MediWound (MDWD) Q3 2026 earnings review
MediWound drops its 2026 sales plan, but US burn orders rise
MediWound, a maker of enzyme medicines for burns and chronic wounds, pulled its full-year sales target while raising cash to finish its main clinical trial. Third-quarter revenue dropped 34% from a year ago to $3.6 million because US government development work lagged, and higher trial spending widened the operating loss to $8.5 million. Chief executive Ofer Gonen said talks with the US government to fund a planned American factory have an uncertain outcome, leaving the company unable to say when or if those expected 2026 revenues will arrive.
| Revenue | $3.6M -34% from a year ago |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 28.5% 16.5% a year ago; 10.9% in Q2 |
| Cash + Nov offering (gross) | $46.8M $28.4M at Q3 end + $17.25M raise + $1.1M warrants |
| Full-year 2026 revenue outlook | Withdrawn was $24–26M ($8.1M reached in first 9 months) |
⚖️ Verdict: 🔴 Bearish
The story got worse because the company abandoned its $24 million to $26 million annual sales plan after earning just $8.1 million in nine months, marking a third straight year of government-related shortfalls. On the bright side, a $17.25 million November share sale solves the near-term cash crunch through the first-quarter 2027 wound trial milestone, and US hospital royalties lifted gross margin to 28.5%.
The question now is whether the Phase III chronic-wound trial can finish at its 216-patient target without needing extra time and money. Either the trial wraps up enrollment on schedule, or the safety board's sample-size check adds up to 100 patients and several months of extra cash burn. The sample-size check and enrollment readout at the end of the first quarter of 2027 will decide.
🐂 Bull Case
Share Sale Extends Cash Past Trial Results
MediWound makes enzyme-based medicines that remove dead tissue from burns and chronic wounds without surgery. Running its main clinical trial while expanding its factory has drained cash, leaving $28.4 million in cash and deposits at the end of September after burning $8.3 million in the third quarter by our math.
In November, the Israeli biotech company closed a public share offering for $17.25 million in gross proceeds and collected another $1.1 million from warrant exercises after quarter-end. Chief executive Ofer Gonen said the raise strengthens the balance sheet, "giving us additional financial flexibility through and beyond the VALUE data readout".
By our math, those inflows lift cash and deposits to about $46.8 million before offering fees, covering more than five quarters at the third-quarter burn rate. What to watch: fourth-quarter cash burn when full-year results arrive. A burn rate near $8 million would confirm the cash cushion reaches the middle of 2027.
US Burn Centers Keep Reordering NexoBrid
NexoBrid is the company's approved gel for clearing dead tissue from severe thermal burns, sold in the United States by partner Vericel. Vericel posted NexoBrid's highest quarterly sales since launch in the third quarter, adding more new ordering burn centers in the first nine months of 2026 than in all of 2025.
- Ordering US burn centers: more than 80 since launch, with about 70 placing repeat orders
- US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA): stockpiling purchases began in Q3 and continue in Q4 and Q1 2027
- US Department of War: awarded $3.3 million more for a room-temperature version, lifting that program's budget to $21.8 million
Repeat orders from nearly nine in ten hospitals show NexoBrid is becoming standard burn care rather than a one-time trial item. Meanwhile, the current factory passed US and European inspections for another two years. What to watch: completion of European regulator modifications at the expanded factory in the fourth quarter, because commercial supply remains capped until approvals arrive in the second half of 2027.
Royalties Lifted Gross Margin After Factory Dip
Gross margin measures how much revenue is left after the direct cost of making products and delivering development services. Last quarter, gross margin fell to 10.9%, which management blamed on a one-off cost from scaling up its factory. Earlier in 2024, factory scale-up costs had also dragged margins down.
In the third quarter, gross margin rebounded to 28.5%, up 12.0 percentage points from 16.5% a year ago and 17.6 percentage points from the second quarter. Cost of revenues fell to 71.5% of sales from 83.5% a year earlier because high-margin royalties from Vericel's record US sales made up a bigger share of revenue.
The rebound across the third quarter and the nine-month margin of 20.6% confirm that the second-quarter dip was temporary rather than a permanent rise in production costs. What to watch: fourth-quarter gross margin. A reading above 20% will show that growing US royalties can keep gross profit positive even while government service revenue lags.
🐻 Bear Case
MediWound Dropped Its 2026 Sales Target
For three straight quarters, MediWound told investors it would bring in $24 million to $26 million of revenue in 2026, counting on a second-half jump in US government contracts. Through the first nine months of the year, actual sales reached just $8.1 million, down 46.1% from $15.1 million a year ago.
This quarter, the wound-care developer pulled its dollar target and said it has "limited visibility into when, or whether, these revenues will be recognized". It revealed that a large part of the planned 2026 revenue depends on development work for a separate, planned US factory that still lacks government funding. "The timing and outcome of these funding discussions remain uncertain," Gonen said.
This is the third year in a row that government contract timing has derailed the annual sales plan, following a target cut in 2024 and a miss in 2025. What to watch: whether the company signs the US factory funding agreement by year-end. Without it, fourth-quarter revenue will stay near the third quarter's $3.6 million pace.
Wound Trial Costs Pushed Operating Loss Higher
EscharEx is the company's experimental enzyme treatment for chronic wounds, now in a Phase III trial called VALUE testing 216 patients with venous leg ulcers. Enrolling patients across roughly 40 hospitals caused research and development spending to rise 79.0% from a year ago to $6.2 million in the third quarter.
Research and development consumed 173.6% of revenue, up 109.8 percentage points from 63.8% a year earlier. Even though selling, general and administrative expenses — marketing and overhead — dropped 15.0% to $3.4 million, the operating loss widened to $8.5 million from $6.5 million. Non-cash accounting gains from revaluing warrants shrank the net loss to $6.0 million, masking the wider operating deficit.
An independent safety board cleared the VALUE trial to continue without changes, and management still expects to finish enrollment and check the required sample size by the end of the first quarter of 2027. What to watch: that first-quarter sample-size check, because adding more patients would keep research spending high for extra months.
New Shares Cut Ownership by Nearly a Fifth
Because MediWound loses money on its operations and government funding arrives irregularly, it relies on selling stock and warrants to fund its clinical trials. In the third quarter, the diluted share count stood at 13.0 million, up 18.2% from 11.0 million a year ago following last year's share sale and warrant exercises.
The November public offering of $17.25 million in new shares and additional warrant exercises after September 30 will increase the share count further in the fourth quarter. While the raise removes the near-term cash crunch before the EscharEx trial readout, existing shareholders now own a smaller slice of future drug profits.
What to watch: the diluted share count on the fourth-quarter income statement. It will show the exact ownership cost of replacing delayed US government revenue with public equity.
Risks This Quarter Didn't Answer
Several standing questions and earlier targets received no new numbers in the third-quarter press release.
- BARDA contract split: stockpile purchases began in Q3, but the release does not state what share of Vericel's BARDA revenue goes to MediWound.
- 2027 and 2028 revenue targets: the release drops the 2026 target and does not mention the earlier $32–35 million (2027) and $50–55 million (2028) goals.
- Secondary EscharEx trials: the release gives no start dates for the diabetic foot ulcer, pressure ulcer, or head-to-head collagenase studies.
- Expanded factory approval: commercial supply remains slated for the second half of 2027, leaving NexoBrid production capped until then.
💲 Other KPIs
Cash used in operations more than doubled from $3.24 million a year ago, though it eased from $9.13 million in the second quarter. Higher spending on the EscharEx Phase III trial drove the outflow, bringing total cash burn to $28.3 million for the first nine months of 2026.
Factory and equipment assets grew 18.4% from $18.64 million at the end of 2025 and 32.0% from $16.72 million a year ago. The biotechnology group spent $0.81 million on capital equipment in the third quarter as it finishes European regulator upgrades at its expanded NexoBrid plant.
Uncollected customer bills rose 20.7% from $3.49 million in the second quarter, moving slightly faster than the 15.6% quarterly rise in revenue. That build consumed $0.79 million of working capital during the quarter, though receivables remain below last year's $6.04 million.
🔮 Guidance
Withdrawn. Management removed its $24–26 million full-year target and stated it has limited visibility into when or whether expected US government factory-development revenue will arrive. By our math, hitting the middle of the old plan would have required $16.9 million in the fourth quarter alone, more than double the $8.1 million earned in the first nine months.
❓ Key Questions
How much of the old 2026 plan was the US factory?
MediWound tied its withdrawn 2026 target to a separate, unfunded US factory rather than its existing Vericel BARDA agreement. Investors need to know how many dollars were assigned to each program.
Are the 2027 and 2028 revenue targets still active?
Management previously targeted $32–35 million of revenue in 2027 and $50–55 million in 2028. With 2026 government work delayed and expanded factory supply starting in late 2027, those goals look harder to reach.
What is MediWound's dollar share of BARDA purchases?
Vericel began delivering NexoBrid to the US government stockpile in the third quarter, with more coming in the next two quarters. The release does not disclose how much revenue each delivery brings to MediWound.
Did the diabetic foot and pressure ulcer trials start?
Last quarter, management planned to start a 50-patient diabetic foot ulcer study and a small pressure ulcer study in the fourth quarter of 2026. Neither trial was mentioned in the third-quarter release.