Pharmaceutical companies Celgene and Pharmstandard recorded an exit on Friday as US-based immuno-oncology therapy developer Jounce Therapeutics went public in a $102m initial public offering.
Jounce issued 6.4 million shares priced at $16 each, above the $13 to $15 range it set earlier this month. The company had originally filed for a $75m IPO just over three weeks ago.
Founded in 2012, Jounce is developing immunotherapies based on its Translational Science Platform that will fight cancer by targeting diverse cellular components of the human immune system.
The company plans to put $30m of the proceeds toward advancing its lead product candidate, a monoclonal antibody called JTX-2011, through the completion of phase 1/2 trials that began in August 2016.
An additional $25m will be spent to move another candidate, an antibody called JTX-4014 that is being developed to work in conjunction with JTX-2011, through the Investigational New Drug process. A further $10m will support the expansion of the Translational Science Platform.
Jounce had raised $139m in venture capital, including $47m in a 2013 series A round announced when the company was officially launched by VC firm Third Rock Ventures.
Pharmstandard took part in a $56m series B round in 2015 that included Wellington Management Company, Redmile Group, Nextech Invest, Cormorant Asset Management, Omega Funds, Casdin Capital, Foresite Capital Management and Fidelity Investments.
Celgene provided $36m in equity funding for Jounce in July 2016 when it signed a strategic collaboration agreement that could potentially be worth up to $2.5bn in payments and royalties.
Celgene’s stake will be diluted from 11.4% to 9.1% through the IPO, though an affiliate of the firm is investing $10m in Jounce as part of the offering, which will increase its overall share to about 13.9%. Pharmstandard’s share of the company is less than 5%.
Third Rock Ventures stake will be cut from 53.5% to 42.6% in the IPO, while Fidelity Investments’ will be diluted from 12.1% to 9.6%.
Underwriters JP Morgan Securities, Cowen and Company, Wells Fargo Securities and Robert W. Baird have the option to buy almost 955,000 more shares, which would lift the size of the offering to almost $117m. Jounce’s stock opened at $18.00 on Nasdaq on Friday before closing at $17.25.