May 14, 2020 - Letter to shareholders from Proxy filing
Dear fellow stockholders,
As I write this letter in the spring of 2020, we find ourselves in a starkly different world from the one we knew a few short months ago. It is one of extraordinary challenge, but also great opportunity.
Our products, technologies, and expertise enable important research on multiple frontiers of human health, and they are now being brought to bear by the global scientific community in the fight against the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
A growing number of government and medical institutions that are addressing the pandemic are engaging with Fluidigm from the perspectives of both immune profiling and virus detection and testing. Like so many in the life science community, we are engaged with and providing support to our customers in every way we can to make meaningful inroads in the fight against COVID-19.
Given the powerful capabilities of our two technology platforms, mass cytometry and microfluidics, it is no surprise that we are at the forefront of this unparalleled global effort. However, the company is also remarkably well-equipped to make meaningful contributions to life science research for the long term.
Our fundamental value proposition is unchanged. A defining trend of this decade will be discovery of new biomarkers for disease insight and treatment—in immunology, immune function, immuno-oncology, and infectious disease.
Our innovative technology powering biomarker discovery and deployment puts us in the right place at the right time, focused on the right opportunities.
For the year 2019, we drove innovation, launching more than 10 new products for our mass cytometry business. Fluidigm received the Life Science Industry Award for Best New Product in Cell Biology for our Maxpar® Direct™ Immune Profiling System.
Our mass cytometry business made impressive progress on many fronts:
• We drove mass cytometry utilization with 2019 revenue growth of 23%, powered by strong sales of our imaging system configuration.
• We increased our active installed base of mass cytometry units to 292, with 85 enabled for imaging.
• Important publications based on mass cytometry exceeded 1,000, documenting meaningful findings across immunology, immune function, immuno-oncology, and infectious disease. In early 2020, a landmark study in breast cancer utilizing Imaging Mass Cytometry™ exemplified our momentum toward further adoption of IMC™ in translational and clinical research.
• Our mass cytometry technology powered 75 clinical trials as of year-end. We believe our involvement in translational studies on a substantial scale is only beginning.
• We signed new partnerships and collaboration agreements to supplement our organic initiatives, including a significant development program funded by the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the establishment of a new Center of Excellence for Imaging Mass Cytometry in Singapore, a joint effort with the Singapore Immunology Network, part of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. Momentum continued into early 2020 with our acquisition of InstruNor AS, the privately held provider of the only fully integrated sample preparation system for flow and mass cytometry.
In the second half of 2019, we embarked on an effort to expand our commercial footprint in order to return microfluidics to growth. Our strategy included enhanced specialist sales coverage for each franchise. We also secured new collaborations and partnerships and pursued more opportunities to further increase share of wallet. We focused on commercializing improved workflows, improving channel reach, and identifying novel content for disease, diagnosis, and treatment.
At the corporate level, we made enormous strides in improving our balance sheet, eliminating $150 million of debt in the first quarter of 2019 and refinancing the remainder of our 2014 convertible notes in the fourth quarter.
We strengthened our Board of Directors with the addition of Bill W. Colston, who brings extensive experience across a range of innovative life science and technology ventures.
For the executive leadership team, we welcomed Colin McCracken as Chief Commercial Officer, charged with driving revenue growth in new and existing markets and expanding the company’s global reach. Andrew Quong, PhD, became our Chief Science Officer, leading our strategy for the generation of bold scientific insights in immunology, immuno-oncology, and other frontiers of human health based on our technology.
Finally, in an affirmation of the culture we are building across the company, Fluidigm was named one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2020, an annual list of organizations with exceptionally positive and engaging environments that inspire and motivate employees.
Fluidigm made solid progress in 2019, enabling us to begin 2020 with an improved balance sheet, a renewed commitment to innovation and revenue growth, engaged and motivated leadership, and a focus on financial discipline and operational improvements.
We are committed to driving sustained growth and long-term value creation. I have never been more confident about the long-term success of Fluidigm, supported by the hard work, commitment, ideas, and energy of our 500 employees around the world.
Onward and upward.
Christopher Linthwaite
President and Chief Executive Officer
