Stem cell research company ReproCell had closed its trading debut having recorded earnings five times larger than its initial public offering price. This is the biggest jump recorded for an IPO worth above US$10 million since 1999 in Japan.
The shares of the biotechnology firm had traded at 18,300 yen at the market close in Tokyo. This is 472% above its original IPO price pegged at 3,200 yen. The shares remained untraded for two days after being listed at the NASDAQ exchange in Osaka. After June 26, the buy offers had far outnumbered sell orders ten to one.
ReproCell was established in 2003 and is the first company to be granted a license to generate induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells. According to the company website, iPS cells are said to have the potential to treat and cure cancer.
According to BNP Paribas Investment Partners Head of Japanese Investment management Gentoku Kiyokawa, "Their business model is easy to monetize. Investors optimistic about the medical industry as part of the country's growth strategy will continue to carefully choose which companies to invest in based on whether the company can profit on that or not."
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