Juno Therapeutics Prices IPO Above Range

(RTTNews) - Juno Therapeutics Inc, a biopharmaceuticals company, on Thursday priced its initial public offering of 11 million common shares at $24.00 each, above the expected range of $21 to $23 per share.

Juno has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional abou 1.7 million shares to cover over-allotments, if any.

Juno is expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "JUNO" on December 19.

The offering is expected to close on December 23.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are acting as lead book-running managers for the offering, and Leerink Partners LLC as a co-manager.

Juno is working on the development of cell-based cancer immunotherapies that genetically engineer "T" cells to recognize and kill cancer cells. A "T" cell is a type of white blood cell that identifies and kills infected or abnormal cells, including cancer cells in a healthy individual.

Seattle-based Juno, which has raised more than $310 million in funding since April this year, counts venture capital firm ARCH Venture Fund VII LP as one of its major investors, with a stake of about 15 percent.