Juno CEO Hans Bishop.
Juno CEO Hans Bishop.

Juno Therapeutics, a heavily-funded cancer research company that was formed just 16 months ago, priced its initial public offering Thursday night at $24 per share. That was above the expected range of $21 to $23 per share — signaling strong demand for the spin out of  Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

The company sold 11 million shares, meaning Juno raised $264 million.

Juno is using human T cells as therapeutic entities in the treatment of cancer and has already raised $314 million in venture funding from Arch Venture Partners, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and others.

Shares began trading today on Nasdaq under the ticker Juno, and they are already doing well. The stock is trading at $38 per share, up more than 50 percent and giving Juno a market value of nearly $3 billion.

Arch Venture Partners owns 13 percent of the company, while the Fred Hutch owns 4.6 percent. The biggest holder of stock is Alaska Permanent Fund, which held 32 percent after the offering. CEO Hans Bishop owns 3.2 percent.

Juno’s rise from startup to public company is certainly impressive, one of the quickest we’ve seen to date.

“Juno’s economic impact potential to our state is equal in significance to the company’s enormous life-saving potential of its technology,” said Washington State Department of Commerce Director Brian Bonlender in a statement. “This historic IPO represents an opportunity for the state to lead the world in yet another industry.”

Juno follows in the footsteps of Alder Biopharma, a Bothell biotech which went public in May.

Alder BioPharmaceuticals stock flat after unexciting IPO

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