and administrative expenses before exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles, increased by £25.7 million, to £176.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £150.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The overall increase was due to an increase in salaries, IT systems and licenses, higher travel costs off a lower COVID base, and increased headcount for our in-house teams and the inclusion of BioVision.

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses increased by £28.3 million, to £56.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £27.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Research and Development expenses before exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles increased by £3.9 million, to £20.6 million, for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £16.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The overall increase was due to increases in salary, and related costs associated related to the BioVision acquisition.

Exceptional items, share-based payments, and amortization of acquisition intangibles

Exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles were £86.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to £53.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This primary increase was driven by the impairment of assets held for sale. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the assets relating to Firefly BioWorks multiplex and assay technology were actively marketed and classified as held for sale on our balance sheet during the year. We were not successful in locating a buyer and a decision was made to discontinue our investment in these products and technology resulting in an impairment charge of £18.3 million. Acquisitions, integration and reorganization costs of £15.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £13.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily related to the integration of BioVision, which was acquired in 2021, and expenses related to the delisting of our ordinary shares from trading on AIM which was effective from December 14, 2022.

Share-based payment expenses, as well as the associated employment taxes, of £26.2 million are included within this category in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £20.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This was driven by the full year impact of a new share-based payment scheme under which grants were made mid-way through 2021. Other expenses consisted of amortization of fair value adjustments of £2.7 million relating to the fair value of the inventory acquired in connection with our integration of BioVision, compared to £3.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2021; systems process improvement costs of £6.6 million compared to £7.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, related to the work performed on

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the Oracle Cloud ERP project in upgrading our IT systems that did not qualify to be capitalized and an impairment of a software asset developed as part of the Oracle Cloud ERP project that was no longer required; and amortization of acquisition intangibles of £16.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to £9.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Net finance expense

Net finance expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by £3.1 million to £5.5 million compared to £2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This comprised lease liability costs of £2.1 million compared to £1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, representing the unwinding of discounted lease liabilities; interest payable on drawings of our RCF of £3.0 million compared to £0.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2021; and the amortization of arrangement fees of £0.4 million in line with the prior period. Interest payable on the RCF is £2.3 million higher than the prior year ended December 31, 2021. The primary increase in finance costs was driven by higher interest rates and a full year RCF drawdown for year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to only three months in 2021.

Tax expense

Tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 was £7.1 million credit compared to a charge of £0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

In March 2021, the U.K. government announced that the U.K. Corporation Tax rate would increase from 19.0% to 25.0% commencing April 1, 2023. As a result, the deferred tax balances on those timing differences which originate in the U.K. and which are expected to reverse after April 1, 2023 were restated at the higher tax rate of 25.0%. We anticipate that our effective tax rate will increase towards the U.K. corporate rate and remain subject to further changes to the U.K. Corporation Tax rate, as well as equivalent changes that may occur in other jurisdictions in which we operate, as various governments take actions to address deficits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operating profit

Operating profit decreased by £17.2 million resulting in an operating loss of £10.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Continued gross profit margin improvement from the move to in-house products was offset by increases in selling, general and administration expenses driven by the planned investments in our platform and team, share-based payments, and the impairment of the Firefly Bioworks, a multiplex platform, asset held for sale.

Operating Profit before exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles (“Adjusted Operating Profit”) increased by £15.9 million to £76.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, representing an Operating Profit Margin before exceptional items, share-based payments and acquisition intangibles (“Adjusted Operating Profit Margin”) of 21.1%, compared to £60.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, representing an Adjusted Operating Profit Margin of 19.2%. Adjusted Operating Profit was primarily driven by the factors affecting operating profit, with the exception of exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangible assets, which are excluded from Adjusted Operating Profit.

drew down £120.0 million on the RCF during the year ended December 31, 2021 to fund the BioVision acquisition in October 2021, and our RCF remained drawn in this amount as of December 31, 2022. The term of this RCF was to expire on January 31, 2024, but it was terminated by us in connection with our entry into the new RCF as discussed below.

On March 7, 2023, we entered into a new RCF with a syndicate of banks for £300.0 million with no accordion option. The new RCF has a term of 4 years, with the option to extend for one further year. The amount of £120.0 million drawn down on our initial facility was rolled forward into the new facility.

The interest rate on our initial RCF since January 2022 was based on the Sterling Overnight Index Average (“SONIA”) risk free rate, a risk rated adjustment to the SONIA risk free rate and a margin between 0.75% and 1.45%, dependent upon a debt cover ratio. The interest rate on the new RCF is also based on the risk free rate, a risk rated adjustment to the SONIA risk free rate and a margin between 1.0% and 1.8%. Borrowings under both our initial facility and the new facility are unsecured but are guaranteed by certain of our material subsidiary companies.

Our capital expenditure consists of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. Our total capital expenditures were £41.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £59.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Major areas of capital expenditure included £16.8 million for property, plant and equipment for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £34.5 million for property, plant and equipment (of which £25.4m was footprint related) for the year ended December 31, 2022. Capital expenditure of £24.5 million was incurred on intangible assets in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £25.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which included £8.2 million in respect of our Oracle Cloud ERP system implementation project and £8.5 million of internally developed technology relating to new in-house products for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to £8.3 million in respect of our Oracle Cloud ERP project and £7.5 million related to internally developed technology for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other significant items included £8.0 million related to laboratory equipment during the year December 31, 2022, with an equivalent amount of £5.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

We assess our liquidity, in part, through an analysis of our working capital together with our other sources of liquidity. As of December 31, 2022, our working capital balance, which is comprised of inventories, trade and other receivables and trade and other payables, was £84.2 million, an increase of £34.5 million from £49.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in working capital during the year ended December 31, 2022, was impacted by two factors: (i) the implementation of the new Oracle Cloud ERP system that disrupted revenues in the second half of the year ended December 31, 2022 (predominantly September and October), and (ii) the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic in China, and the related preventative and precautionary measures, had on our business. Specifically, the increases in inventory and accounts receivables were driven by our inability to ship and invoice product sales and collect cash on a timely basis.

The following table presents the summary consolidated cash flow information for the periods presented.

Net cash inflow from operating activities

Year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021

Net cash inflow from operating activities was £28.7 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £62.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This outflow was primarily driven by (i) increases in working capital, specifically an increase in inventories of £7.4 million, and (ii) an increase in receivables of £33.3 million. This was related to the implementation challenges from our new Oracle Cloud ERP system that resulted in deferred shipments of manufactured inventory and slower collections driven by our inability to ship and invoice product sales on a timely basis.

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Net cash outflow from investing activities

Year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021

Net cash outflow from investing activities was £24.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to £291.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which primarily resulted from the acquisition of BioVision for £245.1 million. Outflows in 2022 were primarily from £41.3 million in capital expenditures partially offset by £16.2 million of escrow payment true-up related to the BioVision acquisition.

Net cash inflow from financing activities

Year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021

Net cash outflow from financing activities was £15.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to inflows of £111.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Outflows were related to lease repayments and cash interest. The inflows for the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily comprise £120.0 million arising from the drawdown of the Group’s RCF to fund the BioVision acquisition partially offset by £8.8 million of amounts classified as lease principal payments and £2.2 million of interest payments including £1.5 million of amounts classified as lease interest payments.

Material Cash Requirements for Known Contractual and Other Obligations

We are a party to many contractual obligations involving commitments to make payments to third parties. These obligations impact our short-term and long-term liquidity and capital resource needs. Certain contractual obligations are reflected on the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2022, while others are considered future commitments. Our contractual obligations primarily consist of long-term property leases and commitments to purchase items of capital expenditure. For information regarding our other contractual obligations, refer to Note 14 Property, Plants and Equipment, Note 15 Leases, and Note 26, Financial Instruments.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

We collect and analyze operating and financial data to evaluate the health of our business and assess our performance. In addition to revenue, profit before tax and other results under IFRS, we assess our performance using a number of financial measures that are not defined under IFRS. We use Total CER revenue growth, Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, ROCE and Adjusted Diluted earnings per share, each of which is described below, to evaluate our business, and we have included these non-IFRS financial measures in this Annual Report because they are key measures used by our management to evaluate our operating performance. Accordingly, we believe that these non-IFRS financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management team. These non-IFRS performance measures exclude certain cash and non-cash items that we believe are not reflective of the normal course of our business. Our calculation of these non-IFRS financial measures may differ from similarly titled non-IFRS measures, if any, reported by other companies. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as substitutes for, financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Total CER Revenue Growth

Total CER revenue growth is our total revenue growth from one year to the next on a constant exchange rate basis. We measure CER revenue growth by applying the prior year’s actual exchange rates for each month to the current year’s equivalent monthly results. We use this measure to identify the relative year-on-year performance of the business by removing the impact of currency movements that are outside of management’s control. Total CER revenue growth is included in this Annual Report because it is a key metric used internally to assess our financial performance. We also believe that Total CER revenue growth is useful to investors, analysts, and others in assessing our performance. Management believes that Total CER revenue growth is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of currency movements.

Total CER revenue growth is not an IFRS measure of our financial performance and should not be considered as an alternative to profit for the year as a measure of financial performance or as an alternative to any other performance measure derived in accordance with IFRS. Total CER revenue growth should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or other items. Management compensates for these limitations by relying on our IFRS results in addition to using Total CER revenue growth as a supplemental measure. Our measure of Total CER revenue growth is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies due to different methods of calculation.

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The following tables present a reconciliation of revenue, the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure, to Total CER revenue growth for the periods indicated:

Free Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow is net cash inflow from operating activities less net capital expenditure, transfer of cash from/(to) escrow in respect of future capital expenditure and the principal and interest elements of lease obligations. Free Cash Flow provides an indication of the amount of cash available for discretionary investing or financing after removing capital related items. Free Cash Flow is included in this Annual Report because it is a key metric used internally to measure our liquidity. We also believe that Free Cash Flow is useful to investors, analysts, and others in assessing our liquidity.

Free Cash Flow is not an IFRS measure of our financial performance and should not be considered as an alternative to net cash inflow from operating activities as a measure of liquidity, or as an alternative to any other performance measure derived in accordance with IFRS. Free Cash Flow should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or other items. Management compensates for these limitations by relying on our IFRS results in addition to using Free Cash Flow as a supplemental measure. Our measure of Free Cash Flow is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies due to different methods of calculation.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash inflow from operating activities, the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure, to Free Cash Flow for the periods indicated:

Adjusted Operating Profit / Adjusted Operating Profit Margin

We define Adjusted Operating Profit as profit for the year before taking account of finance income, finance costs, tax, exceptional items, share-based payments and amortization of acquisition intangibles. Exceptional items consist of certain cash and non-cash items that we believe are not reflective of the normal course of our business. We identify and determine items to be exceptional based on their nature and incidence or by their significance. As a result, the composition of exceptional items may vary from year to year. Exceptional items currently consist of the impairment of intangible assets, systems and process improvement costs, acquisition costs, integration, and reorganization costs, share-based payments, amortization of acquisition intangibles and fair value adjustments. Adjusted Operating Profit is included in this Annual Report because it is a key metric used internally to assess our financial performance. We also believe that Adjusted Operating Profit is useful to investors, analysts, and others in assessing our performance. We believe that disclosing Adjusted Operating Profit enables a reader to isolate and evaluate the impact of such items on results and allows for a fuller understanding of performance from year to year. Management believes that Adjusted Operating Profit is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of expenses that do not relate directly to the performance of the underlying business.

Adjusted Operating Profit Margin is calculated as Adjusted Operating Profit as a percentage of revenue. Adjusted Operating Profit Margin is included in this Annual Report because it is a key metric used internally to

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assess our financial performance. We also believe that Adjusted Operating Profit Margin is useful to investors, analysts, and others in assessing our performance. Adjusted Operating Profit Margin is an appropriate measure of operating performance, as it reflects our ability to turn revenue into profits and because it eliminates the impact of expenses that do not relate directly to the performance of the underlying business.

Adjusted Operating Profit and Adjusted Operating Profit Margin are not IFRS measures of our financial performance and should not be considered as an alternative to profit for the year, or as an alternative to any other performance measure derived in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted Operating Profit and Adjusted Operating Profit Margin should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or other items. Management compensates for these limitations by relying on our IFRS results in addition to using Adjusted Operating Profit and Adjusted Operating Profit Margin as supplemental measures. Our measure of Adjusted Operating Profit and Adjusted Operating Profit Margin are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies due to different methods of calculation.

The following table presents a reconciliation of profit for the year, the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure, to Adjusted Operating Profit and includes the calculation of the Adjusted Operating Profit Margin for the years indicated:

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Return On Capital Employed (“ROCE”)

We define ROCE as Adjusted Operating Profit divided by capital employed, which is defined as total assets less current liabilities. We believe that ROCE is a key tool in measuring our financial efficiency and ability to create future growth in value. We attempt to maintain ROCE at a level well above our estimated cost of capital. ROCE is included in this Annual Report because it is a key metric used internally to assess our financial performance. We also believe that ROCE is useful to investors, analysts, and others in assessing our performance.

ROCE is not an IFRS measure of our financial performance and should not be considered as an alternative to profit for the year or as an alternative to any other performance measure derived in accordance with IFRS. ROCE should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or other items. Management compensates for these limitations by relying on our IFRS results in addition to using ROCE as a supplemental measure. Our measure of ROCE is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies due to different methods of calculation.

The following table presents a reconciliation of profit for the year, the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure, to ROCE for the periods indicated:

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Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share

We define Adjusted Diluted earnings per share as Adjusted Profit for the year divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of diluted earnings per share. Adjusted Profit for the year used in this calculation is defined as profit for the year plus adjusting items (impairment of intangible assets, system and process improvement costs, acquisition costs, integration and reorganization costs, net of tax effects) for the year ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. Adjusted Diluted earnings per share is calculated with an adjustment to the weighted average number of shares outstanding to assume conversion of all potentially dilutive ordinary shares. We use Adjusted Diluted earnings per share to measure underlying profitability and to reflect the other adjusted performance measures used.

We measure Adjusted Diluted earnings per share because it is a key metric used internally to assess our financial performance. We also believe that Adjusted Diluted earnings per share is useful to investors, analysts, and others in assessing our performance. Management believes that Adjusted Diluted earnings per share is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of expenses that do not relate directly to the performance of the underlying business. Adjusted Diluted earnings per share has limitations as a financial measure, should be considered as supplemental in nature, and is not meant as a substitute for earnings per share measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted Diluted earnings per share may not be comparable to other similarly titled metrics of others.

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The following table presents a reconciliation of profit for the year/ period, the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure, to Adjusted profit for the year / period for the years/ periods indicated, which is used in the calculation of Adjusted Diluted earnings per share:

For the year ended December 31, 2021, the costs related to the integration of the acquired BioVision business of £1.0 million and costs in the U.S. and Asia Pacific, relating to the ongoing reorganization of the Group’s property portfolio of £3.0 million.

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C. Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, etc.

See Notes 4 and 6 to our consolidated financial statements included in elsewhere in this Annual Report.

D. Trend Information

Other than as disclosed elsewhere in this Annual Report, we are not aware of any trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments or events since December 31, 2022 that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our revenues, income, profitability, liquidity or capital resources, or that would cause the disclosed financial information to be not necessarily indicative of future operating results or financial conditions.

E. Critical Accounting Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with IFRS, as issued by the IASB. In preparing our consolidated financial statements, we make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the application of our accounting policies which affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Our critical accounting judgements and sources of estimation uncertainty are described in Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Michael Baldock has served as our Chief Financial Officer since February 2020 and as a member of our board since February 2020. From November 2008 to January 2020, Mr. Baldock was a founding partner at Ondra Partners, an independent financial advisory firm. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2007, he was a Managing Director, Global Head of Healthcare and Head of Investment Banking, Americas for HSBC plc, a global universal bank. From 2000 to 2004, he was a Partner of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, a financial advisory and asset management firm. Mr. Baldock received an A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard College.

Non-executive Board Members

The following is a brief summary of the business experience of our non-executive board members.

Peter Allen has served as a member of our board since June 2018. Mr. Allen is also currently Non-Executive Chairman of Advanced Medical Solutions plc. He is a Non-Executive Director of Istesso Ltd. Mr. Allen has nearly 30 years’ experience as an executive director, non-executive director and chairman in a wide range of life science companies. From 2012 to 2021, Mr. Allen served as the Chairman of Clinigen plc. From 2011 to 2022, Mr. Allen served as a non-executive director and then the Chairman of Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc. From 2015 to 2020, Mr. Allen served as the Chairman of Diurnal Group plc. From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Allen served as Chairman of Proximagen Neurosciences plc, from 2005 to 2013 he served as Chairman of ProStrakan Group plc, including as interim CEO from 2010 to 2011, and he served as CFO and Deputy CEO of Celltech Group plc from 1992 to 2004. Mr. Allen holds a BA in Accountancy and Law from the University of Kent.

Mara Aspinall has served as a member of our board since September 2015. Ms. Aspinall is a co-founder and Managing Director of BlueStone Venture Partners, the President and CEO of Health Catalyst Group, part-time Professor of Practice, Diagnostics, College of Health Solutions, a Director of Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona Inc., Castle Biosciences Inc., DA32, OraSure Technologies Inc. Previously, Ms. Aspinall was President and CEO of Ventana Medical Systems/Roche Tissue Diagnostic. Ms. Aspinall spent twelve years at Genzyme Corporation (now part of Sanofi) as President of Genzyme Genetics and Genzyme Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Aspinall is co-founder of the Biomedical Diagnostics program at Arizona State University, the only institution dedicated to the study of diagnostics as an independent discipline. Ms. Aspinall is also a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Ms. Aspinall holds a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Ms. Aspinall is certified in board oversight of cybersecurity from Carnegie Mellon University.

Mark Capone has served as a member of our board since January 2021. Mr. Capone is an accomplished life sciences executive. He spent over 17 years with Myriad Genetics, of which he served as CEO and President for five years and helped Myriad Genetics grow into a leading global precision medicine company. Prior to this Mr. Capone spent 17 years with Eli Lilly and Company in positions across the entire value chain. Mr. Capone is currently CEO of Precision Medicine Advisors, a consultancy for molecular diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology organizations, which he founded in 2020. In addition, he is a Non-Executive Director and member of the Compensation Committee for of Owlstone Medical Ltd, a breath biopsy diagnostic company focused on early detection of cancer and precision medicine, and a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee and Financing Committee of DermTech, a U.S. based company focused on early melanoma detection and other skin applications. Mr. Capone holds a B.Sc in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a M.Sc. in Management and a M.Sc.in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sally W. Crawford has served as a member of our board since August 2021. Ms. Crawford has held a number of senior leadership and board positions in the healthcare industry spanning more than three decades. She served as Chief Operating Officer of Healthsource Inc., a publicly held managed care organization, from its founding in April 1985 until January 1997. Ms. Crawford has extensive board experience, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Hologic, Inc., Insulet Corporation and Prolacta Bioscience. She is also the Lead Independent Director at Hologic, Inc., the current Compensation Chair at ZimVie and Prolacta Bioscience and the former Compensation Chair at Hologic, Inc and Insulet Corporation. Ms. Crawford holds a B.A. in English from Smith College and an M.S. in Communications and Media Studies from Boston University.

Giles Kerr has served as a member of our board since December 2018. Mr. Kerr is currently a Non-Executive Director of Arix Bioscience plc, Senior plc and Oxford Science Enterprises (formerly known as Oxford Sciences Innovation) and is the Chairman of Paypoint plc. Since 1990, Mr. Kerr has served in a variety of increasingly senior roles at Amersham plc, including Chief Financial Officer and a board member from 1997 to 2004, when the company was acquired by GE Healthcare. Prior to his role at Amersham, Mr. Kerr was a National Partner with Arthur Andersen & Co. Mr. Kerr was Director of Finance of the University of Oxford from

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2005 until 2018 and was previously a Director of Victrex plc, BTG plc, Quanta Dialysis Technologies and Elan Corporation Inc. Mr. Kerr holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of York.

Bessie Lee has served as a member of our board since January 2021. Ms. Lee is based in China and is the CEO, Greater China of JonesLangLaSalle and Founder of Withinlink (Shanghai) Investment Management Co Ltd, a China-based venture capital firm and start-up incubator focused on marketing technology. Prior to this Ms. Lee spent almost three decades at WPP plc and served as CEO, China from 2013 to 2017. In addition, Ms. Lee served as CEO for Mindshare and GroupM. Ms. Lee is currently a Non-Executive Director of Electrocomponents plc, Homeplus Digital Co Ltd (formerly China Networks Systems Co Ltd) and Shanghai Fuge Information Technology Co Ltd. Ms. Lee holds a B.A. in German and English, from Wen Tzao Ursula Foreign Language College, a B.Sc. in Mass Communications and a M.S. in Communications both from Illinois State University.

Luba Greenwood has served as a member of our board since September 2022. Ms. Greenwood has held a number of leadership and board positions in the healthcare, biotech, and digital health industries. Currently, Ms. Greenwood is the managing partner of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Venture Fund, Binney Street Capital (“BSC”), a venture fund she has built and launched, and she is also the CEO of Kojin Therapeutics, a BSC portfolio company. In addition she is a Non-Executive Director of Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Inc., BenchSci, and In8Bio Inc. Ms. Greenwood has held leadership positions at Google Life Sciences and at F. Hoffman-La Roche, from 2018 to 2019 and 2015 to 2018, respectively. She is currently a lecturer in engineering sciences at Harvard University, since 2019. Ms. Greenwood holds a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

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Executive Officer Service Agreements

Alan Hirzel

We entered into a service agreement with Alan Hirzel, which became effective on September 9, 2014. This agreement entitles Mr. Hirzel to receive an initial annual base salary of £320,000 (which, following a number of increases, was increased to £629,760 on July 1, 2020 and increased to £654,950 on January 1, 2023) and an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary performance-based bonus of up to 150% of his annual base salary (with an initial target of 75% of his annual base salary), subject to the achievement of performance goals determined in accordance with our annual bonus plan. Of any bonus earned, at least 30% of such bonus amount will be paid in the form of a deferred share award that is expected to vest in full on the second anniversary of the date of grant.

Mr. Hirzel is also enrolled in our defined contribution pension scheme at a contribution rate of at least 8% of his annual base salary, with at least 5% of which Mr. Hirzel must contribute and at least 3% of which we will contribute on Mr. Hirzel’s behalf. However, we provide Mr. Hirzel with an allowance equal to 5% of his annual base salary, which will be applied to Mr. Hirzel’s contribution to the pension scheme or may instead be applied towards other benefits within our flexible benefits scheme. If the annual and/or lifetime ceiling for pension contributions has already been reached, Mr. Hirzel can take this allowance as additional compensation. Additionally, Mr. Hirzel is entitled to the following benefits: (i) eligibility to participate in our life insurance scheme with coverage equal to at least five times his annual base salary, (ii) private medical insurance coverage for himself, his partner and his children (while under age 18 or pursuing full-time education) at our expense, (iii) an annual health screening and (iv) annual tax compliance support for his statutory filings in the United Kingdom or United States.

Either party may terminate the service agreement by giving the other party at least 12 months’ written notice, unless Mr. Hirzel is terminated for cause (as described in Mr. Hirzel’s service agreement) or we terminate Mr. Hirzel and make a payment in lieu of notice equal to his base salary and any benefits to which he would otherwise be entitled for any remaining notice period. Mr. Hirzel is obliged to seek alternative income during this period (subject to the restrictive covenants referenced below), and such payment in lieu of notice will be reduced by the amount of any alternative income Mr. Hirzel receives. Mr. Hirzel’s service agreement also contains restrictive covenants pursuant to which he has agreed to refrain from competing with us or soliciting our key employees or customers for a period of six months following his termination of employment.

Michael Baldock

We entered into a service agreement with Michael Baldock, which became effective on February 3, 2020 and continued in effect throughout 2022. This agreement entitled Mr. Baldock to receive an initial annual base salary of £400,000 (which was subsequently increased to £408,000 on July 1, 2020) and an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary performance-based bonus of up to 150% of his annual base salary (with an initial target of 75% of his annual base salary), subject to the achievement of performance goals determined in accordance with our annual bonus plan. Of any bonus earned, at least 30% of such bonus amount would be paid in the form of a deferred share award that is expected to vest in full on the second anniversary of the date of grant.

During 2022, Mr. Baldock continued to be enrolled in our defined contribution pension scheme at a contribution rate of at least 8.0% of his annual base salary, with at least 5.0% of which Mr. Baldock was required to contribute and at least 3.0% of which we would contribute on Mr. Baldock’s behalf. However, we provided Mr. Baldock with an allowance equal to 5.0% of his annual base salary, which would be applied to Mr. Baldock’s contribution to the pension scheme or may instead be applied towards other benefits within our flexible benefits scheme. If the annual and/or lifetime ceiling for pension contributions has already been reached, Mr. Baldock can take this allowance as additional compensation. Additionally, Mr. Baldock was entitled to the following benefits: (i) eligibility to participate in our life insurance scheme with coverage equal to at least five times his annual base salary, (ii) private medical insurance coverage for himself, his partner and his children (while under age 18 or pursuing full-time education) at our expense, (iii) certain relocation expenses, (iv) an annual health screening and (v) annual tax compliance support for his U.K. and U.S. statutory filings.

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Effective January 1, 2023, we entered into a new at-will service agreement with Mr. Baldock in connection with his relocation to the U.S. This agreement entitles Mr. Baldock to receive an initial annual base salary of $610,000, which is inclusive of director’s fees to which he may be entitled as a director of Abcam plc or of any other positions he may hold on behalf of Company, and an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary performance based bonus of up to 150% of his annual base salary, subject to the exceeding performance goals determined in accordance with our annual bonus plan (with an initial target of 75% of his annual base salary), subject to the achievement of performance goals determined in accordance with our annual bonus plan. Of any bonus earned, 30% of such bonus amount would be paid in the form of a deferred share award that is expected to vest in full on the second anniversary of the date of grant. Mr. Baldock is also entitled to participate in certain health and welfare programs maintained by us in accordance with their terms. Furthermore, in the event that the Company terminates Mr. Baldock’s employment without cause, he is entitled to receive (i) 12 months of base salary continuation, (ii) vesting of deferred shares issued in respect of prior year bonuses on the relevant vesting date, (iii) continued eligibility to vest in certain awards granted under the Company’s Long-Term Incentive Plan upon the attainment of the relevant performance conditions (with awards that were not granted in respect of Mr. Baldock’s appointment as a director being subject to pro-ration) and (iv) up to 12 months of COBRA continuation. The Company will also consider Mr. Baldock fairly and reasonably for a pro-rated annual bonus for the year of termination. Mr. Baldock has also agreed not to compete with us or solicit our employees or customers for a period of 6 months after his resignation or termination by the Company for cause.

Equity Compensation Arrangements

We maintain the following share schemes under which equity-based awards are outstanding or could be issued: (i) the Annual Bonus Plan; (ii) the Share Incentive Plan; (iii) the Long-Term Incentive Plan and (iv) the Share Option Scheme; (v) the Profitable Growth Incentive Plan; (vi) the Abcam Growth Plan (as defined below). As a foreign private issuer, we may follow our home country corporate governance rules instead of certain corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq, and we intend to be exempt from Nasdaq regulations that require a listed U.S. company to seek shareholder approval for the implementation of certain equity compensation plans and issuances of ordinary shares.

Annual Bonus Plan

Our board of directors adopted The Abcam plc Annual Bonus Plan (the “Annual Bonus Plan”) on September 18, 2012, which has been subsequently amended.

Eligibility, Awards, and Administration

All employees who devote substantially all of their working hours to us are eligible to receive awards under the Annual Bonus Plan. However, we typically only grant Annual Bonus Plan awards to employees in executive and senior management positions. Under the Annual Bonus Plan, each participant has a target bonus that is based on a percentage of the employee’s base salary. The extent to which target bonus amounts are paid out depends on whether certain performance targets are achieved. These performance targets currently involve financial, strategic and individual criteria, and bonuses awarded under the Annual Bonus Plan can be up to twice the target bonus amounts. Under the Annual Bonus Plan, our Remuneration Committee may pay bonuses in the form of cash awards and/or deferred share awards. Our current policy is to grant 70% of each bonus as a cash award and 30% of each bonus as a deferred share award. Deferred share awards may be in the form of either a conditional right to acquire our ordinary shares or nil cost options, which convey a right to acquire a certain number of our ordinary shares for no payment or nominal payment. We may not grant awards under the Annual Bonus Plan if such awards would cause the number of ordinary shares committed under the Annual Bonus Plan and any other Company employee share plan in the preceding 10 year period to exceed 10% of our ordinary shares. The Annual Bonus Plan is administered by our Remuneration Committee, which may make, amend, or rescind regulations for the administration of the Annual Bonus Plan.

Vesting, Exercise, and Clawback

Cash awards granted under the Annual Bonus Plan are fully vested upon grant. Deferred share awards generally vest on the second anniversary of the date that is ten business days from the date on which we announce our preliminary results for the relevant fiscal year, subject to applicable share dealing restrictions and the achievement of performance targets. Our Remuneration Committee may, in its discretion, settle any deferred share awards in cash instead of ordinary shares. Furthermore, our Remuneration Committee may require the forfeiture of any unpaid cash award or the reduction or cancellation of certain deferred share awards in the event

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there is (i) a material adverse adjustments to our audited consolidated accounts for any accounting period ending before the vesting of the award or (ii) reasonable evidence of fraud or other gross misconduct or, for awards granted after July 1, 2015, material dishonesty, risk management failure or material wrongdoing on the part of the award recipient.

Upon termination of employment, all unvested awards and unexercised nil cost options shall lapse, unless such termination of employment is due to illness, permanent disability, redundancy retirement (by way of mutual agreement with us), certain changes to the employee’s employing entity or any other reason our Remuneration Committee may determine. Upon such a termination and unless our Remuneration Committee determines otherwise, deferred shares awards shall remain outstanding with vested nil cost options remaining exercisable for 12 months following such termination, unless the award recipients are U.S. tax residents, in which case deferred share awards shall become fully vested.

Certain Transactions

Upon certain change in control events such as takeovers, compulsory acquisitions, reconstructions, amalgamations and wind-ups, all deferred share awards that are not substituted shall fully vest on the date of the applicable event. Furthermore, if our Remuneration Committee becomes aware that we will be affected by a demerger, distribution (other than an ordinary dividend) or other transaction, it may accelerate vesting of all or a portion of unvested and outstanding deferred share awards.

Amendment and Termination

Our Remuneration Committee may, at any time, amend the Annual Bonus Plan, except that no amendment may be made that would adversely affect the existing rights of award recipients, unless the affected award recipients have approved such amendment.

Company Share Option Plan

Our board of directors adopted the Company Share Option Plan 2009 (the “CSOP”) on November 5, 2009, which was subsequently amended. As of June 30, 2019 and 2020, we had no ordinary shares authorized for issuance under the CSOP. We do not intend to grant equity awards under the CSOP in the future.

Long-Term Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted the Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “LTIP”) on November 3, 2008, which was subsequently amended.

Eligibility, Awards, and Administration

All our employees are eligible to participate in the LTIP. Under the LTIP, our Remuneration Committee may grant share-based incentive awards to attract, motivate and retain the talent for which we compete. LTIP awards can be in the form of conditional rights to acquire our ordinary shares (typically for non-U.K. tax residents), or nil cost options (typically for U.K. tax residents), which convey a right to acquire a certain number of our ordinary shares for no payment or nominal payment. LTIP awards vest based on achievement of certain performance targets, which may involve financial and strategic criteria. We may not grant awards under the LTIP if such awards would cause the number of ordinary shares committed under the LTIP and any other Company employee share plan in the preceding 10 year period to exceed 10% of our ordinary shares. The LTIP is administered by our Remuneration Committee, which may make and amend regulations for the implementation and administration of the LTIP.

The current Executive Directors will not receive awards under the LTIP while the Profitable Growth Incentive Plan (“PGIP”) described below is in operation. One-off recruitment-related LTIP awards may be granted to any new Executive Directors hired during the plan period.

Vesting, Exercise, and Clawback

LTIP awards typically vest on the third anniversary of the date on which they are granted. The portion of the LTIP award that vests depends on how we perform as a company over a three-year performance period (starting with the year in which the LTIP award is granted), as measured against predefined performance requirements.

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Upon vesting, shares are immediately transferred to employees who hold conditional rights to acquire our ordinary shares and nil cost options become exercisable. Nil cost options generally remain exercisable until the tenth anniversary of the grant date, subject to earlier termination upon a cessation of employment. Our Remuneration Committee may impose post-exercise retention requirements on shares received by a participant. Our Remuneration Committee may reduce or cancel any unvested LTIP award in the event there is a material adverse adjustment to our audited consolidated accounts for any accounting period ending before the vesting of the award. Additionally, our Remuneration Committee may reduce or reclaim any LTIP award in the event there is a material adverse adjustment to our audited consolidated accounts due to fraud or other gross misconduct, material dishonesty, material failure of risk management or material wrongdoing on the part of the employee for a period of two years following the vesting of the award or throughout any period that the employee is subject to a work related criminal investigation.

Upon termination of employment, all unvested awards and unexercised nil cost options shall lapse, unless our Remuneration Committee determines otherwise for reasons including illness, disability, injury, death, redundancy or retirement. Upon such a termination and unless our Remuneration Committee determines otherwise, LTIP awards shall vest as to a prorated portion of the award based on the time elapsed between the grant date and the termination date and the achievement of the predefined performance requirements as of the termination date.

Certain Transactions

Upon certain change in control events described in the LTIP plan rules, our Remuneration Committee will notify each LTIP participant of the event and determine, in its absolute discretion, what portion of the LTIP awards will become vested, taking into account considerations such as the time elapsed from the grant date and the achievement level of the predetermined performance requirements. Alternatively, LTIP awards may be cancelled and substituted with replacement awards of equivalent value covering shares of the new controlling entity. In the event of our voluntary winding up, all LTIP awards will fully vest. Upon a merger or demerger that does not constitute a change in control, our Remuneration Committee will have discretion regarding whether to vest or adjust any portion of outstanding LTIP awards. Our Remuneration Committee has the discretion to adjust the exercise period for nil cost options in light of the previously described events.

Amendment and Termination

Our Remuneration Committee may, at any time, amend the regulations for implementing and administering the LTIP, except that no amendment may be made that would materially affect the subsisting rights of award recipients unless a majority of affected award recipients have consented to and sanctioned such amendment. Certain amendments to the LTIP rules require our approval in a general meeting, including the limit on the aggregate number of shares over which awards can be made and the price at which shares may be acquired under an award. The LTIP will terminate on the earlier of the fifth anniversary of the LTIP’s adoption or renewal or another termination date determined by our Remuneration Committee.

Share Incentive Plan

We adopted the Abcam plc Share Incentive Plan (the “SIP”) on September 26, 2008, which was subsequently amended.

Eligibility, Awards, and Administration

The SIP is an HMRC approved plan, which we maintained until October 2018 and under which all U.K.-based employees were eligible to participate and purchase our ordinary shares. These shares are referred to as “partnership shares” and are held in trust on behalf of the employees. For every partnership share bought by the employee up to a limit of £1,800 per tax year, we award the employee one matching share, provided the employee remained employed with us for a period of at least three years. Additionally, until October 2018, we awarded “free shares” to employees with a value of up to £3,600 per tax year, and we also awarded “dividend shares” to employees that were equivalent to the cash dividends paid in respect of shares held on behalf of SIP participants.

We do not intend to make awards under the SIP in the future (with the exception of dividend reinvestments). The SIP is administered by our board of directors, which may make and amend regulations for the implementation and administration of the SIP.

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Vesting and Holding

Partnership shares that are purchased with employee contributions are fully vested upon acquisition by the employee. Matching shares and free shares that we grant are subject to a holding period of at least three years (but no more than five years). At our board of directors’ discretion, granting of free shares may be conditioned upon the achievement of certain performance targets that it specifies.

Upon a termination of employment, any shares held on behalf of such employee will be removed from the SIP and all contributions made by such employee will be returned as soon as practicable following the termination date. Any matching shares or free shares held on behalf of such employee (whether during the accumulation period or the holding period) shall be forfeited upon such employee’s termination, unless such termination is due to death, injury, disability, retirement, redundancy, certain changes to the participant’s employing entity, or certain transferences. Upon such a termination, the participant is entitled to retain any matching shares and free shares held on his or her behalf.

Amendment and Termination

Our board of directors may, at any time, amend the SIP plan rules, except that no amendment may be made which would materially affect the subsisting rights of award recipients unless a majority of affected award recipients have consented to and sanctioned such amendment and except in other limited circumstances (including where such amendment would cause the SIP to cease to be a qualified share incentive plan under applicable U.K. law).

Share Option Scheme

Our board of directors adopted the 2005 Share Option Scheme, which was subsequently amended, and 2015 Share Option Plan (ISO/Unapproved) (together, the “Share Option Scheme” or “SOS”) on October 31, 2005 and November 5, 2015, respectively. We do not intend to grant equity awards under the SOS in the future, however there are vested but unexercised stock options outstanding from previous awards granted.

Profitable Growth Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted the PGIP on June 1, 2021 and it was approved by shareholders on July 1, 2021. The current executive directors’ awards under the PGIP were granted on July 14, 2021, and no further awards will be made to them under the PGIP during the remainder of the plan period. PGIP awards may be granted to any new executive director hires during the remainder of the plan period, and to any other eligible employee of the Company.

Eligibility, Awards, and Administration

Under the PGIP, our Remuneration Committee may grant share-based incentive awards to attract, motivate and retain the talent for which we compete. PGIP awards are in the form of conditional rights to acquire our ordinary shares. PGIP awards vest based on achievement of revenue growth targets, underpinned by ROCE. All of our employees are eligible to participate in the PGIP. However, we typically only grant PGIP awards to employees in executive and senior management positions.

We may not grant an award that would cause the number of shares allocated under the Plan to exceed such number as represents 3.5% of the ordinary share capital of the Company then in issue. No eligible employee may be granted an Award that would, at the time it is granted, exceed such number of shares as represents 0.6% of the ordinary share capital of the Company. We also must not grant an Award that would cause the number of Shares allocated under the Plan and under any other employee share plan adopted by the Company to exceed such number as represents 10% of the ordinary share capital of the Company then in issue. The PGIP is administered by our Remuneration Committee, which may make and amend regulations for the implementation and administration of the PGIP.

Vesting, Exercise, and Clawback

PGIP awards currently outstanding vest subject to a three and a half year performance period from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2024, or, for a newly appointed executive director, such other period set by the Remuneration Committee in its discretion. The portion of PGIP awards that vests depends on how we perform as

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a company over the performance period, as measured against predefined performance requirements. Upon vesting, shares are generally immediately transferred to employees. PGIP awards for the executive directors include a post-vesting holding period. Our Remuneration Committee may reduce or cancel any unvested PGIP award in the event there is a material adverse adjustment to our audited consolidated accounts for any accounting period ending before the vesting of the award. Additionally, our Remuneration Committee may reduce or reclaim any PGIP award in the event there is a material adverse adjustment to our audited consolidated accounts due to fraud or other gross misconduct, material dishonesty, material failure of risk management or material wrongdoing on the part of the employee during the period ending on the fifth anniversary of the grant date or throughout any period that the employee is subject to a work-related criminal investigation.

Awards will be subject to a cap at vesting. No Award will vest at a value that exceeds the initial value of the award, calculated by multiplying the number of shares under award by three times the average closing share price over the 30 dealing days leading up to the date of the General Meeting (the ‘Cap’). If the value of any vested shares exceeds the Cap then awards will be reduced accordingly.

The value at vesting is calculated by multiplying the number of shares that are due to vest by the average closing price of shares over the 30 dealing days prior to the vesting date (or such other averaging period as the Remuneration Committee determines).

Upon termination of employment, all unvested awards shall generally lapse, unless in the event of certain changes to the participant’s employing entity, or certain transferences or if our Remuneration Committee determines otherwise for reasons including illness, disability, injury, redundancy, or retirement. Upon such a termination the Remuneration Committee may determine, in its discretion, that up to 50% of the unvested awards held by a participant will lapse. The award, or the balance of the award, will usually continue until the normal vesting and release dates. In determining the extent to which the award, or balance of the award, vests the Remuneration Committee will, in its discretion, apply the following: the extent to which the performance condition has been satisfied, any downwards discretion, and the Cap. The vested award will also be reduced to reflect the proportion of the vesting period that has elapsed on cessation. The holding period will continue to apply.

Where a participant dies, the award will vest and be released at the time of the participant’s death. The extent to which an award vests will be determined by the Remuneration Committee in its discretion by applying the following: the extent to which the performance condition has been satisfied, any downwards discretion, and the Cap. The vested award will also be reduced to reflect the proportion of the vesting period that has elapsed on death.

If an award that does not lapse was subject to a restriction, the restriction will continue to apply following cessation of employment unless the participant ceases by reason of death. If a participant is dismissed for gross misconduct during a restricted period, the shares may be forfeited on the date of cessation.

Certain Transactions

In the event of a change of control of the Company, unvested PGIP awards will vest to the extent determined by the Remuneration Committee, by applying the following: the extent to which the performance condition has been satisfied at the time of the change of control including consideration of any other performance factors that the Remuneration Committee considers relevant, any downwards discretion and the Cap. The vested award will also be reduced to reflect the proportion of the vesting period that has elapsed at the date of the change of control. Awards will be released immediately following vesting.

Alternatively, the Remuneration Committee may permit awards to be exchanged for shares in the acquiring company. If the change of control is an internal re-organization of the Group or if the Remuneration Committee so decides, participants will be required to exchange their awards (rather than awards vesting and being released as part of the transaction).

If other corporate events occur such as a winding-up of the Company, a variation of share capital, demerger, delisting, special dividend or other event which, in the opinion of the Remuneration Committee, may affect the current or future value of shares, the Remuneration Committee may determine that awards will vest or lapse. The extent to which an award vests will be determined by the Remuneration Committee by applying the following: the extent to which the performance condition has been satisfied, any downwards discretion, and the Cap. The vested award will also be reduced to reflect the proportion of the vesting period that has elapsed at the date of the change of control. Awards will be released immediately following vesting.

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Amendment and Termination

Our Remuneration Committee may, at any time, amend the regulations for implementing and administering the PGIP, except that no amendment may be made that would materially affect the subsisting rights of award recipients unless a majority of affected award recipients have consented to and sanctioned such amendment. Certain amendments to the PGIP rules require approval in a general meeting, including the limit on the aggregate number of shares over which awards can be made and the price at which shares may be acquired under an award. The PGIP will terminate on the earlier of December 31, 2024 or another termination date determined by our Remuneration Committee.

Abcam Growth Plan

Our Remuneration Committee adopted the Abcam Growth Plan (“AGP”) on September 10, 2021. The AGP is the successor equity plan to AbShare described above. It aims to build on AbShare’s success by incentivizing and rewarding employees globally in shares on the achievement of annual and long-term goals.

Eligibility, Awards, and Administration

The AGP provides for the grant of fully paid ordinary shares to employees who are employed on a permanent contract or equivalent basis, except participants in the PGIP. Participants in PGIP are not eligible to participate in the AGP.

The AGP is a three year performance-based equity plan which awards 60% of base salary in conditional shares across two components: (i) annual incentive with a face value of 10% of salary per annum released after each year subject to operational and financial performance; and (ii) strategic incentive released in April 2025 subject to the same financial performance conditions as the PGIP described above. Vesting of any AGP award is subject to participants being employed on the respective vesting date. The AGP is administered by our board of directors who has authority to adopt any regulations necessary for administering the AGP and has final authority to interpret and construe AGP provisions.

Vesting and Holding

Awards vest at the end of their respective performance period to the extent that our board of directors has determined the financial performance criteria has been met. Each Annual Incentive award vests subject to a 12 month performance period (Jan 1 to Dec 31). Strategic Incentive awards vest subject to a three-and-a-half-year performance period from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2024. The portion of AGP awards that vest depends on how we perform as a company over each performance period, as measured against predefined performance requirements. Upon vesting, shares are generally immediately transferred to employees.

Our Remuneration Committee may reduce or cancel any unvested AGP award in the event there is a material adverse adjustment to our audited consolidated accounts for any accounting period ending before the vesting of the award. Additionally, our Remuneration Committee may reduce or reclaim any AGP award in the event there is a material adverse adjustment to our audited consolidated accounts due to fraud or other gross misconduct, material dishonesty, material failure of risk management or material wrongdoing on the part of the employee during the period ending on the first anniversary of the vesting date or throughout any period that the employee is subject to a work-related criminal investigation.

Leavers

Upon a termination of employment, AGP awards will lapse, unless such termination of employment is due to death, illness, injury, retirement, disability, redundancy, certain changes to the participant’s employing entity, certain transferences or any other reason our board of directors may determine. Upon such a termination and unless our Remuneration Committee determines otherwise, AGP awards shall vest as to a prorated portion of the award based on the time elapsed between the grant date and the termination date and the achievement of the predefined performance requirements as of the termination date.

Certain Transactions

In the event of a change of control of the Company, unvested AGP awards will vest to the extent determined by the Remuneration Committee, by applying the following: the extent to which the performance condition has

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been satisfied at the time of the change of control including consideration of any other performance factors that the Remuneration Committee considers relevant, and any downwards discretion. The vested award will also be reduced to reflect the proportion of the vesting period that has elapsed at the date of the change of control. Awards will be released immediately following vesting.

Alternatively, the Remuneration Committee may permit awards to be exchanged for shares in the acquiring company. If the change of control is an internal re-organization of the Group or if the Remuneration Committee so decides, participants will be required to exchange their awards (rather than awards vesting and being released as part of the transaction).

If other corporate events occur such as a winding-up of the Company, a variation of share capital, demerger, delisting, special dividend, or other event which, in the opinion of the Remuneration Committee, may affect the current or future value of shares, the Remuneration Committee may determine that awards will vest or lapse. The extent to which an award vests will be determined by the Remuneration Committee by applying the following: the extent to which the performance condition has been satisfied and any downwards discretion. The vested award will also be reduced to reflect the proportion of the vesting period that has elapsed at the date of the change of control. Awards will be released immediately following vesting.

Amendment and Termination

Our board of directors may, at any time, amend the AGP plan rules, except that no amendment may be made that would disadvantage the existing rights of participants, unless consent from a majority of the affected participants is obtained. Additionally, our board of directors may pass a resolution at any time terminating AGP, provided such termination does not prejudice the existing rights of participants.

The following table summarizes the number of outstanding shares and options granted to executive officers and non-employee directors, as of December 31, 2022:

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