A startup trying to get the human body to fight cancer just filed for an IPO
Cancer drug developer Jounce Therapeutics filed for an initial public offering on Dec. 30.
The filing includes a target of $75 million in the public offering, though that's a placeholder and likely to change.
The filing is coming off a busy year for Jounce. In July, biotech company Celgene invested $261 million in Jounce in a deal that could ultimately be worth as much as $2.5 billion.
Jounce is developing drugs that harness the immune system to better attack cancer cells, a treatment often referred to as cancer immunotherapy or immuno-oncology.
It's an area that's generated a lot of interest in the last few years. In 2015 alone, more than $10.9 billion was spent in immuno-oncology deals and partnerships.
Jounce first opened its doors in 2013, and kicked off its first round of human trials for a drug called JTX-2011 in September 2016. JTX-2011 is designed to accelerate the immune system so it goes after cancer cells. Jounce is also looking at other ways to approach the immune system that don't just draw on what we already know about immune responses, an approach Jounce CEO Richard Murray calls "I-O 2.0."
That's because some of the immuno-oncology (sometimes known as I-O), drugs that are available right now don't work for everyone. For example, for advanced stages of melanoma, the number of people still alive after two years was about 35%, compared to 29.7% over the same time for those taking chemotherapy.
Murray told Business Insider in July that Jounce hoped to change that by looking at tumors and analyzing patients who are participating in clinical trials so the company will have a clear picture of what works and what doesn't for individual patients.
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- 7 Nutritious and flavourful tiffin ideas to pack for school
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- A surprise visit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to China after deferring India visit