JW Therapeutics, the China-based cancer drug developer founded by corporates Juno Therapeutics and WuXi AppTec, has floated in an initial public offering that raised approximately HK$2.33bn ($300m) according to BioWorld.
The company issued 97.7 million shares priced at HK$23.80 each on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the offering was 450-times oversubscribed, BioWorld reported. Goldman Sachs and UBS are joint sponsors for the IPO.
Founded in 2016, JW is working on immuno-oncology therapies focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells, targeting haematological cancers and solid tumours. No CAR T-cell product has so far been approved in China.
Pharmaceutical company Juno held 26% of the company’s shares pre-IPO, with counterpart WuXi AppTec owning a 14.2% stake.
Both corporates took part in JW’s $90m series A round in early 2018 alongside Oriza Seed Capital, YuanMing Capital, Temasek, Sequoia Capital China, Yipu Capital and Avict Global Holdings.
The company added $100m in an August 2020 series B round co-led by financial services firm Mirae Asset and private equity fund Citic CPE that included both Juno and WuXi AppTec.
CR-CP Life Science Fund, a joint venture by conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group and holding company China Resources, also took part in the August round, as did Temasek, Oriza Holdings, Sequoia Capital China, Loyal Valley Capital and Arch Venture Partners.
