3 ms·

Lumping Stemcentrx in with the others is extremely ill reasoned imo. The most basic of google searches show some pretty impressive stuff being done there. htt

Lumping Stemcentrx in with the others is extremely ill reasoned imo. The most basic of google searches show some pretty impressive stuff being done there. http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/7/302/302ra136 http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/7/302/302ra136 http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/Past-Conferences/European-Cancer-Congress-2015/News/First-Targeted-Treatment-for-Small-Cell-Lung-Cancer-Shows-Promise http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/Past-Conferences/European-Ca... While the second link is only phase 1, those are some impressive numbers. Finally, their clinical trials page (http://stemcentrx.com/clinical-trials.html http://stemcentrx.com/clinical-trials.html) shows two Pfizer collaborations, pretty sure Pfizer has a pretty good pulse on these things.

w1ntermute 11y ago
As I stated in the sibling comment, Stemcentrx is indeed much more reasonable than either Theranos or Nootrobox. However, a $5B valuation is still absurdly optimistic when you consider the comps. There have been massive setbacks at Verastem even after getting to phase 2[0], and Verastem's science originated from a top MIT research lab. 0: https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/09/28/verastem-shares-plunge-after-company-halts-cancer-drug-trial/trHendPQ0ewSqLm2pixltJ/story.html https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/09/28/verastem-sha...
- StewsNews 11y ago
  Agreed, that is a lot if true, the MIT article[0] gave a 3 billion number and also mentions that the latest valuation was determined by Fidelity not some silicon valley VC firm. This all leads me to stick with the assertion that I would not lump the three in any way. 0: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/541006/peter-thiel-backs-biotech-unicorn-fighting-cancer-stem-cells/ http://www.technologyreview.com/news/541006/peter-thiel-back...
  - w1ntermute 11y ago
    The latest valuation is $5B, according to the WSJ[0]. The latest (series G) round was led by Fidelity, but Founders Fund, ARTIS Ventures, and SV Bank also participated in it[1]. Also, there's actually talk of Fidelity bringing sanity to startup valuations[2,3], rather than pumping them up even higher. You're right that Stemcentrx, unlike Theranos or Nootrobox, doesn't smell of SV hucksterism. However, rather than comparing Stemcentrx to Theranos or Nootrobox, compare them to OncoMed, Verastem, and Stemline, which have current public valuations of $700M, $65M, and $116M, respectively. And none of them ever exceeded $1.2B in their public valuations. 0: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/09/16/peter-thiel-backed-stemcentrx-emerges-with-5-billion-valuation/ http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/09/16/peter-thiel-b... 1: https://www.crunchbase.com/funding-round/7db717567346f07e604cb2feb8472cb0 https://www.crunchbase.com/funding-round/7db717567346f07e604... 2: http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/snapchat-isnt-the-only-startup-in-fidelitys-crosshairs/ http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/snapchat-isnt-the-only-startup... 3: http://fortune.com/2015/11/12/fidelity-marks-down-tech-unicorns/ http://fortune.com/2015/11/12/fidelity-marks-down-tech-unico...
    - jamesad 11y ago
      Differentiating factor for Stemcentrx vs. OncoMed, Verastem and Stemline - Single agent activity in humans with multiple drugs. http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-safety-activity-and-response-durability-assessment-of-single-agent-rovalpituzumab-tesirine-a-delta-like-protein-3-dll3-targeted-antibody-drug-conjugate-adc-in-small-cell-lung-cancer-sclc http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-safety-... http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-a-phase-1-study-of-pf-06647020-an-antibody-drug-conjugate-targeting-ptk7-in-patients-with-advanced-solid-tumors http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-a-phase... Pharmacyclics was valued at $42B with one drug in a smaller patient population than Stemcentrx drugs, and without the pipeline. The $5B valuation may be on the low side...

w1ntermute 11y ago

As I stated in the sibling comment, Stemcentrx is indeed much more reasonable than either Theranos or Nootrobox. However, a $5B valuation is still absurdly optimistic when you consider the comps. There have been massive setbacks at Verastem even after getting to phase 2[0], and Verastem's science originated from a top MIT research lab. 0: https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/09/28/verastem-shares-plunge-after-company-halts-cancer-drug-trial/trHendPQ0ewSqLm2pixltJ/story.html https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/09/28/verastem-sha...

StewsNews 11y ago
Agreed, that is a lot if true, the MIT article[0] gave a 3 billion number and also mentions that the latest valuation was determined by Fidelity not some silicon valley VC firm. This all leads me to stick with the assertion that I would not lump the three in any way. 0: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/541006/peter-thiel-backs-biotech-unicorn-fighting-cancer-stem-cells/ http://www.technologyreview.com/news/541006/peter-thiel-back...
- w1ntermute 11y ago
  The latest valuation is $5B, according to the WSJ[0]. The latest (series G) round was led by Fidelity, but Founders Fund, ARTIS Ventures, and SV Bank also participated in it[1]. Also, there's actually talk of Fidelity bringing sanity to startup valuations[2,3], rather than pumping them up even higher. You're right that Stemcentrx, unlike Theranos or Nootrobox, doesn't smell of SV hucksterism. However, rather than comparing Stemcentrx to Theranos or Nootrobox, compare them to OncoMed, Verastem, and Stemline, which have current public valuations of $700M, $65M, and $116M, respectively. And none of them ever exceeded $1.2B in their public valuations. 0: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/09/16/peter-thiel-backed-stemcentrx-emerges-with-5-billion-valuation/ http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/09/16/peter-thiel-b... 1: https://www.crunchbase.com/funding-round/7db717567346f07e604cb2feb8472cb0 https://www.crunchbase.com/funding-round/7db717567346f07e604... 2: http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/snapchat-isnt-the-only-startup-in-fidelitys-crosshairs/ http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/snapchat-isnt-the-only-startup... 3: http://fortune.com/2015/11/12/fidelity-marks-down-tech-unicorns/ http://fortune.com/2015/11/12/fidelity-marks-down-tech-unico...
  - jamesad 11y ago
    Differentiating factor for Stemcentrx vs. OncoMed, Verastem and Stemline - Single agent activity in humans with multiple drugs. http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-safety-activity-and-response-durability-assessment-of-single-agent-rovalpituzumab-tesirine-a-delta-like-protein-3-dll3-targeted-antibody-drug-conjugate-adc-in-small-cell-lung-cancer-sclc http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-safety-... http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-a-phase-1-study-of-pf-06647020-an-antibody-drug-conjugate-targeting-ptk7-in-patients-with-advanced-solid-tumors http://player.meta-fusion.com/late-breaking-abstract-a-phase... Pharmacyclics was valued at $42B with one drug in a smaller patient population than Stemcentrx drugs, and without the pipeline. The $5B valuation may be on the low side...