How Much Is Your Company Worth?

Putting a value on how much an early-stage biotech company is worth is no easy task. Raising money for an early-stage biotech is even harder. But the good news is that last year was a record year for financing in the industry, with a 66 percent increase in VC funding over 2006, according a recently released Ernst and Young report. That set the stage for today’s luncheon educational session, “Funding and Valuation Models for Start-Up Biotech Companies. There were panelists on both sides of the fence – Peter Barrett from Atlas Ventures, Scott Rocklaye from 5AM Ventures, Ron Lennox from CHL Medical Partners and Alison de Bord from Alta Partners. They talked about what they look for in early-stage companies and how they try to assess a company’s value. Noted Alison, “Things always take longer than expected and you build a cushion into your deals.” On the other side were two entrepreneurs, CEOs Paul Hastings from OncoMed Pharmaceuticals and Glenn Batchelder from BIND Biosciences, who talked about their personal experiences in raising money. Glenn summed up the workshop by stating that as a CEO your goal is to “try to build a great company and maximize your degree of freedom.”