A maker of biosimulation software that lets drug developers test medicines in virtual patients before real trials, Certara's tools include Simcyp, Phoenix, and Chemaxon, and are used by researchers and regulators around the world. It was formed in 2008 from the merger of Tripos and Pharsight, two pioneers in molecular modeling and clinical trial simulation. The coined name "Certara" echoes the word certainty — a nod to its aim of making drug development more predictable.
Certara sold its medical writing unit at a $65.5M loss, reclassifying it as discontinued, while continuing operations posted a $6.1M net loss.
Certara shed its Regulatory and Medical Writing business at a steep loss, drawing a line under a unit that had weighed on results for years. Continuing operations delivered of $93.3 million, up 1% , but a $5.7 million unfavorable swing in fair value pushed the company to a $6.1 million net loss. The company is now a smaller, software-centric business, but the core growth engine is barely moving.
Key takeaways
The company completed the sale of its Regulatory and Medical Writing business for $69.4 million in cash, recording a $65.5 million pretax loss on the transaction and classifying the unit as a .
from continuing operations rose 1% to $93.3 million, as a 4% increase in software revenue to $48.8 million was partly offset by a 3% decline in services revenue to $44.5 million.
Net loss from continuing operations was $6.1 million, compared to of $1.5 million a year ago, driven by a $5.2 million increase in general and administrative expense and a $2.7 million swing in other income to a net loss.
Section summaries
Management's Discussion and Analysis
Q2 FY2026 revenue rose 1% to $93.3M driven by software growth, but net loss widened to $6.1M on higher G&A and FX losses.
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Total grew 1% to $93.3M, with software revenue up 4% to $48.8M while services revenue declined 3% to $44.5M.
General and administrative expense rose 31% to $21.9 million, which management attributed to a $5.7 million unfavorable change in the fair value of liabilities, plus higher lease abandonment and executive recruiting costs.
from continuing operations was $15.6 million for the first six months of the year, down from $23.3 million a year ago, while the company spent $57.4 million on share repurchases, exhausting its authorization.
declined to $26.2 million from $27.0 million a year ago, and adjusted diluted was flat at $0.08, as lower equity-based compensation partially offset the increase in operating costs.
What changed
The $85 million sale of the medical writing business flagged in Q1 closed during the quarter for $69.4 million in cash, resulting in a $65.5 million pretax loss rather than a gain, and the unit was reclassified as a .
The liability that generated a $7.4 million expense in Q1 swung further, producing an additional $5.7 million unfavorable adjustment this quarter, confirming that the volatility flagged in prior periods has persisted rather than abating.
Services declined 3% , extending the weakness noted in Q1 when it fell 4%; the divestiture removes the regulatory writing that had been cited as a drag on services growth since FY2023.
The program was exhausted during the quarter with $57.4 million spent, depleting the $100 million authorization that began in FY2025, and the company ended the quarter with $184.1 million in cash and equivalents.
What to watch
Whether the post-divestiture Certara can return total to growth above the 1% reported this quarter, now that the regulatory writing drag is removed and the business is concentrated on software and biosimulation services.
Whether the liability continues to produce large swings in G&A expense, or whether the earn-out structure has now been simplified enough to reduce future volatility.
Whether the software renewal rate and net retention rate are disclosed again; both metrics have been absent from filings since FY2023 and Q3 FY2025 respectively, leaving investors without visibility into the health of recurring software .
How the $69.4 million in sale proceeds are deployed—whether toward further share repurchases now that the authorization is exhausted, debt reduction, or reinvestment in the core biosimulation platform.
Net loss from continuing operations was $6.1M compared to of $1.5M a year ago, driven by a $5.2M increase in G&A expense and a $2.7M swing in net other income to a loss.
G&A expense surged 31% to $21.9M, largely due to a $5.7M unfavorable change in fair value and higher lease abandonment and executive recruiting costs.
The company completed the sale of its Regulatory and Medical Writing business for $69.4M in cash, recording a $65.5M pretax loss and classifying it as a discontinued operation.
from continuing operations was $15.6M for the first six months, down from $23.3M a year ago, while $57.4M was spent on share repurchases, exhausting the authorization.
declined slightly to $26.2M from $27.0M, and adjusted was flat at $0.08, as lower equity-based compensation offset higher operating costs.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
For information regarding our exposure to certain market risks, see “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk,” in Part II, Item 7A of the Company’s 2025 Annual Report. There were no material changes to the Company’s market risk exposure during the six months e…
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For information regarding our exposure to certain market risks, see “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk,” in Part II, Item 7A of the Company’s 2025 Annual Report. There were no material changes to the Company’s market risk exposure during the six months ended June 30, 2026.