Hearing Loss Drug Developer Decibel Rounds Up $55M in Series C
- Thread starter dayma
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ManagerAt long last! Finally an update from Decibel Tx. Well worth the wait I would say. They are generally not as vocal as Frequency Tx, but when they post a press release they usually slam it down big time.
They have gathered some of the best scientists in the world in their respective area of expertise, and they have some of the largest industrial and venture capital partners on board. All with the purpose of better understanding and treating hearing loss and hearing disorders.
They are not looking for a quick fix. They are out to get to the bottom of the problem and find a long-lasting solution. For that, they have to do some heavy lifting.
They are most definitely in for the long haul. They don't even hide it. You can read this in the latest press release in fact.
"Our new partners have track records of long-term commitments to building great companies, including following their private investments with meaningful participation in subsequent public financings."
We may not see the fruits of these activities for a long time. But I think it's safe to say that we can expect something substantial from Decibel Tx in the future.
What they are using all this money for? They use the money to develop better tools and refine their methods. It's evident that they rely heavily on bioinformatics.
Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses such fields as computer science, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering and statistics. It's about using the very latest technology to better understand biology.
Here is a short video on bioinformatics.
A lot of the money probably goes to pay for the facilities they are using. They moved into "state-of-the-art laboratory space and offices" (4 August 2016 press release). That doesn't come cheap. Nor is it cheap to have some of the best scientists in the world on the payroll.
I think we are all assuming these venture capitalists know what they are doing which should not be a given.
I could see Decibel in 4 year smugly pitching some very narrow gene therapy that is only effect in very early inutero development and otoprotectives that only work if taken within milliseconds of a noise event. These will have such narrow applications as to be moot when talking about therapies.
Just cause they are spending lots of money doesn't necessarily mean they are learning anything of value.
Right... they don't know what they're doing, but you do? No one knows for sure what the future will bring. The best way to predict the future is to invent it. But innovation costs money. You can be the next Tesla, but if you don't have the money and someone to financially support you and your high-flying ideas, you won't succeed.
It takes two kinds of crazy to invent something revolutionary. You need a scientific madman and someone crazy enough to pour money into his experiments with the faith that they will get a return on their investment.
Meet Tesla and Morgan.
Tesla Tower then...
and now...
Tesla is today better known as a car brand than the scientist and mad inventor that once was. But all is not lost. Because his crazy ideas continue to fuel the imagination and inspire young generation of scientists. I don't have to tell you this... ask Elon Musk.
Have a little faith!
This is venture capital. Big Risk, but a big payout if it pans out. Many of these companies go under with nothing to show. This is probably less of a gamble than many of the other startup companies though which is why it has been so heavily invested. I think they are looking long term, taking it slowly and trying to make it a successful company. Everyone keeps saying a cure to hearing loss is possible, it just that no one knows exactly when it will happen.
I would love for them to hire hundreds of scientists and find a cure within the next year or so, but that would be a bad business decision. They would run the risk of running out of money early on and the company folding. Plus new discoveries are happening all over the world and they need to take in that information, access it and try to see if that avenue is worth pursuing. Most of the research is being done for them, so there is no reason to duplicate all of those efforts.
An additional 55 million is very impressive, but that money can go quickly if you are not careful and spend the money unwisely. It seems like they have a lot of seasoned veterans on their team, who have been through this many times before, and understand what it takes to make a company successful.
By looking at the board of directors, it looks like the VC's are there to protect their investments and to make sure their money is well spent (and with a new member according to the press release). And hopefully also to create incentives (equity, options etc...) for the management to do their best to maximize the value of the company in future.
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A start up company usually arises with a definite idea already in place, e.g. Frequency Therapeutics and FX-322. For me, that's the mystery of Decibel.
Two compounds for hearing protection.
And a gene therapy to restore hearing.
They seem to be targeting hidden hearing loss or synaptopathy.
Source:
https://www.xconomy.com/boston/2018...o-bring-multiple-hearing-drugs-to-the-clinic/
And a gene therapy to restore hearing.
They seem to be targeting hidden hearing loss or synaptopathy.
Source:
https://www.xconomy.com/boston/2018...o-bring-multiple-hearing-drugs-to-the-clinic/
This gives my weary soul a bit of hope. Knowing the historical pace of scientific research I can only hope I'm truly not being overly optimistic.
Thank you for posting, @Samir .
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