# Stemcentrx

Source: https://onco.cc/companies/stemcentrx/  
OnCo record `stemcentrx` (Company). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Stemcentrx was a privately held company that developed rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T), an antibody-drug conjugate aimed at DLL3 on small cell lung cancer cells. AbbVie bought it in 2016.

## Summary

Stemcentrx, Inc. was a privately held biotechnology company working on therapies derived from cancer stem cells. Its lead asset, rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T), is an antibody-drug conjugate aimed at DLL3, which AbbVie's announcement says is expressed in more than 80% of small cell lung cancer tumours; at the time of sale it was in registrational trials in small cell lung cancer, alongside four earlier clinical compounds in solid tumours. AbbVie announced the acquisition on 28 April 2016 at about USD 5.8 billion in cash and stock, about USD 2.0 billion of it in cash, with up to USD 4 billion more in cash milestones for clinical and regulatory achievements, and completed it on 1 June 2016.

## Fields

- Kind: Company
- Last checked: 2026-11-03
- Also known as: Stemcentrx, Inc.
- HQ: United States (city not confirmed)
- Type: biotech

## Notes

- Head-office city is not stated in AbbVie's announcement or 10-Q and was not confirmed elsewhere, so it is left general. What later happened to Rova-T is on its own page; this record does not restate it. No website or founding year is recorded.

## Sources

- AbbVie to expand oncology presence through acquisition of Stemcentrx (8-K exhibit 99.1, 28 April 2016): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551152/000110465916116276/a16-9837_1ex99d1.htm
- AbbVie Form 10-Q, quarter to 30 June 2016: acquisition completed 1 June 2016 (Note 4): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551152/000110465916137453/a16-11616_110q.htm

## Connected records

- cancers: [Small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/sclc/)
- fronts: [Antibody-Drug Conjugates](https://onco.cc/fronts/adcs/)
- technologies: [Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)](https://onco.cc/technologies/adc/)
- targets: [DLL3](https://onco.cc/targets/dll3/)
- drugs: [Rovalpituzumab tesirine](https://onco.cc/drugs/rovalpituzumab-tesirine/)
- companies: [AbbVie (incl. ImmunoGen, Capstan)](https://onco.cc/companies/abbvie/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/stemcentrx.json