First IPOs of 2016 BeiGene, Editas Medicine Surge On First Day
The first initial public offerings of 2016 arrived Wednesday with BeiGene ( BGNE ) and Editas Medicine ( EDIT ) both rising by double-digit percentages on their first trading day. Editas Medicine, a developer of gene editing therapies, raised $94 million by offering 5.9 million shares at 16, the low end of its 16-to-18 price range. The stock rose 13.8% to close at 18.20 in the stock market today . BeiGene, a China-based developer of cancer therapies that target a body’s immune system to fight cancer, raised $158 million by offering 6.6 million shares at 24, the high end of the range of its 22-to-24 range. BeiGene rose 18% to close at 28.32. They are the first U.S. listed IPOs since the Dec. 17 debut of Chinese peer-to-peer lender Yirendai ( YRD ). IPO research firm Ipreo said it was only the third time since 2001 that the new issuance market remained dormant during the month of January. Editas is described by the company as “a leading genome editing company dedicated to treating patients with genetically defined diseases by correcting their disease-causing genes.” It uses a technology known as CRISPR, or clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, which has the potential to achieve precise, directed changes in DNA. BeiGene is described as a “globally focused biopharmaceutical company dedicated to becoming a leader in the discovery and development of innovative, molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer.” Image provided by Shutterstock .