Ikena Oncology, a US-based cancer therapy developer backed by pharmaceutical firm Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), has closed its initial public offering at almost $144m.
The company had issued more than 7.81 million shares priced at $16.00 each last month, and they doubled in price to $32.00 by the end of their first day of trading.
Joint book-running managers Jefferies, Cowen, Credit Suisse and William Blair subsequently bought about 1.17 million additional shares to close the offering.
Ikena is working on cancer treatments designed to target key signalling pathways that drive the formation and spread of cancerous cells. The IPO proceeds will support phase 1 or 1b clinical trials for four drug candidates.
The company had raised a total of $168m as of a $120m series B round in January 2021 led by investment firm Omega Funds and backed by BMS and investment and financial services group Fidelity.
The round included Surveyor Capital, Invus, Farallon Capital Management, BVF Partners, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Logos Capital and HealthCor Management as well as existing investors Atlas Venture and OrbiMed.
OrbiMed’s stake in Ikena now stands at 22% while Atlas Venture holds 13.7%, Fidelity 7%, BMS 6% and Omega Funds 5%.
