Good morning, and welcome to the eighteenth annual general meeting of Cogstate as a listed company. My name is Martyn Myer, and I'm Chairman of Cogstate and of this annual general meeting. We're very pleased to welcome those of you participating online through our virtual meeting platform. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we considered it prudent to host this meeting as a fully virtual event in a manner that is consistent with the Treasury Laws Amendment Act 2021 and to encourage attendance online. The notice of annual general meeting has been duly given, and the meeting has been properly constituted. We'll turn to resolutions later in the meeting. Please note that only shareholders, proxy holders or shareholder company representatives may vote. I note that it is now 11 A.M. and a quorum is present, and therefore I declare the meeting open. Our Company Secretary is Mr. David Franks.
David, are there any apologies?
The only apology. One of our directors, Kim, is currently having difficulty with a phone line, but hopefully we'll get her back online soon. She made an apology for parts of this meeting.
Thank you, David. The agenda for the meeting will be as follows. Firstly, I'll introduce our board of directors and then provide a short address. This will be followed by an update in respect of recent business activity by our CEO, Brad O'Connor. Finally, we'll conduct the formal business of the meeting, including the resolution. Voting on the resolutions will be conducted by way of a poll. Shareholders attending the meeting via this online platform will be able to cast their vote using the electronic voting card received after clicking the Get a Voting Card button. Following the presentations, general questions will be taken. Shareholders can also ask questions with respect to each resolution. Shareholders participating online through the virtual meeting website, please click on the Ask a Question button, type your question and click Submit.
Questions sent via the online meeting platform will be moderated to avoid repetition, and if questions are particularly lengthy, we may need to summarize them in the interest of time. I ask that all questions be directed to me as Chairman. Shareholders are also given the opportunity to speak verbally at this meeting, having joined the meeting using their mobile phone or landline. When I call for questions, you'll be asked to press star one on your keypad if you wish to raise your hand to ask a question. If you also joined the meeting online, we ask that you mute your computer while you ask your questions. I encourage shareholders who have questions to send their questions through as soon as possible.
Further information pertaining to Get a Voting Card or Ask a Question are outlined in the Virtual Annual Meeting Online Portal Guide attached to the Notice of Meeting. Alternatively, if shareholders are experiencing issues, we encourage you to contact the helpline specified. Shareholder questions received prior to the meeting will be addressed during the general business questions session. To begin, let me introduce our board of directors. As I said, my name is Martyn Myer, and I've been Chairman since the formation of Cogstate in 1999, and I have participated in every funding round that the company has undertaken. My investment in Cogstate continues a family tradition of support of neuroscience in Australia. David Dolby joined the Cogstate board in November 2013 and joins us today from San Francisco.
David Dolby and his family have significant interest in technology and are passionate supporters of Alzheimer's disease research with a focus on both biomarkers and therapy. Richard Mohs joined the Cogstate board in January 2017 and joins us today from Chicago. Richard is a former executive of Eli Lilly, where for a period of time he oversaw their Alzheimer's R&D activity. Richard is a neuropsychologist who in 1994 prepared the first administration manual for the ADAS-Cog, a collection of cognitive assessments that has been used as the primary endpoint in pivotal Alzheimer's disease trials for many years since then. Ingrid Player joined our board in August 2019 and joins us today from Melbourne. Ingrid is an experienced non-executive director with Australian and international commercial and regulatory experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, risk and sustainability.
As well as having deep healthcare sector experience, having formerly held senior executive roles with Healthscope, a leading private healthcare provider in Australia. Richard van den Broek joined our board in August 2010 and joins us today from Connecticut. Richard has 30 years of experience in financial strategy and investment fund management in the life science industry. Initially as a healthcare analyst and now as a partner in an investment fund focused on the biotech industry and as an investor in Cogstate. Kim Wenn joined our board in November 2020, and although she's an Australian, she joins us from Hungary, I hope. She may be apologetic. Kim has 30 years experience in innovation roles, including 14 years at Tabcorp, an ASX 50 company, where she held the role of Chief Information Officer and led a team of 1,200 technology experts to drive digital transformation.
Finally, our CEO, Brad O'Connor, who has been in the role since December 2005, joins us today from Melbourne. Brad will address the meeting shortly. I'd also like to welcome and introduce Mark Harrison from Pitcher Partners, who was the engagement partner on our external audit. Mark will be available today to answer shareholders' questions relevant to the audit and accounts. Since the inception of Cogstate in 1999, our investment thesis has been focused on an aging population and increasing incidence of Alzheimer's disease, and the need to provide technology solutions that simplify the measurement of cognition for patients, their doctors, and the companies developing new and better therapies. Throughout that journey, we've remained steadfast in our belief that eventually treatment options for Alzheimer's disease would come to market.
When they did, Cogstate would be there to provide technology solutions that make cognitive assessment easy and accessible. Our goal has always been to play a small but important role in delivering better brain health to all. Within the context of our original ambitions, the last 12 months has been a watershed for Cogstate. At this meeting last year, we were very pleased to be able to announce a global licensing agreement with Japanese pharma company, Eisai, for Cogstate technology in all markets outside clinical trials. Global license followed a Japan regional license of Cogstate technology to Eisai that was executed in August 2019. Eisai has a long and proud history in Alzheimer's disease that dates back to the launch of the drug Aricept in 1997 for the symptomatic treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
Today, Eisai is one of the very few companies that are targeting several key areas in Alzheimer's disease research. Over the last two years, the Cogstate team has found Eisai to be a highly committed partner, and we're excited about the impending launch of Cogstate technology solutions through Eisai. We look forward to sharing more news shortly in respect to the Eisai partnership. The launch of Cogstate's digital assessments is imminent in a number of countries, including the U.S. and countries through the Asia region. After years of waiting patiently for Alzheimer's treatments to come to market, suddenly there's been a rush of activity over the last few months. The introduction of treatment options is encouraging for all patients and families suffering under the weight of this terrible disease. On the seventh of June, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever disease-modifying treatment for early Alzheimer's disease.
The treatment, branded as Aduhelm, was developed by Eisai with their development partner, Biogen. Later in June, the FDA announced that two other potential treatments had been given breakthrough therapy designation, which aims to expedite the development and review of drugs. Those potential treatments are being developed by Eisai and Eli Lilly, respectively. As a result of being awarded breakthrough therapy designation, on the twenty-eighth of September, 2021, Eisai announced that it had initiated a rolling submission to the FDA of a biologics license application for lecanemab, Eisai's investigational treatment of early Alzheimer's disease. Eli Lilly's investigational treatment of early Alzheimer's disease, donanemab, has also been granted breakthrough therapy designation, and Lilly has announced that it expects to lodge an application with the FDA before the end of this calendar year.
With so much activity, it's possible that by the time we meet again next year, there could be three interventional treatments for early Alzheimer's disease on the market, a situation that seemed incredibly remote not so long ago. Throughout a year when Cogstate generated record financial results, nearly all Cogstate staff were working 100% remotely. Cogstate committed to a virtual first working environment throughout the year and will commit to this working model going forward. Cogstate staff have overwhelmingly expressed their appreciation for the flexibility afforded them by the virtual working model that still provides opportunities for in-person collaboration and team building. External to Cogstate, the global health pandemic has changed behavior and led to adoption of technology solutions at a rate previously unseen, including remote clinical trials, known as decentralized trials.
Decentralized trials are an emerging trial design that threatens to disrupt the traditional site-centric model of clinical trials. Cogstate digital cognitive assessments offer the ability for remote or unsupervised assessment, which is essential in the context of decentralized trials. These changes to trial design represent a new and significant opportunity for Cogstate as digital assessments become a more central element of assessment due to the changed nature of the trial design. 2021 was a record-breaking financial year for Cogstate. The value of clinical trials contracts executed, the revenue generated, and the profit and cash flow from operations were all records for Cogstate. The financial results reflect not only the emerging commercial opportunities, but also effective management of expenditure by the management team. Cogstate generated revenue growth of AUD 9.9 million compared to the prior year.
That revenue increase generated a profit before tax from ordinary operations of AUD 3.9 million, a profit increase of AUD 6.9 million compared to the prior year. That level of financial leverage should please all shareholders as we look forward to another year of revenue and profit growth in the 2022 financial year. I'm now going to hand over to our CEO, Brad O'Connor, so that he can update you in respect of the start of the fiscal year 2022. Brad?
Thanks, Martyn, and I'd like to thank everybody for joining us today. Just a quick update in respect of a comment that Martyn just made in respect of Eisai's lodgment of their biologics license application. Just noting that overnight Australian time, Eli Lilly similarly lodged their biologics license application in respect of their potential Alzheimer's treatment, donanemab. That's really exciting times. As Martyn has mentioned, the 2021 financial year was a watershed year for Cogstate, and really pleasingly, the 2022 financial year has started positively. In the first quarter, Cogstate executed almost a year's worth of clinical trial sales contracts. This result was underpinned by the award of a large phase III Alzheimer's disease study, which is being conducted as a completely virtual decentralized trial. That trial will use Cogstate proprietary digital assessments as key endpoints in the trial.
Through Cogstate's history, we've seen large trial opportunities such as this from time to time, but never quite this large. While a large phase III opportunity is not unusual, they are quite irregular in nature. Group revenue for the September quarter was AUD 12.3 million, a record quarterly result that was up almost 100% against the same period last year, and up 23% compared to the most recent June quarter. Clinical trials revenue has been increasing steadily over the last two years as the level of sales contracts executed has converted into revenue. For the September quarter, clinical trials revenue was AUD 11.1 million. On the right-hand side of this screen, you can see the trailing twelve months revenue was approximately AUD 39 million.
Contracted revenue is the amount of revenue that will be generated in future periods by sales contracts that are already in place. That's an important metric, but for both the management team and for all shareholders, as it provides real insight into secured revenue that will be generated in future periods. As a result of the record sales bookings in the clinical trial segment through the first quarter of fiscal 2022, the amount of contracted future revenue has increased by 209% since the same time last year, and is up 28% since the end of June this year. If we focus on just the clinical trial segment, the revenue backlog is AUD 88 million, which is up 109% since the same time last year, and up 51% since the end of June.
Contracted revenue in the healthcare segment represents the minimum revenue from Eisai under both the Japan and the global agreements. Revenue for the remainder of the 2022 financial year will be a product of two factors. Firstly, how much revenue is contracted now, and secondly, our ability to execute new sales contracts in clinical trials throughout the rest of the financial year. In total, including the revenue generated during the first quarter, the September quarter, plus the revenue contracted for the rest of the fiscal 2022 year, we have just over AUD 38 million of revenue secured for this financial year. Of course, as we execute new sales contracts throughout the rest of the financial year, we will generate additional revenue during this current financial year.
As we look forward to the next financial year, we see that we're in a really good position to be able to record revenue growth again into fiscal 2023, with more than AUD 30 million of revenue already secured by contract for that financial year. Today, there are a number of external factors which give us great confidence that Cogstate is well positioned to generate revenue growth into the future. Firstly, a central tenet of Cogstate investment thesis is that the launch of Alzheimer's therapies will create demand for cognitive assessment in the community. Cogstate technology is scientifically proven to be able to identify the very early signs of cognitive impairment that may be associated with Alzheimer's disease, and therefore our tests are really well placed to meet that demand.
Secondly, through our relationship with Eisai, Cogstate technology is about to launch in a number of countries where we'll seek to capture the expected increase in demand for easy-to-use, quick, non-invasive, but scientifically accurate measures of cognition. Thirdly, we expect that the approval of the first Alzheimer's disease modifying therapies will create a path to market for future therapies and thereby lead to an increase in overall research and development expenditure focused on this terrible disease. Finally, the increased adoption of decentralized trial design is expected to provide additional sales opportunities for digital assessments such as Cogstates. On to the expected financial results for this fiscal 2022 year. At this time, we reiterate our guidance provided only eight weeks ago.
Clinical trials revenue under contract for this year has increased since we issued our guidance, and we will continue to increase as we execute sales contracts between now and the end of the financial year. All other aspects of the guidance that was provided on the 24th of August 2021 remain unchanged. The fiscal 2022 year has, of course, started well. The business fundamentals are sound, and we have a clear path to revenue and profit growth from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022. In summary, the last two years have seen significant growth in the commercial opportunities available to Cogstate. At 30 September 2021, Cogstate has contracted future revenue in excess of AUD 130 million. Our momentum in clinical trials continues to build, and the Eisai partnership will deliver at least AUD 43 million of revenue over the course of the next 10 years.
For the fiscal 2022 year, we expect to grow both revenue and profit, and we look forward to have already secured more than AUD 30 million of revenue for the next fiscal 2023 year. Cogstate has significant leverage to the breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease treatment that are expected to be available to patients in the near future. We expect to see an increase in the level of Alzheimer's disease research and development expenditure, which is positive for our clinical trials business. Of course, the partnership with Eisai provides much upside beyond the contracted minimum payments as these new Alzheimer's treatments result in a growing need for ease of access to accurate and reliable assessments of cognition. Our technology has excellent scientific validation, and the market for that technology is large and growing.
We have a really strong balance sheet with AUD 23.4 million of net cash at the end of September. We have no debt, and we expect to be cash flow positive through fiscal 2022. To conclude, I take this opportunity to thank all Cogstate shareholders for your patience over a number of years as we've sought to secure the commercial opportunities that will provide long-term returns for our shareholders.
Thanks, Brad. We'll now open up for questions before moving to the formalities of the meeting. Can I ask that any shareholders who have questions, please identify themselves? I will first take telephone questions, followed by written questions submitted by the virtual meeting platform. This will be for the format and order for all the question sessions during the meeting. The phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no telephone questions at this time.
Thank you. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
Chair, there are no online questions at this point.
Okay. Well, there'll be opportunities for shareholders to ask questions, shortly in any case. As there are no further questions, we will now move on to the formal portion of the meeting, the matters requiring resolution which are outlined in the notice of annual meeting. I begin by noting that I've signed the minutes of the previous annual general meeting of Cogstate Limited as chairman of that meeting, and a copy of the minutes are available for inspection. Before moving to the various resolutions to be considered today, let me outline the procedures for today's meeting. As I mentioned earlier, and as set out in the notice of annual meeting, each of the resolutions will be conducted via poll.
In accordance with the company's constitution, the directors have determined that each shareholder who is entitled to attend and vote at this meeting is entitled to a direct vote on the resolution. These procedures ensure that the views of as many shareholders as possible are represented at the meeting. The result of the polls will be declared and released to the ASX as soon as possible after the conclusion of the business of this meeting. Only shareholders, proxy holders or duly appointed representatives are entitled to speak or vote at this meeting. As a reminder, you can cast your direct vote using the electronic voting card that you received after clicking the Get a Voting Card button.
If you are both a shareholder and a proxy holder or a shareholder company representative or have more than one holding, you can receive a separate voting card by clicking the Get a Voting Card button. Please vote on all resolutions prior to submitting the voting card. If you hold shares in joint names and all holders are online, you will have received one voting card only for your holding. Proxies have been inspected and all those validly lodged have been accepted. Proxies have been received representing approximately 113.5 million shares or approximately 66% of the issued capital of the company. As Chairman of the meeting and having been appointed as proxy for a member entitled to vote, as detailed in the notice of meeting, I will vote where authorized all undirected proxies in the favor of each resolution.
If you have any questions about casting your vote online, please refer to the online platform guide or call us on the number set out in the guide or on the screen in front of you. At the time each resolution is considered, the resolution will be displayed along with the proxies received. You'll be able to submit questions by registering as a shareholder or proxyholder and selecting Ask a Question button. You can submit questions now and they will be dealt with at the appropriate time. Alternatively, if you've dialed into this meeting, use your mobile phone or landline and wish to ask a question verbally, please press star one on your keypad. All questions should be addressed to me as Chairman. I reserve the right as Chairman to rule questions as not pertaining to the meeting or out of order.
I remind shareholders who have questions to please identify themselves, and I will now take questions from shareholders on the procedures. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
Once again, Chair, no questions online.
Thank you. Finally, a reminder to please vote on all the resolutions prior to submitting your voting card. With no further questions, we'll move to the receipt of the financial statements and reports and the resolutions of the meeting. I now move to the consideration and receipt of the financial statements and reports of the company for the year ended 30 June 2021. There will be no vote on this item, and it's a discussion item only. The company's auditor for the 2021 financial year, Mark Harrison of Pitcher Partners, is present to take questions relevant to the conduct of the audit and preparation content of the independent auditor's report. I will now take questions regarding the financial reports or the reports of directors and auditors and questions relevant to the conduct of the audit and preparation content of the auditor's report. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
No online questions yet.
Thank you. We'll now proceed to the resolutions as set out in the notice of annual general meeting. Resolution one is to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. That the remuneration report as disclosed in the annual director's report for the year end of 30 June 2021 be adopted. I will now take any questions regarding this motion. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
No online questions, Martyn.
As there are no further questions in terms to the discussion of this item, as Chair of the meeting and as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. The proxy and direct voting position is now being shown on your screen. Thank you. Resolution two is to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. The election of Ms. Kim Wenn as a director. Ms. Kim Wenn was appointed as an additional director to the board on the 30th of November 2020 and retires at this meeting in accordance with Clause 48.1.1 of the company's constitution and the ASX Listing Rule 14.4, and being eligible offers herself to be elected as a director of the company. Ms.
Wenn's CV is contained in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting. I note that Ms. Wenn is a member of both the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and is considered by the board to be independent. I'll now take any questions regarding this motion. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you, Mr. Company Secretary. Are there any questions online?
Chair, there are no questions online in relation to this resolution.
As there are no further questions, this concludes the discussion of this item. As chair of the meeting and as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. The proxy and direct voting position is now being shown on your screen. Thank you. Resolution three is to consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. The re-election of David Dolby as a director. Mr. David Dolby, a director of the company who retires by rotation at this AGM in accordance with Clause 48.1.3 of the company's constitution and the ASX Listing Rule 14.5, and being eligible, offers himself for re-election, be re-elected as a director of the company. David's credentials are detailed in the explanatory notes to the notice of annual general meeting.
I note that David sits on the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. I will now take any questions regarding this motion. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
Chair, no questions online for this resolution.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, this concludes the discussion of this item. As chair of the meeting and as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. The proxy and direct voting position is now being shown on your screen. Thank you. Resolution 4 is to consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. The re-election of Richard Mohs as a director. Richard Mohs, a director of the company who retires by rotation at this AGM in accordance with Clause 48.1.3 of the company's constitution and ASX Listing Rule 14.5, being eligible, offers himself for re-election, be re-elected as a director of the company. Richard's credentials are detailed in the explanatory notes to the notice of annual meeting.
I note that Richard sits on the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, as well as the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. I will now take any questions regarding this motion. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
Once again, Chair, no questions on this resolution.
As there are no further questions, this concludes the discussion of this item. As chair of the meeting and as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. The proxy and direct voting positions are now being shown on your screen. Thank you. Resolution 5 is to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 7.2, Exception 13B, and for all other purposes, the shareholders of the company approve the adoption of the employee share option plan on the terms and conditions set out in the explanatory statement which accompanies and forms part of this notice of meeting. The company's employee share option plan was last approved by shareholders of the company on the 25th of October in 2017.
As of the date of this meeting, more than three years would have elapsed since this date. Accordingly, the company seeks shareholder approval to readopt the incentive plan for the purposes set out in the explanatory statement. For reference, there have not been any substantive changes to the employee share option plan since that time. I'll now take any questions regarding this motion. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
No questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
Once again, Martyn, no questions on this resolution.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, this concludes the discussion of this item. As chair of the meeting, as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. The proxy and direct voting position is now being shown on your screen. Thank you. Resolution 6 is to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and for all other purposes, the shareholders of the company approve the issue and allotment of 1 million unlisted options under the employee share option plan to Mr. Bradley O'Connor, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and otherwise on the terms and conditions set out in the explanatory statement which accompanies and forms part of this notice of meeting.
The non-conflicted directors of the company, being all the directors other than Brad, have carefully considered the issue of these incentive securities to Brad and formed the view that giving of this financial benefit as part of his remuneration would be reasonable given the circumstances of the company, the quantum and terms of the incentive option, and the responsibilities held by Brad in the company. Accordingly, the non-conflicted directors of the company believe that the issue of these incentive options to Brad fall under the reasonable remuneration exception as set out in Section 211 of the Corporations Act, and relies on this exception for the purposes of this resolution. Therefore, the proposed issue of unlisted options to Brad requires shareholder approval under and for the purposes of Listing Rule 10.14. Summary of the full terms of Mr.
O'Connor's incentive options are set out in Annexure B to this notice of meeting, noting particularly the performance requirements of these, the vesting. I will now take any questions regarding this motion. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
No, Chair. No online questions on this resolution.
As there are no further questions, this concludes the discussion of this item. As chair of the meeting, as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. The proxy and director voting position is now being shown on your screen. Thank you. Resolution 7 is to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.14 and for all other purposes, the shareholders of the company approve the issue and allotment of 400,000 unlisted options under the employee share option plan. Ms. Tania O'Connor, Vice President of Healthcare and Research Solutions, who is an associate of the company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr.
Bradley O'Connor, and otherwise on the terms and conditions set out in the explanatory statement which accompanies and forms part of the notice of meeting. As announced to the ASX on the eighteenth of March, 2021, the company is seeking to invite Ms. Tania O'Connor, Vice President of Healthcare and Research, subject to shareholder approval that is sought under this resolution, to participate in the incentive plan by subscribing for the 400,000 unlisted options. Ms. O'Connor is an associate of the company's Managing Director and CEO, Brad O'Connor. Tania holds the position of Vice President of Healthcare and Research, and in that role, she is responsible for the management of the global license agreement with ASAP. Currently, she's the only member of the executive leadership team that does not have any long-term incentive in place in the form of options under the employee share option plan.
The proposed issue of options will rectify that anomaly. The summary of the full terms of the incentive options set out in the Annexure C to this notice of meeting. I will now take any questions regarding this motion. Phone moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
There are no online questions on this resolution, Chair.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, this concludes the discussion of this item. As chair of the meeting and as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. The proxy and director voting position is now being shown on your screen. Thank you. Resolution 8 is to consider and if thought fit, pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. That for the purposes of Section 136 of the Corporations Act and for all other purposes, the proportional takeover provisions in the constitution of the company be renewed for a period of three years from the date of approval in the form of the document tabled at this meeting and signed by the chair for the purposes of identification effective immediately.
The proportional takeover provisions in the company's constitution have not been approved by shareholders in the last three years. In the absence of proportional takeover provisions, a proportional takeover bid may result in control of the company changing without shareholders having an opportunity to dispose of all of their shares. By making a partial bid, a bidder can obtain practical control of the company by acquiring less than a majority interest. Shareholders could be exposed to the risks of passing control to the bidder without payment of an adequate control premium for all of their shares and being left with a minority interest in the company. Such shareholders could suffer potential further loss if the takeover bid were to cause a decrease in the share price or otherwise make the shares less attractive and therefore more difficult to sell.
As of the date of this notice of meeting, no director is aware of any proposal to acquire or to increase the extent of a substantial interest in the company. Renewal of the proportional takeover provisions will enable the directors to formally ascertain the views of shareholders in respect of a proportional takeover bid, should there be one. Pursuant to Section 136(2) of the Corporations Act, a modification to the company's constitution can only be effected by way of a special resolution passed by its shareholders. Therefore, this resolution is a special resolution that can only be passed if at least 75% of the votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote on this resolution have voted in its favor. I will now take any questions regarding this motion. Moderator, are there any questions?
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
No, there are no online questions on this resolution.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, this concludes the discussion of this item. Chair of the meeting, as outlined in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all open proxies in favor of this resolution. Proxy and director voting position is now shown on your screen. Thank you. Shareholders participating should now complete and submit their voting forms via the online platform. Voting will close in five minutes. This is now the last opportunity for shareholders to ask any questions they may have before the meeting is closed. Let's see final questions. Moderator, are there any questions?
We have no questions at this time.
Thank you. Mr. Company Secretary, are there any questions online?
We do have two online questions from Stella Wang, a shareholder. First question is for Brad. Brad, can you please give an update about how the ERT partnership is going, please? Is the increased software license sale in Q1 related to that?
Thanks, David. Thanks, Stella, for the question. Look, the ERT relationship's going well, but no, I wouldn't categorize the increase in software license fees in quarter one as related to the ERT relationship. What I would say is that our commercial teams between ERT and Cogstate are really well engaged, and we've been pursuing actively a number of different opportunities with a number of sponsors. We're continuing to progress deeper integrations of our technology solution with theirs in our joint delivery models. We believe that in doing that, we'll provide an even better solution or potential solution for our customers.
I would also say just generally that our channel partner relationships, such as that with the ERT, as well as decentralized platform partnerships, we view those as a really important pillar in respect of our commercial strategy long term. Hopefully, that answers that question.
Thanks, Brad. There's been one further question from Stella. Has the board given any thought to any capital management activities, considering the large cash holding and the comment that the cash flow is expected to be positive this financial year?
Martyn, do you want me to answer that?
Yeah, go.
I might start, and Brad, you might care to comment. Thanks, Stella. The answer is we have no plans for capital management at this stage. Of course, we're always reviewing our balance sheet and financial results, of course. At the moment, we have no plans to make any capital management changes at this time. Brad, any comments?
Look, just to reiterate that, you know, we are expecting strong cash flow growth through quarters two through to quarter four. You know, I think as we push through those periods, we'll need to think about that and those cash reserves within the context of our longer term commercial strategy. I think all shareholders can appreciate that we find ourselves at a really exciting time with a number of opportunities for significant growth in terms of commercial opportunities. We do wanna make sure that we're seeking to maximize those commercial opportunities. We'll factor those strategic plans into our capital management plans.
Thanks, Brad.
Thanks, Brad O'Connor and Martyn Myer. Just refreshing the screen. There are no further questions.
Okay. Thank you. As there are no further questions, this ends the interactive part of the meeting. Please note that Link Market Services will need time to count and audit all the votes submitted online today. The results of this meeting will be announced to the ASX shortly after completion of the meeting. That completes the formal business of the meeting. With no other business to consider, I now declare the meeting closed at 11:50 A.M. I thank you all very much for your attendance and participation. Thank you.