Genmab A/S (GMAB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon, and welcome to Genmab's 2023 Annual General Meeting. We are pleased to once again see so many of you here in person, and welcome also to those of you that are joining us via webcast. I'm Deirdre Connelly, Chair of Genmab's Board of Directors. I would like to begin by introducing the other members of our Board: Deputy Chair, Pernille Erenbjerg; Paolo Paoletti; Anders Gersel Pedersen; and Elizabeth O'Farrell. We also have 3 employee Board members. These are: Martin Schultz; Takahiro Hamatani; and Mijke Zachariasse. Next, our company's executive managers, the heavy lifters: Jan van de Winkel, our CEO; Anthony Pagano, our Chief Financial Officer; Judith Klimovsky, our Chief Development Officer; Anthony Mancini, our Chief Operating Officer; Tahi Ahmadi, Chief Medical Officer; Birgitte Stephensen, our Chief Legal Officer; Chris Cozic, our Chief People Officer; and Martine van Vugt, Chief Strategy Officer. To officially start the proceedings for today's meeting, I would now like to introduce Jorgen Kjergaard Madsen, Genmab's External legal adviser, who will be the Chair of our Annual General Meeting. Jorgen?

Thank you, Deirdre. And now I will switch into Danish. [Interpreted] Thank you very much. I hope we will have a good meeting. There's a tradition for this AGM to be simultaneously translated. And many of the presentations will be in English, actually the majority of them. And that's why there will be simultaneous translation into Danish, in the same way as what I am saying now is translated simultaneously into English. We have interpreters at the back of the room. This also means that there are headsets available if you would like to hear translation into English or into Danish. And if you haven't picked one up yet, then raise your hand, and we will bring you one. We just want to make sure that everyone needing one, gets one. Right. If anyone in the room would like to take the floor, make a comment or put a question, I would ask you to come to the podium up here and bring along your admission card and introduce yourselves so that we know who are speaking. If you wish to leave the room before the meeting is officially adjourned, please approach the registration desk in order for you to be delisted. Otherwise, let's get cracking. My first job is, as usual, to make sure that the meeting has been legally and lawfully convened and is quorate. First of all, the meeting must be convened to be -- held in the Copenhagen area, and that's fine. We're in the middle of Copenhagen. It must be convened to be held before 4 months have elapsed since the expiry of the fiscal year, at a notice of between 5 and 3 weeks. This was done by a convening notice on the company's website and also with a release on the Copenhagen NASDAQ website, and with written notice to shareholders having requested one. I find that everything has been done on the 23rd of February, 2023. The agenda and the complete wording of the proposals, and the annual report and such documents, and information as are required according to the articles in Danish company law, have all been made available on the company's website as requested by law. There is nothing on the agenda that requires the presence of a specific proportion of shareholders on the share capital. And that's why I find that the meeting has been duly and lawfully convened and is quorate. And unless there are objections to this, all this will be entered into the minutes. Thank you. I can also inform you that at this meeting today, almost 70% of the company's voting stock is represented, and we are approximately 130 people present in the room. Right. Very briefly, let's have a look at the agenda. The first 2 items, the report by the Board on the company's activities in the past year; and 2, presentation and adoption of the audited annual report 2022, and a resolution to discharge Board of Directors and executive management members from liability will be dealt with together. This is what we usually do. And the first speaker will be Deirdre Connelly from the Board, and she will be followed by the CEO, Jan van de Winkel; and the CFO, Anthony Pagano who will -- they will all appear one after the other. And then 3, we have a resolution on the distribution of profit as recorded in the adopted annual report. Item 4, presentation of the compensation report 2022 and an advisory vote; 5, election of members to the Board of Directors; 6, election of an auditor; 7, proposals from the Board of Directors. I would point out that we have not received any proposals from shareholders. But let's go over the proposals in 7 when we get to that stage. Then we have Item 8, the standard item, authorization to the Chair of the meeting with regard to notifications to the Danish Business Agency; and then 9, any other business. I would also point out that with the postal votes and proxies received, there is already a clear majority for the adoption of all proposals appearing on the agenda. And that's why, in principle, we do not need any formal votes. However, in order to be able to specify the outcome of a vote, I suggest that if anyone would like to vote against or abstain in relation to a vote for an item on the agenda, do so by handing in their ballot sheet, the one that relates to the relevant item on the agenda and hand it in to the people at the registration desk so that we can all deal with this in the proper way. I'd like to hand over now to the Chairman -- Chairperson of the Board, Deirdre P. Connelly. You have the floor.

Thank you, Jorgen. I now need to draw your attention to the fact that this presentation will include forward-looking statements as drug development is not always a straightforward line. It is important to understand that what we discuss today is our aim, and that -- you are aware, and you should be aware that it is our goal, but not necessarily we'll get there. Sometimes events cause us to change direction. Genmab has experienced significant growth over the past few years in all the areas of our business. Based on this progress, we determined that it was time to look beyond our 2025 vision, for the company to see how we can continue to impact the lives of patients and the health care community even further into the future. Working with a broad cross-functional team of Genmab colleagues, we created our 2030 vision That, by 2030, our knock-your-socks-off, or KYSO antibody medicines are fundamentally transforming the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases. We are confident that we will be able to achieve this vision, in part because innovative science remains at Genmab's core. At Genmab, we are inspired by the power of the human immune system to combat and fight diseases. Our unstoppable team also has a never-ending curiosity that drives us to new discoveries on how the immune system works. This knowledge is translated into our innovative technologies, which in turn fuel our pipeline of investigational therapies with the potential to fundamentally transform the lives of patients and their families. One of our proprietary technologies is the DuoBody platform, which we use to create potentially best-in-class or first-in-class antibodies. There are currently 2 approved medicines on the market, developed and commercialized by our partner, Janssen, that are powered by our DuoBody technology. These are: RYBREVANT, approved for certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer; and TECVAYLI, approved for certain patients with multiple myeloma. 2 additional DuoBody-based products may potentially be approved this year, excitingly, our own epcoritamab, which we are co-developing with AbbVie, and another Janssen-owned product, talquetamab. We now have a brief video on the inspiration for our technologies, including our DuoBody platform. Please let's play the video. [Presentation]

If you would like to learn more about how we use insights into new formats of antibodies to turn them into medicines for patients, you can see a full length video that will be playing in the foyer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you -- all of you, for your support during the last years as we get closer to achieving our vision of transforming the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases. Now I would like to hand over to Genmab's CEO, Jan van de Winkel. Jan will discuss in greater detail Genmab's achievements during 2022, as well as our key goals for 2023. Jan?

All right. Thank you, Deirdre, and thank you to everyone here joining today. I'm really pleased to provide a brief overview of our recent successes, and also share a glimpse of what you can expect from us in 2023. There is an electronic problem there, I think. Seems to be someone under the table, but maybe that can be solved. So, as Genmab has grown, we have moved from strength to strength, and we have never been in a better position to achieve our inspirational vision. We have expanded and matured our innovative product pipeline. We have further solidified already very strong financial foundation, and we have evolved our organization for continued future success. Our consistent and solid track record is possible because we have a world-class team of unstoppable colleagues who are driven to improve the lives of patients through innovative and differentiated antibody medicines. So now let's move to the next slide and look at some of the events from the past year and further build on our track record of success. 2022 marks the 10th year of profitability for Genmab. And as Anthony will describe in detail, the success is due to both our growing recurring revenue streams, and are investing this revenue in a focused and disciplined manner. In September of last year, we, together with our partner, Seagen, celebrated the first full year of Tivdak being available for cervical cancer patients in the U.S. At the beginning of this year, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, or NCCN, updated their cervical cancer treatment guidelines, upgrading Tivdak to a preferred regimen for second-line cervical cancer. And in the U.S., these guidelines are used by doctors as they decide the best course of treatment for the patients. So the inclusion of Tivdak as a preferred regimen means, very generally, that more patients in needs may have the opportunity to receive Tivdak. So turning to our next potential medicine. 2022 was a critical year in the development of epcoritamab. We and our partner, AbbVie, made submissions for regulatory approval for epcoritamab in the U.S., in Japan and in Europe. And with these regulatory submissions, we are one step closer to potentially delivering epcoritamab as a new therapeutic option for people living with certain hematologic malignancies in these territories. And together with our partner AbbVie, we are committed to progressing a comprehensive development program evaluating epcoritamab across a broad range of B-cell lymphomas. And we especially look forward to receiving feedback from the U.S. FDA, by the target action date of May 21st. So it's really around the corner. The past year was also notable for our data presentations and publications and these highlighted investigational medicines across our portfolio. We also expanded our pipeline in 2022 with new investigational medicines entering the clinic. And one of these, HexaBody-CD27 is part of an expansion of our successful collaboration with BioNTech. The ongoing clinical trial for HexaBody-CD38 has also been expanded to evaluate this product versus subcutaneous daratumumab in certain patients with multiple myeloma. We very much look forward to seeing how this trial progresses. So now let us move to the next slide and a brief reminder of the impact of our innovation beyond our own pipeline. So partner-owned programs powered by our world-class innovation, and especially our proprietary DuoBody platform, also saw great progress in 2022. Multiple partner-owned DuoBody-based products either moved into late stage development or expanded into additional studies. In 2022, Janssen's TECVAYLI became the second DuoBody-based medicine to receive regulatory approval. And with the submission of a BLA for talquetamab in December, as well as submission in Europe in January of this year, as Deirdre has already noted, there is the potential for a third approved medicine from our DuoBody agreement with Janssen. And at both epcoritamab from ourselves and talquetamab from Janssen are approved in 2023, there will be 8 approved medicines that incorporate Genmab's innovation available for patients, half of which will be powered by our DuoBody technology platform. I also want to briefly mention some very exciting news. Last month, the British pharmacological society announced that the team behind the development of amivantamab has been awarded its prestigious Drug Discovery of the Year 2023 award. The creation of amivantamab was a real team effort between Genmab and Janssen. This award is a further validation of the potential of Genmab's innovative DuoBody technology platform to create truly differentiated bispecific antibody medicines. Now turning to DARZALEX. It continues to redefine the treatment of multiple myeloma, and J&J's net sales for daratumumab were up 32% over 2021. And that is generating more than DKK 10 billion in the royalties for us, contributing materially to our robust financials, and Anthony will go into more detail there. I would also like to note, and we are super proud of that, that the sales of Kesimpta passed the $1 billion mark in 2022, and Kesimpta in that way became the third blockbuster medicine on the market created by Genmab. 2022 was a truly exceptional year for the company as we made significant progress across all areas of our business. In '23, we will continue to work towards our 2030 vision where our KYSO antibody medicines are fundamentally transforming the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases. We will start with bringing our own patient -- own medicines to patients. Subject to approval, we are very enthusiastic about the potential launch of epcoritamab. We're also looking forward to working with AbbVie to expand developments with new studies. We will collaborate with our partner, Seagen, and soon Pfizer, to establish Tivdak as a clear choice for patients with metastatic cervical cancer. And together, we will continue to broaden the tisotumab vedotin clinical development program. So, more updates this year. Turning to our world-class differentiated product pipeline. We very much look forward to data from the clinical expansion cohorts and progress to next step for both DuoBody molecules and development with BioNTech, targeting 4-1BB. They will get a lot of attention this year. We anticipate expanding and advancing other early-stage programs, including the potential for multiple additional INDs or CTAs this year. So fundamental to the success of these programs is having the right team and culture in place. We intend to continue to scale our organization based on our planned -- portfolio development and business needs. And finally, we intend to leverage our solid financial base to support our growth, which could include external opportunities. So with all this in mind, we are truly excited about the next 12 months and you should be as well. Let me go to the summary. Our laser sharp strategy will effectively drive us towards our 2030 vision. This vision will continue to act as a guiding light, anchored in a core purpose where our unstoppable team will improve the lives of patients through innovative and differentiated antibody therapeutics. And as of today, our first own medicine has been launched, and we are anticipating a second one in the near term. These give us a strong rationale to make focused investments so we can actually make the most of the opportunities ahead of us. We continue to be disciplined in our approach, and we are confident that as we look to the future, we will see the realization of our continued evolution into a fully integrated biotech innovation powerhouse. So thank you all for your attention and for your continued support. We hope that you all remain safe, healthy and keep optimistic. And I'm very pleased to now hand over to my colleague, Anthony Pagano, our CFO, to discuss the 2022 financials and our '23 financial guidance. Thank you very much.

First of all, thanks, Jan. It's really great to be here today with all of you. So let's jump into it and get started. We've never been in a better position to achieve our vision of transforming the lives of people with cancer. And today, my objective is twofold: First, to explain why 2022 has been yet another remarkable year for us here at Genmab; and second, to provide our guidance for 2023, which is set to be another very strong year. Overall, we continue to strengthen our foundation and drive towards our 2030 vision. And here, I do want to pause for just a second and really highlight a very significant achievement during the course of 2022. Together with our partner, AbbVie, we have achieved our goal of regulatory submissions for epco, not only in the U.S., but also in Europe and Japan. And as we'll see, our financials for the year are exceptionally strong. In fact, we grew operating profit by 111% in 2022. We also increased recurring revenues by 70%, and this was principally driven by strong royalties from DARZALEX and other approved medicines. But here, I do want to note that favorable FX also had a significant impact, and I'm going to come back to this in a bit more detail in just a few minutes. Our strong balance sheet, growing recurring revenues and significant underlying profitability allow us to continue to invest in our business and our pipeline in a very focused and disciplined way. And of course, an important part of this has been to continue to build our team and our capabilities that are absolutely essential to our success. So with that important background, let's dive into our revenues on the next page. We grew total revenue to around DKK 14.6 billion in 2022. And as I've already highlighted, that included a 70% increase in recurring revenue. Jan already mentioned DARZALEX and the very strong performance there. So turning now to Kesimpta and TEPEZZA where we saw an increase of DKK 747 million in royalties compared to last year. We also saw $63 million for the first full year of Tivdak sales. Now together, this growth really illustrates the power of our recurring revenues. And finally, again, we have seen some pretty significant FX tailwinds, particularly related to our royalty revenue for DARZALEX and contractual hedge rate again for DARZALEX. But while 30 percentage points were related to FX tailwinds, what's super encouraging for me is the 40% of underlying operational growth. So having looked at revenue, let's now dive in and take a look at our investments in the next page. As you'd expect, given the investments that we're making, total OpEx grew 51% for the year. And here, you can see exactly where we invested. In R&D, we have accelerated our investment into our product portfolio, especially the advancement of epco and of course, other pipeline projects as well. Importantly, we've also further strengthened our team to enhance our commercial capabilities and to support our expanding pipeline. And of course, that includes Tivdak and the potential filings and launch for epco. Now let's take a look at our financials as a whole on the next page. Here, you can see our summary P&L for 2022. Revenue came in at around DKK 14.6 billion, and that's up 72% on last year. And again, this was favorably impacted by significant FX tailwind. Total expenses were about DKK 8.2 billion with 68% being R&D and 32% SG&A. And that brings us to our very strong operating profit of over DKK 6 billion. Now moving to our net financial items. Here, we have income of nearly DKK 700 million, and this was primarily driven by 2 partially offsetting items. First, we've got the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Danish kroner, positively impacting the value of our cash and investments. On the other side of the ledger, we do have some losses on our marketable securities due to rising interest rates and some losses on public equity investments. Then we have tax expense of around DKK 1.5 billion, and this equates to an effective tax rate of around 21.5%. And that brings us to our net profit of over DKK 5.5 billion. So as you can see, extremely strong financial performance for 2022. And with that, let's now move to a reminder of our financial framework on the next page. First off, let's think about our revenue profile, which you can see on the left. At the beginning of 2020, DARZALEX was the only product on the market. And today, we have 6. And that will generate continued recurring revenue growth in 2023. And there's a clear path to potentially expand the number of approved products with our recent submissions for epco and Janssen's submissions for talquetamab. And taken together, we expect significant cash inflows for the years to come. Now moving to the right. We absolutely remain focused on our investments as we evolve our organization for continued success. And right at the top of the list is accelerating and expanding the development of epco. But that's just one of the very exciting opportunities that provide us with a compelling rationale for increasing our investment. As we've said before, if we want to seize these very meaningful opportunities, we've got to invest, and that's exactly what we're doing. So with that background, let's take a look at the components of our strong recurring revenue on the next page. For 2023, we anticipate another year of strong underlying revenue growth. Now before I get into the detail, please do note that these projections are based on an assumed U.S. dollar-Danish kroner exchange rate of DKK 6.8, and as a reminder, the average dollar-krona rate in 2022 was DKK 7.1. Now looking at our total revenue, we are expecting to be in the range of DKK 14.6 billion to DKK 16.1 billion. And importantly, the majority of this will come from recurring revenues. Here, we anticipate that DARZALEX sales will continue to ramp up and be in a range of $9.4 billion to $10 billion. So here, we're projecting DARZALEX royalties to be between DKK 10.4 million to DKK 11.1 billion. Recurring revenues also include a 32% increase in royalties from TEPEZZA and Kesimpta, but we also do expect significant FX headwinds. So overall, we anticipate recurring revenues will increase by around 12%. Turning now to nonrecurring revenue. We expect this to be DKK 2.1 billion at the midpoint for 2023 compared to DKK 2.7 billion last year. And here, as a reminder, there were multiple regulatory filings in 2022, and we benefited by the one-time milestones associated with these. So with that, let's take a look at our recurring revenue in just a bit more detail on the next page. As I just said, we're anticipating recurring revenue growth of around 12%. And here, it's important to note that that's on a reported basis. What we're really focused on is delivering the 25% of operational growth. But this 25% growth is partially offset by a 13% negative FX impact. Here, we're assuming lower dollar to krona rate compared to 2022, and it is a tough comparable due to the DARZALEX contractual hedge rate from last year. Now what's really important is looking through the FX noise, the fundamentals of our growth remain very strong. Now let's take a look at our planned investments for 2023. We expect total OpEx to be between DKK 9.8 billion and DKK 10.6 billion and this fully reflects the evolution of our pipeline and indeed, our entire business. And here, we have 3 near-term investment priorities. First, initiating new Phase 2 and Phase 3 epco trials to really maximize its potential; Second is generating the next wave of data for DuoBody PD-L1x4-1BB and DuoBody CD40x4-1BB; And of course, third, the potential launch of epco. But we're not just focused on today. In line with our vision, we're also very focused on long-term value creation. So we're continuing to build out our infrastructure, our teams and our systems. We're investing to maximize the value of our current technologies and we're also investing to generate the next wave of IND candidates, and to progress our early stage pipeline. Now having looked at the financial framework and our rationale to continue to ramp up our investment, let's see how this all comes together on the next page. So here, you can see our 2023 guidance. We expect our revenue to be in the range of DKK 14.6 billion to DKK 16.1 billion. And most of this is made up of recurring revenue, where we're expecting 25% of operational growth. For OpEx, we expect to be in a range of DKK 9.8 billion to DKK 10.6 billion. And as I just highlighted, this step-up in investment is fully in line with our strategy and creating long-term value. Now putting all this together, we're planning for substantial operating profit in a range of DKK 3.9 billion to DKK 6.2 billion. Now for my last slide, we provide just a few closing remarks. We had an exceptional 2022. We've created growing recurring revenue streams, and that gives us a backbone -- a very strong backbone of significant underlying profitability. And we're investing those revenues in a highly focused way to realize our vision, and to capitalize on the very significant growth opportunities that are right in front of us. So thank you very much for your attention. And as always, thank you very much for your continued support. And with that, I'm going to hand the meeting back over to Jorgen Madsen. Jorgen, the floor is yours.

[Interpreted] Thank you. We've now heard the report from the Board of Directors and the presentation of the audited annual report 2022. And this is where we usually open the floor for questions and comments from shareholders. I have received a couple of names who'd like to take the floor. The first is ATP, the Danish labor market supplementary pension scheme. You have the floor.

[Interpreted] My name is Claus Berner Moller, I represent ATP. First of all, I'd like to say thank you for the report. 2022 was another good year for Genmab and its shareholders. Royalty income rose by as much as 70%, some of which was, of course, because of positive exchange rates. The operating profit rose by 111%, and Genmab now has 6 approved products in the market, and has, a broad -- an extremely interesting pipeline, actually more than 10 products in the late phase. These are strong results and shareholders got as much as 12% in return in 2022, more than 20% above the OMX and the NASDAQ index. So this is all well done. Genmab in the past years have built up a very strong foundation with a lot of products in the market and a very strong pipeline. The pipeline with the many late-stage products means that 2023 will be a year of investment where extraordinary high amounts need to be invested in the launch of epcoritamab and the late-phase products, GEN1042 and GEN1046. So it's not unlikely that the operating profit will decline in 2023. And Genmab has taken account of this in the guidance. There are very good reasons for defraying these additional expenditures because it will increase the likelihood of a positive return for investors in the long term. I also have a couple of comments to the agenda itself. ATP votes against the remuneration report in Item 4, not because of the implementation of it. But because at a previous AGM, we have voted against the remuneration policy which makes it possible for the variable part of the remuneration to become too high. Also today, we need to consider 2 additions to the remuneration policy. In 7b, there is a proposal to remove the cap on the annual allocation of share-based instruments. We will vote against this because we find that there must be an upper limit as to how high values can be given on an annual basis to management. In 7c, the company proposes that it is possible to award RSU which is 6x instead of 4x the base amount. And now the company would like to increase the variable part of the remuneration even more. We will, of course, vote against this because it increases the risk of unreasonably high remuneration amounts. I also have some comments to the work that Genmab does with ESG. Much of the diversity between genders is good for Genmab. And there is an equal distribution between men and women at the director level and above. That's positive. The climate challenges remain a focus area for Genmab. And it's fine to see that the CO2 emissions, both for Scope 1 and 2, have been reduced considerably in 2022. Genmab has also initiated work to measure the Scope 3 emission level. I look forward to seeing the results of this effort and for some targets to be defined for CO2 emissions. Generally, I call upon Genmab increasingly to list some quantifiable targets, not only in relation to CO2 emissions, but also, for instance, in relation to energy consumption and waste handling. To round off, good luck with the challenges in 2023, and thank you for listening.

[Interpreted] There were no specific questions. I want to like to know whether management would like to say anything specific?

I would like to say a few words. First, Claus, thank you very much for the constructive remarks on the pipeline. This is really appreciated. And also on the potential for very good long-term returns, based on the investments we are making as a company, which will take time. It's really appreciated that you have been following the company for a long time and also been a long-term supporter. So we're really, really pleased with that. So thank you for those remarks. Also thank you for the very good and positive remarks on ESG. Genmab is clearly stepping up now. We are having a lot of focus on that. And it's complex because we are very responsible as it relates to the environment. We really want to reduce our carbon footprint, for sure. But you also see the complexity. At the same time, we are expanding the company to really build the company up for success for the next phase. So we need to do this in an appropriate way. And yes, we will come with targets -- concrete targets, which you can hold us accountable to. But as you understand, this will take time before we have found the exact mode. And we are going to target also lowering our energy consumption and to be more responsible, as it relates to the source of energy in the future, for sure, because we really want to improve the lives of people and also improve this world as a world -- as a company. And then finally, compensation, it's probably not appropriate for me to comment on your remarks on compensation. So I'll leave them as is. Unless Deirdre wants to make a remark on that. And if she has nothing…

Yes.

So, I will hand it over to the Chair.

Yes. Again, Claus, thank you for your question on compensation because it allows me to express what it is that is behind our compensation strategy at Genmab. And there are 4 principles that we pursue. One is that we want to be able to offer a competitive compensation programs that allow us to recruit the top talent globally, because we are an international company. So that's number one. Number 2, we want to make sure that the compensation program takes in consideration the benefits of our shareholders, our Board of Directors and our management team. And third, we want to make sure that our compensation program reflects our values. As we put those strategies together, we are confident, and given -- as I look around and see the talent in this company and many of the things that you spoke about, Claus, is a result of their work and our ability to retain, to recruit and to reward appropriately our talent, because we're not the only ones that are looking for talent around the world. We've got many competitors that are in the same position we are, and it's a really hard market -- labor market for the type of talent that we are recruiting at Genmab. We're confident that our strategy is effective. We see the results of it, but we do appreciate your comments.

[Interpreted] I have an indication that there are few more speakers. Do we have any more? Yes, please go ahead.

[Interpreted] My name is [indiscernible]. I've been an investor throughout a number of years. And I -- when I hear this report, it's sounds like music to my ears, almost too good to be true. So let me ask the Board of Directors and the Executive Management as well, what are the main challenges for the coming years when it comes to continuing your growth journey? Is it a matter of new competitors entering the market that could make it more difficult to sell your products? Or is it a matter of attracting the right and talented people to your laboratories and to your marketing teams and so on? That was basically my question. What are the main challenges that you see? Are there any stumbling blocks in your way?

[Interpreted] That was a question about challenges and threats to the company. Jan van de Winkel?

And thank you for being a long-term shareholder. We hope that you remain a much longer term shareholder, actually be with us for the coming years because I'm fully confident that the best is yet to come. I think we're only at the beginning with this fantastic company. The challenges we have is, of course, we need to identify new winners. I mean, we have a fantastic pipeline of 9 proprietary clinical programs. And we want to identify winners in that pipeline and then actually develop them further so that we can actually create new products which can make a bigger and bigger impact on the lives of people. And of course, there's a lot of developmental challenges there. There's also challenges in commercial execution. I mean, we are super enthusiastic about epcoritamab as a potential next therapeutic for B-cell cancers, which can have a huge impact on the lives of people there. You should all watch the video outside of the room. It's a video made by the BBC recently on the impact of bispecific antibodies, and we don't say epcoritamab because the BBC always wants to stay neutral, but it is about epcoritamab. I can assure you, when you really listen carefully to the video. And we think that we need to commercially execute in the right way. So we have built up a fantastic team. The Board has yesterday got on a very good overview of our readiness to launch in a very effective way, not only in the States but soon also hopefully in Europe and in Japan, if the regulatory filings go well. So there is challenges there. There is also, of course -- my #1 challenge for me, having the company on a daily basis is the culture. We have a fantastic culture. I mean we -- that's one of the amazing, I think, secrets behind the success story of Genmab. We have brought together a fantastic team of people who are -- really, from the bottom of their heart, want to generate new medicines and actually improve the lives of patients and create a better world in that sense. And my challenge is, can you actually scale up this theme, because -- I think we added 448 colleagues last year, and there will be more to be added this year. Can you actually scale that up and keep the same positive, very inspirational culture? And we are doing a lot to actually ensure that. So there's multiple challenges. I will probably stop here because I don't want to push you into a depression. I want you to leave the room optimistic, but maybe Anthony wants to add a bit more, because, of course, it is actually very difficult. I mean, it's really, really difficult to develop a medicine. Many biotechs never make it to even 1 medicine, actually, which they can bring towards the market. And we have actually already powered 6 medicines, 3 of which. So 50% of them are already blockbusters or multi-blockbuster. Some of them like DARZALEX are among the biggest medicines ever developed in the last decades, basically worldwide by all companies. So I think we are in a situation that we are -- we can claim that we know how to develop medicines. But still to do the next one is really a challenge. So I don't want to actually leave a picture here that this is going to be a slam dunk and it's going to be easy. But I think if there's any company that is positioned well to do this effectively, it's Genmab, I firmly believe that. So having said that, I will hand it over to Anthony.

Yes. Maybe just briefly to add on to that. I mean, we absolutely need to remain focused and disciplined in everything that we do. We cannot take anything for granted because we were successful yesterday or we were successful with product X or product Y. We have to absolutely then pour our hearts and souls into the next thing that we're doing. So we cannot take anything for granted. And a key part of that is, I often say, you could have the best product concept, the best product, but you need the right team to figure out how to develop that -- first of all, to discover it, but then to develop it the right way, at the right time, at the right pace. And now as Jan has alluded to, making sure you have the right team in place now to get it to patients as quickly as possible. But in summary, we have to remain focused and disciplined. And we cannot take anything for granted as we move forward together on this journey towards our vision.

[Interpreted] Any other requests for the floor? Yes, please approach.

[Interpreted] Thank you for a good and very illuminating account of what happened in 2022, and what is likely to happen in 2023. I am [indiscernible] and I've asked for the floor as a representative of the Danish Society of shareholders. We are an association and an interest organization with approximately 17,000 members that are all small private investors. Some of you may even be a member of the association, who knows. We attend AGMs in order to explain what our members think about the operational aspects of the companies. Genmab surprises -- it's a question of how you want to pronounce the name. Genmab, we say in Denmark, but Genmab, I think, is -- well, anyway. There are positive surprises from you. But the guidance is slightly disappointing. Most analysts agreed on this when the annual report appeared. The share price for 2022 was at the upper end compared to other medical businesses that operated in a turbulent year. As a leading biotech company, Genmab has had an impressive growth and success environment over the past couple of years. Also, thanks to a very good handful of medicines in the market, mainly in a collaborative effort with partners, revenue from DKK 8.5 billion to DKK 14 billion, something that says it all. And we all know that medicine will never go out of fashion. But seen isolatedly and seeing through Genmab's eyes, they have developed medicine that will help patients with life-threatening or debilitating disorders. There have been some medicines that have done better than others, but at the end of the day, it was a fine picture. But when it comes to the guidance, it's a bit below what we had expected both when it comes to revenue and expenses. But then growth is expensive. It's a virtue to be cautious in your announcement of ambitions. But then there's a price to pay, and that is the share price that will be affected by this. The company states in the annual report that it will ask the AGM for permission to buy back owned shares to the amount of DKK 600 million. Genmab's own capital will grow by DKK 5 billion to approximately DKK 27 billion. The capital situation and the profitability is now so good that it might be good to pay a cash dividend to shareholders. So my question to you is now, do you have such considerations? Technological growth is being made. And as a result, companies have to adapt and to renew themselves in order to stay at the top of the game. Genmab, of course, must continue focus on research, growth and innovation. The company has over the years shown proof of its ability and its competency with regard to the development of innovative therapies to a wide range of diseases, and therefore, it is still capable of showing others the way in biotech. I call upon the company to continue its open, frank and transparent dialogue with shareholders, also the small shareholders. We are always ready to talk to you about a number of issues, among them social responsibility and sustainability. I'm sure you have a bright future ahead of you if you continue along the good path to the benefit of patients and civil society. It will be a good thing to also focus on the share price to the benefit of shareholders. We are living in on certain times, but has that affected anything in your considerations concerning 2023, and also the way you evaluate 2022. I would like to end this by wishing you all a good year 2023.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much to the Association of Danish shareholders for observations and comments, and also a couple of specific questions, and Jan van de Winkel will now respond.

Thank you very much, [indiscernible], for the very, I think, good analysis and for the feedback. What I want to do is to talk about the cash dividend question, and I will ask my colleague, Anthony, to speak a bit about the projections for '23, and potentially results for '22, given that we are living in uncertain times, and banks are following over geopolitical tensions, et cetera. How does that potentially impact our projections. So let me explain again, for the cash dividend consideration. The Genmab is truly a company that is focused on improving the lives of cancer patients and patients with other serious diseases. So what you get from that is that products are key. We really want to develop new medicines, and so making a fundamental impact on the lives of patients and their families in the future. And that requires investment. As you said, [indiscernible], growth is expensive. We need to invest in that. Right now, we have 9 proprietary clinical programs. And potentially, that number will increase this year when we add new clinical programs to that number. Because we have a machine now which is continuously developing new molecules in a laboratory, and some of them will be ready to move towards the clinic. However, once they are in the clinic and once you identify a winner, and that is where the whole strategy of Genmab is now focused at, you can easily spend up to $1 billion or more on the development of one program. So we really need a good cash position in order to invest in building better products for more patients, and also a higher impact and return for shareholders. So you cannot run this business by being shortsighted. So you need to plan on the long term. And that is why we, at this moment, are not considering to pay dividends. The Board is talking about that regularly. But right now, we believe it's much better to invest back into the business because that will create much larger returns, not only for you, stakeholders, which is really important, but also for society as a whole. Because then we can develop better medicines for more and more patients. Right now, I'm really super proud to tell you that DARZALEX alone has already helped more than 360,000 patients worldwide. For Kesimpta, it's north of 30,000 patients. And those numbers will go up substantially in the coming years. And we believe that, that is far more important to really look at than what the share price does, or what the cash position is of the company, or the income basis of the company because that will follow, I think, when you can help more and more patients substantially. Don't worry, those share prices will actually follow. That is absolutely a guarantee. So I hope, [indiscernible] -- I don't know where -- I cannot see where you're sitting, but that's hopefully addressing some of your -- there you are. And it's addressing some of your points. And then that will also probably deal with the disappointing guidance issue at the same time because we really want to invest, in order to create more products and actually have a better return for stakeholders in the longer term, which is, I think, very important. So having said that, why don't we ask Anthony to speak a bit more about how the very uncertain times around us now, with a very challenging banking situation, very high interest rates, high inflation and the geopolitical tensions with China-U.S. tensions increasing day by day. And also, of course, as you all know, the really poor situation with the Ukrainian war, just a few 100 kilometers south of us basically here in Denmark, how it will potentially impact the company. Anthony?

Yes. Thanks, Jan. And I think you just did a great job of summarizing all the turmoil. I mean it's financial, it's geopolitical, and certainly from the financial turmoil, and that sort of came out of nowhere recently. And I think that speaks again why having that very strong financial position, both from a balance sheet and a P&L perspective, is so important. I'll address your question sort of head on. If you think about 2022, we have 40% of underlying operational recurring revenue growth. I mean that really sort of is a key feature of our overall financial profile. I talk about a robust financial framework and then I talk about our recurring revenue. And as a reminder -- I went through this in my remarks, but I think it's worth repeating. Back at the beginning of 2020, we had just one product, which was DARZALEX. Today, we have 6, including 3 blockbusters. And what's really exciting, there's a clear path to go from 6 to potentially 8 by the end of 2023. And that's based upon the 2 products that are under review by the regulators now: epcoritamab for us and AbbVie; and then talquetamab for Janssen. But really, that robustness of that revenue profile means that when we go to thinking about making our investments, the robustness of that balance sheet position, that recurring revenue position means we're very well positioned. So of course, we take this very seriously in terms of the turmoil that's out there. But to answer your question now very, very directly, it has not had a material impact on either our 2022 results or our 2023 projections. Now of course, we'll continue to monitor the situation as we move forward.

Does anyone else wants to take the floor? Go ahead.

My name is [indiscernible]. Since 2011, I've been critical about increasing top executive remuneration. The Danish Parliament has changed the conditions for executive management pay in Denmark. And my question is, have you considered the increased costs for remuneration for Directors with a pay of over DKK 7 million? The CEO, Jan van de Winkel, received DKK 43.3 million. The Danish Parliament decided that the part of the remuneration that is above DKK 7.7 million can no longer be deducted in taxes -- in corporate taxes. And I have a poster from the Parliament's website. I think many of you probably don't even know this new deterioration in the tax opportunities for large-scale remuneration. So my question is, how large are your costs? How much have your costs increased after the decision -- after this law was passed? And an additional question, do you have other employees with a pay of over DKK 7.7 million? And if so, what is the total increase in your costs in this connection? With this law, the parliament has set a moral cap on how much you can pay out in order not to increase inequality in the Danish society, and that is something you should take into account. ATP was critical towards Item 7b. the journalist [ Ulrik Crisco ] recently wrote that Genmab will remove the DKK 25 million cap today for the variable share-based instrument awards to executive management. And he deploys that you have not learned by the financial crisis from 2008. The memory is very short when it's about the corporate risk attached to short-term incentive schemes. And there's a risk that there could be some very negative surprises turning up after the top executives have resigned with their very lucrative bonuses. What are your views on this? And to the Chairman of the meeting, Jorgen Madsen, I would like for my remarks to be taken into the minutes.

[Interpreted] And to take the latter statement first. Of course, this will be reflected in the minutes of the AGM, not necessarily in all detail, but in a route to a reasonable extent. Thank you for your remarks. There were some very concrete questions. So concrete in fact, that I'm not sure you can answer them straight away. But I give the floor to Jan van de Winkel, first.

Very critical comment. I think it's not appropriate for me to comment on remuneration, I have nothing to do with it. I can tell you also, it's the Board's job to remunerate management. So I'll ask Deirdre to give some brief remarks. And then maybe, Anthony, for a short perspective on the question on the on the number of people who are making more than DKK 7.5 million, because I simply don't know the answer to that question. I don't know whether Anthony knows, but at least he can give you some reflection. But thank you very much for the feedback. We take that definitely into consideration. And I'm handing it off now to Deirdre.

I will sort of repeat what I spoke about before, the world to be able to get the type of talent that Jan and the executive team have brought to this company, it's difficult. It's not easy because the compensation programs that you find, for example, in the U.S. are significantly higher than we offer at Genmab, in many aspects. So we have to compete against those programs to ensure that we retain the talent that we have at Genmab, that delivers the sort of value that all of us as investors have been able to achieve and enjoy. So it is competitive. We obviously have certain parameters as we make those decisions. Number one, as I said, pay for performance, make sure that it is competitive to get the best talent that aligns with shareholders, directors and management, interest and benefits and that it reflects our values.

And maybe just to round up the discussion just a bit. As we've already talked about, we're very focused in providing competitive pay to all of our team members, in each individual market. And this is essential, and I just talked about this a minute ago, we can have the best product, but if we don't have the right team in place at the right time to maximize its value, we're not going to be in the position we need to be in. So we are very focused on the right pay for the right people in the right place on a market-by-market basis. Again, the team is so essential to us realizing our vision. Now related to your specific question, we provide very comprehensive disclosure of our policy, our compensation policy. We have a robust dialogue with all of our investors. And then finally, we do have robust disclosure as it relates to our overall compensation for the Board and for management, and in fact, a fair amount of disclosure for aggregate compensation at the overall Genmab level. And for now, we're very focused on, again, providing the right compensation across all the markets we operate in, and then appropriately disclosing what we have to disclose. So, that's where we're going to have to leave it for now.

Maybe to top it off here. I mean, the challenges you were describing for the company when the top executive would have resigned -- would resign in the future, I don't think that these are imminent. To make a long story short, we have a fantastic team. We're actually broadening the team, just promoted. I think today, Martine van Vugt was here on the front row to really broaden the executive team, to build a better and better team, building the company for the next phase of the company. So that's something I wouldn't worry about when I was you at this point.

[Interpreted] I'd like to know if there are other requests for the floor. We're still discussing items 1 and 2 on the agenda. I would also point out that the company's auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, who are present in the room today have given the accounts and unqualified endorsement. You will find it in the annual report. Any other questions or comments? If that is not the case, I find that the AGM has taken note of the report, that the 2022 annual report has been approved and that we have given discharge to the Board of Directors and the executive management. This brings us on to item 3, the distribution of profit. And here, the proposal is, as you know, that the 2022 profit, a profit of DKK 5.522 billion, be carried forward by transfer to retained earnings. Thank you. No objections. Item 4, the compensation report for 2022. Here, I would refer you to the report that has been circulated together with the annual report. It's also available on the company's website. Are there any questions or comments, apart from what we have already heard when we debated? Other items on the agenda, I find that the compensation report has been approved. This brings us to Item 5, election of members of the Board of Directors. In the complete proposals, you'll find an explanation to this, but I would like to give the floor to Deirdre Connelly, Chair of the Board of Directors.

Each year, we evaluate the composition of Genmab Board to ensure that we have the right mix of competencies for an international biotech and consider whether changes need to be made. Each year, we also evaluate the performance and achievements of the Board of Directors with the assistance of an external consultant. This annual evaluation is based on questionnaires and interviews with each Director and each executive on the executive team. I am pleased to say that in line with previous years, the outcome of the 2022 Board of Directors self-assessment was very positive, with only minor areas for improvement. We also continue to believe that we have a good mix of competencies and I'm therefore pleased to recommend for reelection, all of our AGM elected Board Members. I will now run through the competencies and biographies of all the Board Members for election. I was elected to the Board in 2017 and have been with the Board since 2020. I am standing for reelection for a 1-year period. I have extensive experience in drug launches and corporate governance, both of which are increasingly important as Genmab grows. Pernille Erenbjerg was elected to the Genmab Board in 2015. She has been Deputy Chair of the Board since 2020, and is standing for reelection for 1-year period. Pernille qualifies as an audit committee financial expert and adds valuable financial, digital and cyber security expertise to the Board. Rolf Hoffmann. Rob was elected to the Genmab Board in 2017 and is also standing for reelection for a 1-year period. Rolf's significant commercial experience is a valuable competency Genmab will need as a commercial stage company going forward. Paolo Paoletti was elected to the Genmab Board in 2015 and is also standing for reelection for a 1-year period. Paolo's broad pharma and oncology experience, and expertise gained through his tenures at GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly make him an invaluable Board member for Genmab. Anders Gersel Pedersen has served on Genmab Boards since 2003 and is also standing for reelection for a 1-year period. Anders continues to provide important insights into the biotech industry, and the Danish investment community to the Board and to myself as the Chair. Elizabeth O'Farrell was elected to the Genmab Board in 2022 and is also standing for reelection for a 1-year period. Having served as CFO of various global markets at Eli Lilly, Elizabeth extensive experience in corporate finance, including in financial strategy and operations, as well as managing across the value chain, are valuable competencies that Genmab will need as we work toward achieving our 2030 vision. In addition to the Board members elected by the general meeting, we also have 3 employee-elected Board members: Martin Schultz, Takahiro Hamatani, and Mijke Zachariasse. All 3 of the employee Board Members were elected to the Board in 2022 for a 3-year period. I will now hand back over to the Chair of the meeting, so he can lead the election of the Board of Directors.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, Deirdre. For the sake of good order, I would like to ask if there are any other candidates? If that is not the case, we say congratulations to another year of Board membership to the candidates thus elected. So this brings us to Item 6 on the agenda, election of auditor. The proposal is for the reelection of PricewaterhouseCoopers. I'd like to know, again, for the sake of good order, if there are other candidates? That is not the case. Congratulations to PricewaterhouseCoopers. And now Item 7. The proposals from the Board of Directors. As I said initially, we have not received any proposals from shareholders. I refer you, in general, to the reasons given in the complete version of the proposals. We will now deal with them one by one. First, 7a, approval of remuneration to the Board of Directors for the present year. I would point out that at this stage, there are no changes in relation to last year. This is a repetition of the regime in place last year. So I'd like to know if there are any new questions or comments? If no one would like the floor, I consider this to be approved by the AGM. Okay. 7b. As you will see this is closely linked to 7c. It has to do with amendments to the company's remuneration policy. However, for technical reasons, it was found most correct to split this into 2 different proposals, 7b and 7c. And again, one at a time, 7b first. I'd like to hand over to Deirdre.

The second proposal, Item 7b, involves amending the company's remuneration policy for executive management. The Board proposes to remove the DKK 25 million cap on the fair value of share-based instruments awarded to executive management. It is the Board's assessment that the cap inhibits Genmab's ability to attract and retain top global talent in the highly competitive oncology market, as the annual share-based instrument awards at Genmab could present to potential new hires would be significantly below market. For the avoidance of doubt, members of executive management would remain subject to the multiple of base salary limit specified in the remuneration policy. I will now hand back to Jorgen, who will continue proceedings regarding this agenda item.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. And we have already heard points of view and observations from shareholders with regard to this item on the agenda. I'd like to know if there is anything new that someone would like to add? If that is not the case, I find that the proposal has been approved. We will now move on to 7c. Deirdre, do you want to add something? Please.

Thank you, Jorgen. Item 7C on the agenda is in regard to the adoption of certain other changes to the remuneration policy for the Board of Directors and executive management. The changes are designed to take account of the views expressed by some of our larger shareholders during the engagement process we undertook in 2022, and are intended to enable Genmab to maintain a market competitive compensation program that is aligned with its compensation principles. The proposed amendments include an increase to the annual limit for share-based instrument awards to members of the executive management team. The proposed amendment would provide that the members of the executive management may, on an annual basis, be granted performance-based RSUs, corresponding to fair value of the time of grant of up to 6x rather than 4x the member's annual base salary. Also the elimination of the use of time vested warrants as a share-based instrument for members of executive management. Accordingly, only performance-based restricted stock units will be permitted as a share-based instrument under the remuneration policy for members of the executive management team. The proposed amendments further include various minor updates and linguistic changes. The elements of the proposed amended remuneration policy are designed to be competitive when compared to the compensation programs and levels of compensation, and other similar international biotech and biopharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and in Europe. The proposed amended remuneration policy has been designed to align the interest of shareholders and the company's Board of Directors and executive management, and will allow the company to position pay in a way that enables Genmab to create compensation packages that are attractive internationally, and at the same time in alignment with our values. I will now hand back to Jorgen, who will continue proceedings regarding this agenda item.

[Interpreted] Thank you. Does anyone want to take the floor under this item regarding the remuneration policy? That is not the case, and I can, therefore, conclude that the proposal under Item 7c has also been adopted. That brings me to the proposal under Item 7d, which is the usual proposal to authorize the Board of Directors to mandate the company to acquire treasury shares up to a total nominal amount of DKK 500,000. And I refer to the complete proposals. Does anyone wish to take the floor? That is not the case, and I can conclude that this proposal has also been adopted. That brings me to Item 8, which is again the usual item that is recurring, which is an authorization to the Chair of the general meeting to make sure that the resolutions passed at the meeting are registered with the Danish Business Authority. Are there any comments or questions under this item? That is usually not the case, and that is not the case today either. That means that, that proposal is adopted. And that leads me to the final item on the agenda, any other business. We cannot make any resolutions here, but should any of you wish to take the floor? Any praise or criticism, any remarks, comments or questions? There was one over here. Go ahead.

[Interpreted] I am [indiscernible], and I'm also a member of the Danish Association of Shareholders. And I may be overlapping some of what has already been said. There was a line I look for in the accounts and couldn't find. It's a line dividend for shareholders. When you look at remuneration to members of Board of Directors and executive management, it's like eat all you like buffet, that they -- that's made available to them. Market wire, our CEO has about DKK 1.6 billion worth in assets in the form of shares in Denmark. I'm not envious. As long as people do their job to perfection, I'm fine. There's an old saying in Danish that said, "When the rain falls on the priest, then his helper will also be wet." Share prices usually go down after the payment of dividend. But that didn't happen last week when Novo Nordisk had their AGM. Next day, the share price went to an all-time high even after payment of shareholder dividend. When I attended the -- well, AGM in '21, I also made a proposal concerning dividend and a possible share split. The answer was very brief. We have no intentions in that regard. I know that the AGM is also available as a webcast without the possibility of putting questions and voting. Many shareholders live far away from Copenhagen and many cannot take time off in order to attend an AGM. I'm sure that this will be recorded, but it would be fine if you could watch it later on the Internet.

[Interpreted] These are subjects that we have already touched upon when discussing dividend, and then there's a question of share split. Jan van de Winkel, would you like to take the floor?

Yes. I can definitely take that question. So thank you all for the -- thank you for comments, for sure. So dividend, we will not go into -- because I already answered that at least twice, I think, and gave you the rationale of why the company is not considering that. And also, I think share splits is a Board matter, which the Board has regularly on the agenda. And it's up to the board whether they want to decide to split the shares. As I understand, currently, there's no intention to do that. And as it relates to the AGM to actually make that available as a -- record that event. I think we have to talk about it internally, whether that's advisable or not. I think it's really important to once a year meet with the stakeholders, and hear from the stakeholders what the angles are, the reflections are, the feedback is. But I don't know how valuable it will be to have that record as a webcast. But maybe Deirdre, do you want to say anything about that?

I will look to advice from our counsel, obviously, in our communication team to let us know that, that is something that would be valuable to others. But of course, we would consider it.

[Interpreted] Any other requests for the floor under any other business? If that is not the case, we have exhausted the list of items on the agenda, and I will now hand over to the Chair of the Board to adjourn the meeting.

Thank you today and always for your support, and specifically today for your participation in this meeting. We very much appreciate your continued support. And I'd like to remind you that once we conclude the proceedings, we will be available to you outside. There will be refreshments. We will have the video that we anticipated, and we look forward to chatting with all of you then. Thank you very much. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]