Immunotherapy firm Juno Therapeutics looks to add $150m to its $310m with initial public offering.
Juno Therapeutics, a US-based oncology spin-out, is aiming to raise $150m in an initial public offering (IPO) according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Launching 11 months ago, the Seattle-based firm is using technology derived from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and New York City-based Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre which reprograms the body’s immune system to target cancer. Called immunotherapies, the infused T-Cells have shown great promise in eliminating cancer, with early Juno trials demonstrating a complete remission in 88% of patients.
The technology, which could ultimately be provided either as an alternative or a replacement for conventional oncology therapies, has attracted high levels of investment. Peer company Adaptimmune, an Oxford spin-out, attracted $104m in its September series A while University of California Los Angeles’ Kite Pharma recently raised $128m in an IPO of its own. Juno itself attracted $176m in its series A over two tranches, a deal which would win it Global University Venturing’s Deal of the Year 2014 award, before adding a further $134m in series B funding over the summer.
Arch Venture Partners, a US-based venture fund supporting firms utilising intellectual property derived from universities and research institutes and itself a spin-out of the University of Chicago, is a key investor in Juno, holding around a 15% stake. Other backers include oil revenue derived investment vehicle Alaska Permanent Fund, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ personal investment fund Bezos Expeditions, and the Rockefeller family’s venture firm Venrock. Fred Hutchinson is also named as a stakeholder in Juno with a 5.17% share in the company.
The company plans to float on the Nasdaq under the symbol JUNO, with Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs all underwriting the IPO. Juno is yet to reveal a date for the floatation, nor has it provided how many shares would be offered or the price range they would be offered at. Currently, the company is operating at a net loss of $119m for the nine months ending 30 September.