This article was originally published on November 5, 2018, we’re getting lots of questions so we’re popping it to the top of the page for you but it has not been updated or revised — the ad being covered appears to be almost identical to the ad that was running in the fall of 2018.
Dylan Jovine is a little bit of a ‘blast from the past’ for me, I very briefly covered a teaser pitch he did for his Tycoon Report when I was in just my first couple weeks of trying different article formats for this weird new “Stock Gumshoe” website I was starting twelve years ago… that Tycoon Report service wasn’t around for very long after that, I think he sold to Agora and he apparently went off the grid a few years later for health reasons, but now he’s back with a new service called Behind the Markets ($79/yr).
And, of course, he’s recruiting new subscribers with a teaser ad campaign… this “Living Software” one we’re looking at today has been running for a while now, and the questions from readers are piling up, so I thought it was time to take a quick look.
Here’s the intro that got readers interested:
“One Drop of Breakthrough… Living Software Sells for $83,000
• The Wall Street Journal Reports: “It’s Transforming Medicine.”
• 60 Minutes Reports: “It’s revolutionizing the search for new drugs.”
• And one small company funded by Bill Gates and Google owns the patent on it“And our research proves that anyone who gets in before Thursday, September 27 could earn profits of 46,751% (or more).”
Oh, wait a minute, that was the original version of the ad… they updated it a bit, so the one we’ve been seeing recently has this to replace that last sentence:
“And thanks to a major event about to take place on November 26, you have the chance to earn profits of 46,751% (or more) by getting in today!”
There was also a version that focused on October 26th, and they seem to have been testing some different lead-ins because this language was an alternate version of the intro that I saw:
“Tiny Massachusetts Company Awarded $2 Billion Patent for Groundbreaking “Living Software”
“Cambridge firm’s ‘new approach’ proves it possible to extract Cancer cells from sick patients”
So all of that’s probably enough to let you know that yes, Jovine is pitching a CRISPR stock — he’s touting the “gene editing” technology as a way to “cut and paste” to erase and fix bad genes, and that’s certainly a common spiel we’ve heard from lots of different newsletters over the past couple years as the CRISPR companies have gone public and raised money.
Which one, though? Let’s see what other clues he drops… first, he trumpets the potential of CRISPR to rapidly eradicate disease:
“Like a ‘Manhattan Project’ for Medicine….
“But nobody expects it to take 30 years to happen in this case.
“Because of the unique, high-stakes power of this treatment governments are pushing business to accomplish this within 5 years.
“In that way it’s become like a Medical Manhattan Project.
“And because of that we think one of two things happens – it either moves like an Amgen or it’s taken over by a larger competitor….”
And then he gets into the specifics a bit…
“I’m not recommending any of the big companies.
“For the folks who follow my research, I prefer recommending biotechs on the very forefront of this massive change. The biotechs that the large companies are partnering with.
“That’s where all the innovation is. And that comes in the form of smaller companies with the world’s leading scientists.
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just click here...“My research has led me to a firm that was formed five years ago…
“And this small company has the patent on the most popular way of doing this.
“And they have the two other key ingredients: a strategic partner and they’ve already survived a patent challenge.
“In the last few months, they’ve announced positive results from a partnership with Allergan Pharmaceuticals and Celgene, one of the largest biotech companies in the world.”
And then just a little more hype from Jovine:
“There’s One Small Company At The Center of It All…
“And a remarkable – yet overlooked – company is at the forefront. This company is literally at the center of this revolution.
“Right now only the savviest scientists and investors know about. But that’s starting to change.
“If you were to make only one investment in the next decade, this is it. It doesn’t get clearer than this.
“Of that I have no doubt.
“… CRISPR has the opportunity to radically change how we treat diseases.
“And the best way to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is to invest in the small company that made this treatment possible.”
So what is this stock that Jovine likens to getting in early on Wal-Mart or Amazon, with extraordinary returns on the horizon? Thinkolator says he must be hinting at Editas Medicine (EDIT), which has been generally referred to as the “winner” in the patent fights over CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology over the past year (that’s not a definitive statement, the folks at Intellia (NTLA) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) would argue the point — but EDIT seems to have a stronger footing in terms of the “foundational” patents for CRSPR work in eukaryotic cells, at last for now… I’m sure the courts will see dithering on this point for years).
And the first CRISPR-enabled clinical trials are just about to make news, with both Editas and CRISPR Therapeutics likely to have their initial clinical trials enrolling by the end of this year. EDIT’s clinical trial is an eye disease treatment partnered with Allergan, and they’ve already delayed it by a year or so but have been talking about filing their investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA by October. You may notice that October has passed, and I haven’t seen any update on whether or not they’ve filed — but they do report their earnings on Wednesday, so undoubtedly they’ll say something about progress at that point.
Pending that, the latest pitch from the company itself is available as part of their investor presentation from last month.
And yes, it is all very exciting — even with the risks of gene editing, and the possibility that this new technology might not be safe or effective, despite the massive R&D efforts that have been committed to it over just the past five years, around the world… but the finances are a much tougher thing to get a handle on. This is R&D, with the very first projects just now starting to trickle into the clinic, and with massive risks and great uncertainty over whether CRISPR/Cas9 will even end up being the technology that works.
Just to illustrate the “earliness” of the science here, and the unsettled nature of gene editing medicine, two of the patent holders for those first highly disputed discoveries, Jennifer Doudna and Feng Zhang, are part of these early foundational companies — Zhang’s patents from the Broad Institute and Harvard are licensed to Editas, Doudna’s from the University of California to Intellia — but both of them and Doudna’s sometime scientific collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier (University of Vienna) have also gone on to continue their research and found other companies. Just this year, Zhang has been affiliated next-stage editing startup called Beam Therapeutics, and Doudna with a genetic testing startup called Mammoth Biosciences… and, of course, given their pedigrees, those firms are getting lots of venture capital interest. This is all very fluid.
I’ve written about these stocks several times in the 30 months or so that they’ve been publicly traded, and I always come to the same conclusion: This might be stupendously important, but it could also fizzle out with safety concerns or be a huge money pit for years while slow progress is made in the lab or clinic. I certainly have no idea which of the three current leaders in CRISPR R&D will end up in the lead, or with the best collaborations, or with the first treatment, assuming a CRISPR-based drug or treatment does eventually get approved. Here’s what I wrote the last time I covered the sector, my opinion hasn’t changed:
“The CRISPR-Cas9 early stage R&D world is dominated, at least in the public markets, by the three companies who have licensed the foundational patents from the three major researchers in this space — CRISPR (CRSP), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) and Editas (EDIT). If I were going to invest in the hope that this gene editing technology will end up curing major diseases and launching massive revenue-generating treatments, I’d just invest a bit in all three and ignore them for five years while we let the early stage clinical trials shake out. It’s still awfully early to know which patent will end up being more lucrative, or which corporate strategy or pipeline will hit ‘paydirt’ first, at least for a non-expert like me. I’ve never invested in any of them and that’s unlikely to change soon.”
If you like gene editing but are looking for stocks that are a little easier to analyze, or that actually generate revenue, then most of the big pharma stocks are at least dabbling in the sector… and you might find Celgene (CELG) specifically interesting — they’re one of the major investors in CRISPR Therapeutics, though they sold off a lot of their stake over the past year or so, and they’re also partnered with Editas (EDIT) thanks to the Juno acquisition this year, (and they’ve also invested in some smaller gene editing startups like Repare Therapeutics). Celgene may well be a super high-risk stock as well, of course, it’s much, much larger ($50 billion) and has plenty of its own issues that have frightened investors, not least the heavy dependence on their blockbuster drug Revlimid, which will go off-patent in 2022, but it is (arguably) reasonably valued and profitable. I don’t own Celgene either, to be clear, but it makes me more comfortable than the pre-clinical patent investments like EDIT, CRSP and NTLA.
And no, I’m not aware of any meaning to the November 26 date… other than the notion that there will likely be an IND application awfully soon for EDIT’s first clinical trial, though their earnings report on Wednesday would be the next logical date to expect some news on that and their other programs.
I’m sure plenty of the good folks out there in Gumshoedom have opinions on one or the other of these leading CRIPSR IP stocks… if you’re one of ’em, feel free to let us know: Why should we buy Editas over CRISPR or Intellia? What’s the end game? Is there a rational path to monetizing this technology that’s more specific than “someday?” A better gene editing technology out there that will make us all forget about CRISPR? Let us know with a comment below. For me, I’ll keep watching from the sidelines and trying to make sense of it all.
P.S. We’re always trying to build up our reviews and ratings sections, to help investors like you make decisions about newsletters and trading services… if you’ve tried out Dylan Jovine’s new Behind the Markets service, please click here to let us know what you thought. Thanks!
Disclosure: I own shares of Amazon, mentioned briefly above. I don’t own any of the other stocks covered, and will not trade in any covered stock for at least three days, per Stock Gumshoe’s trading rules.
you run the only viable info site that cuts the lies and BS down to a true understanding of the pitches!
Thanks Gary! Tell all your friends, we’ve been doing this for 12 years and hope to keep it up for decades. Our readers are the best!
Well I certainly would challenge his assertion that “only the savviest scientists and investors know about” since I own all three of them and can’t see myself in either category. As you indicated, there is no good way to predict the winner so I took a small position in each. And the more I read in the literature, the less certain I am that all three will not be made obsolete by other miracle drugs being worked on in the labs of drug companies and universities.
I usually do not invest in bio companies…although many years ago owned Merk…pill pushers…and made some money…I’ll have to check out EDIT….know that Bill Gates into a lot of stuff. I’ve been looking for the fountain of youth for along time….in herbal, vitamin form…haven’t found it yet. Maybe it’s hiding in the Amazon….Asia has lots of fruits for immune improvement….rambling enough.
What do you think of the HGH gel Somaderm?
I have been doing the same, so far Turmeric Curcumin, Krill oil, Selinium, and amino acids seem to be working!:)
I am highly suspicious of ANYTHING “BILL GATES” he is way too slick for me
I bought EDIT Stock about 6 month ago and so far no gain but I still own it.
Drug companies cant touch this tech, without paying DEARLY for licensing. CRISPR tech is getting to the root of the problems by addressing genetic deletions , mistaken repeats and dyslexic type switches of bases, Combining this with stem cells is awesome.
Prollem is, CRISPR tech also delivers a free bonus–deletions and substitutions that were not intended. Oops.
Gene editing companies like Beam Therapeutics do not have this deletion problem.
EDIT and CELG are Motley Fool favorites also. Lost money on CELG.
I lost on every trade MF recommended. Hence Travis
There’ve been a lot of uncertainties around the CRISPR companies, but I think right now the elephant in the room is the emergence of the new CRISPR-Cas13 technology, developed by a former co-founder of EDIT, Feng Zhang. At this pace, even newer technologies might follow. It looks increasingly unlikely that CRSP, EDIT, NTLA will still be the leaders in five years from now, unless they manage to do something like acquire competitors with newer technologies. But how can you do that without real earnings?
Wish I’d signed up for this instead of agora. Would have saved a few thousand! You’re my regular read now. Signed up for Premium
Thanks Larry, we’re delighted to have you aboard!
If it would cure cancer it would be squashed. Cancer is too big a business. Too bad!!
ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector ETF—ARKG
This one has EDIT, CELG, NTLA, CRSP…
Why the ETF vs a small stake in each of the three?
Although the last three months is a short time period, it’s the only one I could research easily. Over that period, the ETF has lost a little under 25% and the three stocks (CRSP, EDIT, NTLA) have lost a little more than 43%. This one example may not have predictive validity, but it shows that diversification is one reason to select the ETF.
Yes, and Ark’s quarterly call yesterday had some interesting positive things to say about EDIT in particular.
Hey Travis, you’re a blast from the past for me too!
Thanks for highlighting my ‘Living Software” promotion. As you mention, I have been away for some time (health issues), so it’s kind of a comeback piece for me. The fact that it hit your radar means I must be doing something right.
I’m also happy to see that you’re still calling balls and strikes. You provide a valuable service to people. And while I haven’t always agreed you, I’ve always respected what you do. And you’ve always seemed pretty fair to me.
With regard to my “Living Software” promo: The best promotions in my business are the ones that wrap the most well-researched investment ideas into a compelling story. At least that’s what I’ve always aimed for when trying to get someone to subscribe to one of my services.
And this is a lesson I learned the hard way. I was fresh from owning my own brokerage firm when I first started Tycoon Research. So I was Mr. Wall Street. I was gonna show everyone how smart I was. I was gonna sell people deep research. The kind hedge-funds use. Because everyone must wanna know everything about a stock they buy including the value chain, competitive and comparative advantages, marginal profit margins and so on. I’m a business analyst not a stock analyst.
(You might recall that our tagline back then I was gonna sell “institutional research for individual investors”)…
And I tried to sell it to people that way. Get them to sign up for my service. But you know what I learned? Nobody in their right mind wants to read 30 page research reports. That’s boring. And annoying. It’s work!
What most people want is for you to do the hard research and boil it down and make it understandable. And that’s kind of what I do. And I take great pride in that. I’ve come to learn that taking complicated subjects and explaining them for regular folks is a noble thing to do and it benefits people.
Anywho, I just wanted to say keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Dylan Jovine
P.S. Oh, and I’m sorry but I can neither confirm nor deny the name of the stock that is the subject of my “Living Software” promo. That would kinda defeat the purpose. God Bless!
He’s back – Schaeffer Investment Research just sent out (8/24/19) the current pitch – same as before
“CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for EDIT-101, an experimental CRISPR genome editing medicine being investigated for the treatment of Leber Congenital Amaurosis type 10 (LCA10).”
http://ir.editasmedicine.com/news-releases/news-release-details/editas-medicine-announces-fda-acceptance-ind-application-edit
We keep seeing this ad and getting more questions about it — the ad hasn’t changed in any big way that I’ve noticed, though they’ve dropped some of the clues. Just FYI, here’s the performance of the three main CRISPR stocks since we published this teaser solution in November of 2018… along with Celgene, since I mentioned that one above… NTLA in red, EDIT in blue, CRSP in orange, Celgene in green and the S&P 500 in purple:
Not so pretty, and no sign of the immediate surge that is so often teased for these kinds of stocks… gene editing is going to be a slow burner of a business and take tons of time and money to progress to the point that any companies make a profit from it, I expect.
thanks for cutting thru the junk and sharing the facts as you know them. New to your info, will keep watching your thoughts.
Im personally thrilled I subscribed to Gumshoe! Why? You are a godsend for cutting thru the BS and letting all know where these folks are going. No misdirects from Gumshoe whatsoever! Now if you would look at the health teasers I would appreciate that!! My personal belief is they sell snake oil and all that! The good news is they offer money back in most cases. Thanks!!
AS of Aug 15, the newsletter pitch is the same, something happening soon, Dylan says:
https://go.behindthemarkets.com/limited-time-offer-4/?ojid=b65e66d5606543fa97d7278be9d127ef&utm_source=6&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=nl&id=1154&iocid=&aff=IMS
His newsletter is only $39 and we will soon see if there is actually some announcement….but I am not inclined to buy it…..
I bought stock edit and it is up nicely so I am a happy customer.
The article and the picture description seems like the company Jovine is referring to is UBX, Unity Biotechnology unless I am wrong. The same picture is on the UBX website.
Job one has been teasing UBX recently, I believe, but this article was about a different tease a while back. They may have recycled some of the spiel to pitch a new stock, as copywriters often do.
Travis, you are spot on with this Jeff Siegel promotion ! According to my research December 9th should include the NEWS about FDA approval concerning second trials completion on humans for reduction of aging process and various cancers; and Alzheimer’s and Dementia Brain improvements due to these Biotech treatments by (UBX)!
If this is true, hold on to tour seatbelts following positive FDA results this winter !
I believe UBX is for ending age related diseases and the cut and paste promos are for Crisper, Intella and Edit
I would 100% Stay away from Celgene. Insider here. Their management is pretty awful and abusive to really smart people. They have so many internal problems including VP’s that are NOT industry leaders rather they play the politics to advance themselves for their own financial gain. . It is really poorly run.The have to partner with too many outside companies at ridiculous costs because they refuse to utilize the talent they have [which used to be superb]. People run out of there with their hair on fire. A poorly run company is never a good long term investment.IN particular there are a few VP’s that are so unbelievably abusive that really good Doctors,Phd’s and other great staff just want to be gone.
Thanks so much for the information. Biotechnology Gene editing will one day be a great method to deal with disease, but is still too early.
So here it is, first, when it comes to “gene deletion” or “cut and paste” technology these biotechnology companies should take a long time to R&D. After all, it’s our bodies, organs and genetic make up they’ll be changing even if it is for the better so I wouldn’t expect to get rich overnight. Second, anybody ever heard of Ginkgo (DNA)? Talk about flying under the radar! It’s these companies, that no one is talking about, that you have to watch.
I think Ginko Bioworks/DNA will find the answers quicker. They have HUGE brains and financial backing. Blessings