Juno IPO promises academic paydays

Cancer immunotherapy developer Juno Therapeutics Inc. (Seattle, Wash.) will be obligated to pay two of its academic collaborators up to $525 million if its stock price exceeds certain thresholds within 11 years of its IPO.

In its S-1 filed Monday, Juno revealed that it would owe Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center "success payments" tied to stock values, according to a tiered structure. The payments would total $150 million to MSKCC if the stock price reaches $30, and would total $375 million to FHCRC if the price reaches $40. The totals would include initial payouts at lower thresholds, beginning with $10 million to FHCRC and MSKCC if the stock reaches $5 and $10, respectively. ...