Companies · Biotechnology

Pfenex Inc.

SAN DIEGO · Biotechnology

Diligence memoA one-page analyst read on Pfenex Inc. — recommendation, valuation, rhythm, risks.
$24.0M
Total raised · real
1
Rounds
Latest step-up
Top 30%
Sector rank · raised
Series B
Latest stage · inferred · Tue Dec 01 2009 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Pfenex Inc. looks fair against its niche peers and is dormant on financing cadence.

Synthesized from the figures below est. — every claim rests on a number shown on this page. Valuation uses the biotech sector profile.

Analyst read est. — computed against this company's niche peers in the same era. Inputs shown; not a quoted figure.

Fair
  • Modeled value is 1.07× the median modeled value of Series B Biotechnology companies in 2007–2009 (21 peers) — value vs value, same stage and era.
  • Within the normal band (107% of peer median) for its niche.
Dormant
  • Last raise 16.6 yr ago; this sector typically re-raises about every 14 months.
  • Only one round on record and long silent — often defunct, acquired, or gone quiet.
Leadership

No named principal in this company's public records yet — see all operators below.

Explore how these operators interlock with other companies in the operator network.

Where it sits in Biotechnology

Pfenex Inc. is one of 4291 Biotechnology companies tracked from SAN DIEGO. By capital raised it ranks in the upper tier (ahead of 71% of sector peers), and in the upper tier by modeled valuation est..

Ranking is computed against this company's own sector cohort — reported capital is fact; valuation tiers are modeled.

As reported in public records reported — not modeled.

US
Jurisdiction
Amount raised vs valuation, by round

Solid bars are reported offering amounts reported; hatched bars are the modeled post-money valuation est. — both on one shared scale so you can read raise-vs-worth at each round directly. Use the toggles to overlay data labels and the niche-peer / market average value lines.

Amount raised · realModeled valuation · estCumulative funded · real
$0$250M$500M$750M$1.0BSeries B · 2009-12-01 Raised $24M (real) Modeled valuation $953M (est)$24M$953MSeries B2009

The line shows cumulative reported funding over the period; + labels show new capital added between points when there is room. Toggle on-bar figures, plus the niche-peer and market averages, to read this company against its cohort. Benchmarks are modeled medians.

Financing ladder & sequence gaps
Series B$24.0M · 2009

Stages are modeled from round size (public records carry no series label). No record for: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A — the company may have raised it under a different exemption, merged it into an adjacent record, or skipped it. Sequence completeness: 25%.

Modeled valuation trajectory
$952.5M
Base estimate est.
$48.0M
Conservative case
$3.7B
Upside case
$133.3M
Modeled post-money

Round size and date are reported; the stage label is inferred from round size (latest is Series Ba $15M–$40M round). Valuation is modeled from stage benchmarks scaled by the biotech sector profile. Directional, not a quoted figure.

Not enough modeled valuation points to chart a trajectory.

Model inputs · modeled:benchmark-stage-stepup-v1
18%
Dilution assumption
Implied ownership sold in the financing.
54%
Survival probability
36% low · 66% high
1.54×/yr
Annual markup
1.86×/yr upside case
6.0 yr
Elapsed time used
16.6 yr actual, capped for stale marks
biotech
Sector profile
Adjusts growth and survival by industry.
Financing rhythm
Avg between rounds
Capital velocity
16.6 yr
On record since
2009
First round
1
Rounds on file
How it compares to the market

Benchmarked against 4291 companies in Biotechnology. Each bar is a median (the middle company, not an average — outliers don't skew it). Two yardsticks: real money raised (reported on Form D) and modeled value (our estimate est.). These are whole-sector medians across all stages, except the per-stage row.

Total raised — vs sector median (real $, all stages) 3.3× above median
This company$24.0M
Sector median$7.2M
Latest round — vs other Series B rounds in sector (real $, this stage) 1.4× above median
This company$24.0M
Sector median$17.5M
Modeled value — vs sector median (estimate, all stages) 15× above median
This company$952.5M
Sector median$64.2M

Raised more than 71% of sector peers (real $). Modeled value above 89% of peers (estimate).

Niche peers — same stage & era

A tighter cohort than the sector chart above — only companies at the same stage (Series B) that last raised in the same ~3-year era, ranked by modeled value est. (not money raised). This is the exact set the analyst read compares against, so a like-for-like cohort is what makes "over/under-valued" meaningful. This company ranks #7 of 21.

This companyCohort peer
$100.0M$1.0B$10.0B$10.0M$100.0MCapital raised (log)Ion Torrent Systems Inc · Series B Raised $59.9M · modeled $1.5B (est)PhotoThera Inc · Series B Raised $36.4M · modeled $1.4B (est)Taligen Therapeutics Inc · Series B Raised $62.1M · modeled $1.4B (est)Atritech Inc · Series B Raised $30.0M · modeled $1.2B (est)Barosense Inc · Series B Raised $56.9M · modeled $1.2B (est)Palyon Medical Corp · Series B Raised $45.0M · modeled $952.5M (est)Inhibitex, Inc. · Series B Raised $23.0M · modeled $912.9M (est)Coaxia Inc · Series B Raised $40.0M · modeled $893.0M (est)Avila Therapeutics Inc · Series B Raised $45.0M · modeled $893.0M (est)Lensx Lasers Inc · Series B Raised $22.4M · modeled $887.5M (est)Radiorx, Inc. · Series B Raised $47.7M · modeled $811.6M (est)Pfenex Inc. (this company) Raised $24.0M · modeled $952.5M (est)Pfenex Inc.
CompanyStageRaised · realValue · estvs peer med.
Ion Torrent Systems IncSeries B$59.9M$1.5B1.66×
PhotoThera IncSeries B$36.4M$1.4B1.63×
Taligen Therapeutics IncSeries B$62.1M$1.4B1.61×
Atritech IncSeries B$30.0M$1.2B1.34×
Barosense IncSeries B$56.9M$1.2B1.32×
Palyon Medical CorpSeries B$45.0M$952.5M1.07×
Pfenex Inc. this companySeries B$24.0M$952.5M1.07×
Inhibitex, Inc.Series B$23.0M$912.9M1.03×
Coaxia IncSeries B$40.0M$893.0M1.01×
Avila Therapeutics IncSeries B$45.0M$893.0M1.01×
Lensx Lasers IncSeries B$22.4M$887.5M1.00×
Radiorx, Inc.Series B$47.7M$811.6M0.91×
Full financing history

Stage is inferred from round size est., not reported on the filing — a round's dollar size maps to a bucket: Pre-Seed <$1.0M · Seed $1.0M–$4.0M · Series A $4.0M–$15M · Series B $15M–$40M · Series C $40M–$100M · Series D+ $100M–$400M · Growth/Late >$400M.

StageAmount · realAnnouncedPost-money · estValue · estConf.
Series B$24.0M2009-12-01$133.3M$952.5M90%
What happened at each round

Step-up, pace versus the sector's normal cadence, and revenue/exemption moves — read straight from the reported round facts reported.

  1. Series B$24.0M2009-12-01
    • First recorded raise — entered as Series B.
Intelligence
Modeled next raise
$38.4M
Modeled next size est.range $25.0M$61.4M
Last step-up
Capital velocity

Predictive signals are modeled est. from this company's own cadence and step-up, plus sector benchmarks — directional, not advice. Peer set and a CSV export live in your analyst workspace.

Key people & operators

Officers, directors and promoters named in this company's public recordsreported — the people who run it (not its investors). "Also runs" counts come from name-matching across all records, so verify before acting.

PersonRoleAlso runsTied since
Bertrand C. Liang2 other2009-12
Albert C. Hansen2009-12
Charles H. Squires2009-12
Dennis C. Merens2009-12
Henry C. Talbot2009-12
James C. Gale2009-12
Registry & provenance

Pfenex Inc. is an official record sourced from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). U.S. data is aggregated from SEC Form D filings.

United States
Country of record
US
Jurisdiction
1478121
SEC CIK
Similar companies

Nearest neighbours across the whole database — matched on sector, stage and capital scale, and on shared operators (officers or directors named at both companies in public filings). A discovery shortlist, not a valuation cohort — verify before acting, the same way modeled figures are directional.

CompanySectorStageRaised · realValue · estWhy similar
Tracon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.BiotechnologySeries B$57.7M$1.5Bnetwork1 shared operator · same sector · same stage
Ambio Holdings, Inc.BiotechnologySeries B$24.0M$952.5Msame sector · same stage
LifeSprout, Inc.BiotechnologySeries B$23.9M$841.2Msame sector · same stage
Vyriad, Inc.BiotechnologySeries B$24.4M$967.5Msame sector · same stage
Applied Stemcell IncBiotechnologySeries B$23.5M$754.1Msame sector · same stage
Orionis Biosciences LLCBiotechnologySeries B$24.5M$782.6Msame sector · same stage
Boreal Genomics Inc.BiotechnologySeries B$24.5M$714.4Msame sector · same stage
Protagonist Therapeutics IncBiotechnologySeries B$24.5M$694.6Msame sector · same stage
Frequently asked
How much funding has Pfenex Inc. raised?
Pfenex Inc. has raised approximately $24.0M in disclosed capital across 1 recorded financing round, aggregated from public filings.
What is Pfenex Inc.'s estimated valuation?
Provath's modeled valuation for Pfenex Inc. is approximately $952.5M (modeled range $48.0M–$3.7B). This is an algorithmic estimate derived from round sizes and same-niche peers — not a quoted or reported figure.
What funding stage is Pfenex Inc. at?
Pfenex Inc.'s latest modeled financing stage is Series B. Its most recent recorded round closed around Tue Dec 01.
What does Pfenex Inc. do and where is it based?
Pfenex Inc. operates in the Biotechnology sector, based in SAN DIEGO.
Explore related

See where Pfenex Inc. sits in the wider market — its sector, location and stage cohorts, each with their own leaderboards and capital-flow timelines.

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