Molecular oncology scientist and biotech innovator Joe Abdo to lead Stella Diagnostics as CEO
Keystone Managing Partner Daniel Wainstein to join Stella Board of Directors
New York, NY – Keystone Capital Partners (“Keystone”) a New York-based investment platform specializing in the biotech, real estate and consumer products sectors, announced today that it has provided the foundational seed capital for Stella Diagnostics (“Stella”), a molecular diagnostics-based organization focused on improving patient management strategies for those living with severe esophageal disease. As part of the transaction, Daniel Wainstein, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Keystone, will join Stella’s board of directors.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
This newly created partnership was inspired by a mutual desire to target an underserved cohort – patients suffering from esophageal diseases that can potentially advance into a malignant prognosis. Similar to prior investments made by Keystone executives over the years, the firm intends to have Stella access public capital markets during its lifetime.
Fred Zaino, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Keystone, commented:
“Stella Diagnostics is firmly in our investment sweet spot. We look for opportunities where we can use both our capital and professional networks to address medical end markets where there is a great need and lots of demand, but little activity.
“Our alignment of goals and interests with Stella was evident from our first conversation. We are proud to support Joe and his outstanding team of clinicians, researchers and corporate developers, all of whom have tremendous track records of building great companies, developing groundbreaking therapies, and ultimately improving lives.”
Joe Abdo, co-founder and CEO, Stella Diagnostics, commented:
“The opportunity to work with a highly personalized investor group like Keystone – with the goal of ultimately listing the company in public markets – is a game-changer for our diagnostic assays for esophageal diseases. We hope this pathway will accelerate our ability to deliver our innovations to this clinical field of need. Our products aim to optimize patient management strategies by providing novel and actionable diagnostic information to providers screening for and treating precancerous and cancerous states of the distal esophagus.
“Esophageal adenocarcinoma is the deadliest form of cancer, but also one of the least understood or publicized. Every 30 minutes someone in the United States dies from esophageal cancer, in part due to inefficient screening and non-curative therapies. Roughly 80% of esophageal cancer patients present to their oncologist in the advanced stages of cancer progression, making their chances of survival very low. Stella Diagnostics aims to make the percentage of late-stage presentation significantly lower with our diagnostic approach so that high risk patients will ideally be identified earlier when the disease is still in a curable state.
“This transaction is an exciting strategic measure that will hopefully yield quicker growth and get our clinically actionable assets into the hands of providers.”
About Stella Diagnostics
Stella Diagnostics, LLC, is a molecular diagnostics-based organization focused on improving patient management strategies for the over 67 million people living with severe esophageal disease. The Company’s proprietary technology offers physicians insight into the molecular properties of their patients’ tissue to determine if the disease is stable, progressing, or turning cancerous. For more information, visit: Stella Diagnostics
About Keystone Capital Partners
Founded in 2019, Keystone Capital Partners provides capital solutions to help overlooked and underfunded companies reach their goals by providing a stable and equitable source of capital through creative investment structures. Keystone seeks to identify attractively valued micro-cap, small-cap, and mid-cap public and private equity investments through bottom-up, fundamental analysis. While sector-agnostic, industries of focus include biotech, real estate and consumer products. Keystone’s financing solutions are unique for each company, always working in cooperation with management teams with the ultimate goal of achieving full value for all stakeholders. To learn more about the Keystone team, visit: Keystone Capital Partners
For more information, visit www.keystone-cp.com
Media Contact: Nicole Hakimi, ICR, KeystoneCP@icrinc.com