Dylan Jovine’s “End of Alzheimer’s” Biotech Pick Revealed

One stock teaser I’ve come across a lot over the past several months is one by Dylan Jovine dubbed “The End of Alzheimer’s.”

According to the Behind The Markets website, a “tiny biotech” has come up with a “new way to treat Alzheimer’s,” and Jeff Bezos (among others) has invested in it.

Dylan Jovine likens investing in the company to backing Reed Hastings when he started Netflix, Howard Schultz who started Starbucks, or Tesla’s Elon Musk. He also suggests it’s one of the biggest opportunities he’s seen in his almost 30-year career in finance.

What company is Jovine teasing?

And what treatment has it supposedly come up with?

That’s what I wanted to know, so I looked into Jovine’s pitch to see what I could find. And in this post, I’ll show you exactly what I discovered – ticker and all.

Unpacking the “End of Alzheimer’s” Teaser

Dylan Jovine began the presentation by talking about a scientist who he says told Jeff Bezos “three words” and walked out with a check for $130 million.

According to Jovine, these three letters, which all start with “B,” could change how we treat one of the “cruelest diseases on Earth,” minting millionaires in the process.

“In May 2015, Fidelity Biosciences cut him a check for $217 million.

In August 2016, he told Jeff Bezos three words. He walked out with a check for $130 million.

It took just over a year – 390 days – for this company to hit a $1 billion valuation. That’s faster than any company in history, including Facebook.

All because of three words. Words that all happen to start with the letter ‘B.'”

[…]

“These three words could do more than just make you rich.

They can change how we treat one of the cruelest diseases on Earth.

And that means it could mint as many millionaires as other big winners started by visionary entrepreneurs.”

As the presentation continued, it became clear that the disease Jovine was talking about there is Alzheimer’s, a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior.

And according to Jovine, the “three words” he mentioned hold the key to a new treatment that Jim Cramer said would be “the biggest drug ever, which he says experts predict could help millions of people while potentially saving the U.S. trillions in medical costs.

“It’s because the three words hold the key to a new treatment Jim Cramer says would be ‘the biggest drug ever.'”

“A treatment that experts predict could help as many as 50 million people…and save the United States $20 trillion in medical costs.”

Jovine shared the above Cramer quote numerous times throughout the presentation, so I looked into it because I was curious to know what exactly it related to. And it turns out he’s citing a Jim Cramer quote about Biogen’s Alzheimer’s treatment.

However, Biogen does not appear to be the company Dylan Jovine’s teasing. Instead, the clues suggest he’s tracking a smaller biotech company.

But before we get to that…

What “three words” is he referring to?

According to Jovine, he’s talking about the Blood-brain barrier:

“What are the three words that could be worth $20 trillion?

The three letters are ‘B-B-B’…

It stands for ‘Blood-Brain-Barrier.’

And as you’re about to learn, these three letters could create the ‘biggest drug in the world.'”

I’m not a medical expert (by any stretch of the imagination), so I’m not even going to attempt to explain what the blood-brain barrier is or how it relates to Alzheimer’s disease. But for the sake of breaking down the presentation, I’ll summarize how Dylan Jovine described it.

In short, Dylan Jovine said in the presentation that the blood-brain barrier stops the majority of drugs from getting to the brain and that the company he’s recommending has developed a “Trojan Horse” that sends a signal to the blood-brain barrier, letting it through.

“The challenge in treating Alzheimer’s isn’t necessarily the lack of drugs.

It’s that you can’t get those drugs to reach the brain.

You see, the Blood-Brain-Barrier stops 100% of large-molecule drugs from getting to the brain.

Small-molecule drugs only fare slightly better. 98% can’t make it past the Blood-Brain-Barrier.”

[…]

“How do we ever cure Alzheimer’s when our drugs can’t even reach the brain?

Today’s company does just that…

It’s developed a ‘Trojan Horse’ that sends a signal to the Blood-Brain-Barrier to let it through.”

The actual way this company’s treatment works is no doubt far more complex than that, but at least that’s an explanation that’s easy enough to grasp.

And according to Dylan Jovine, what this company has developed is a “sea change” compared to what’s currently on the market.

“By making it to the actual brain, these drugs can begin the process of treating the disease itself.

That’s a sea change from the Alzheimer’s drugs currently on the market.”

What’s more, Jovine said that the company he’s teasing has a patent on what “could be the biggest drug in the world” and that it has a “strategic partner.”

“My research has led me to a small company has the one thing that matters the most: a patent on a drug that could be the biggest drug in the world.

And they have the two other key ingredients: a strategic partner and a massive market.”

In the next section, I’ll show you what company I think Dylan Jovine is teasing and how it matches the clues he shares in the presentation.

What Biotech Company Is Dylan Jovine Teasing?

Aside from talking about the company’s treatment, the two biggest clues Dylan Jovine shared about his pick were a photo of the company’s CEO and hints about who has invested in it.

“A U.S. Big Pharma giant invested $1 billion and got an 11.2% stake.

French Big Pharma giant Sanofi invested $125 million.

And Japanese Big Pharma giant Takeda Pharmaceutics invested $150 million.”

The first thing I did was use Google’s image search to see what came up for the photo Jovine shared, and it turned out to be a photo of Ryan Watts of Denali Therapeutics.

From there, I looked at Jovine’s other clues, and they appear to match Denali.

How?

Well, according to the website, Denali Therapeutics develops medicines to defeat neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS (among others). And the company site says they’ve “engineered a proprietary technology to deliver biologic therapeutics to the brain.”

I’m not sure exactly what patent Dylan Jovine was referring to in the presentation, what drug it relates to, or how significant it is. But I did find a list of Denali Therapeutics patents on justia.com that might shed some light on that if you want to research this further.

Also, the company’s 2022 Corporate Overview PDF discusses its development portfolio and what it’s working on regarding the blood-brain barrier (BBB) side of things. So that may be worth a look if you want to get some clarity on what “treatment” Jovine’s referring to.

As for the companies Jovine claims have invested in Denali Therapeutics, the clues about Sanofi and Takeda match. And the “U.S. Big Pharma giant” he’s referring to appears to be Biogen, which according to investors.com, committed over $1 billion as part of a collaboration with Denali that also involved it taking an 11% stake in the company.

As for Jovine’s clues about Fidelity Biosciences and Jeff Bezos… what he said about Fidelity Biosciences appears to match. And a September 2021 New York Daily News article states that Jeff Bezos “holds stakes” in several startups, including Denali. Although it’s unclear exactly how much Bezos invested in the company.

In any case, Denali Therapeutics (DNLI) looks like Dylan Jovine’s pick.

If you want to know for sure, however, Jovine has put together a report detailing his pick called “Past the Blood-Brain-Barrier: The Small Company Revolutionizing Alzheimer’s Disease.” And that comes with a subscription to Behind The Markets.

What Is Behind The Markets?

Behind The Markets is a stock advisory service run by Dylan Jovine, and this is also the name of the company he founded that publishes the service.

The service focuses on long-term value investments in companies Dylan Jovine believes are trading at a discount to what his analysis suggests the underlying business is worth.

According to the company website, his recommendations usually focus on mid-cap companies with a market capitalization of $1 billion to $10 billion. And the site says he focuses on businesses that he and his team believe have suffered a “temporary setback,” where the stock price had traded down to a more “reasonable” price level.

As a subscriber, you get one new stock idea from Dylan Jovine each month for 12 months across a variety of sectors. And the model portfolio shows you what stocks he’s recommending, at what price, and when he recommends selling.

You also get access to research reports he’s created on the different companies he recommends, including the “Past the Blood-Brain-Barrier” report I mentioned earlier. And Jovine provides subscribers with regular updates on his recommendations.

How much does it cost?

How much a subscription to Behind The Markets costs seems to depend on where you join (and when), but as of writing, you can join the service for $79 through the presentation.

I’ve put together a complete review of Behind The Markets if you want to know more, but that’s the gist of what the service is about.

Who Is Dylan Jovine?

Dylan Jovine is a former money manager and founder of Wall Street private equity firm Lexington Capital Partners. He’s also the founder of Behind The Markets, LLC, a company that sells numerous research services, including the one we just discussed.

According to the company website, Jovine began his career in finance in 1991, working for a Wall Street investment banker.

And in 2004, he started a financial publishing company called Tycoon Publishing, which was later acquired by Agora, a company that owns many independent publishers.

Today, Jovine shares his investment insights, and stock picks with subscribers of the different services he runs on the Behind The Markets website.

He doesn’t just recommend biotech stocks, either. Before this, I covered a presentation he released about his “5G Arrow” stock pick, which centered around a tech company. So if you want to get an idea of what other companies he researches, check that post out.

Bottom Line

Dylan Jovine’s “The End of Alzheimer’s” stock teaser centers on a biotech company that has apparently come up with a “new way to treat Alzheimer’s.”

It’s unclear exactly what “treatment” he’s referring to or how significant it is, but the clues in the presentation suggest that the company he’s teasing is Denali Therapeutics (DNLI).

As for whether or not you should join Behind The Markets, that’s something only you can decide as it really depends on your goals and preferences. But it looks like a legitimate, potentially worthwhile service from what I can see, especially for the price.

That said, there’s no guarantee that Dylan Jovine’s stock picks will make you money. Regardless of how exciting the potential may seem, nobody has a crystal ball.

Anyway, that’s my take on all of this. Thanks for reading. And if you have any thoughts you’d like to share about Jovine’s presentation, leave a comment below.