A deal with Celgene Corp. worth $261m up front will save Jounce Therapeutics Inc. from having to wade into the treacherous market for initial public offerings in order to advance and accelerate its immuno-oncology research and development programs.
In fact, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Jounce could avoid a third venture capital round and an IPO for quite some time, depending on how quickly its programs partnered with Celgene move forward, since the collaboration agreement gives the private company up to $2.3bn in milestone fees
