Burning Rock's IPO Gets Enthusiastic Reception, Jumping More Than 50%

According to VCBeat, on June 12, 2020, Burning Rock Biotech Ltd. ("Burning Rock"), a company focused on the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology in the field of precision oncology, has announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 13,500,000 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), each representing one Class A ordinary share, at a price to the public of US$16.50 per ADS. The ADSs had been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market and were traded on June 12 under the symbol "BNR". 

Lake Bleu Capital purchased from US$25 million in Class A ordinary shares at a price per share equal to the initial public offering price. The aggregate offering size of the initial public offering and the concurrent private placement is approximately US$247.8 million.

The shares of Burning Rock opened at $22.8, up 38.2 percent from the initial public offering price. The highest price hit $26.37, up nearly 60%. By the end of the day, its shares were trading at US$24.63, up nearly 50 percent on the day, giving it a market capitalization of more than US$2.5billion.

Founded in 2014, Burning Rock specializes in providing NGS services in the field of precision oncology. Thus far, Burning Rock has developed 32 products for different cancer types and clinical applications, ranging from companion diagnostics for targeted therapy and immunotherapy, benign/malignant tumor diagnosis, minimal residual disease monitoring, tumor recurrence and progression prediction, and tumor susceptibility tests.

Mr. Han Yusheng, founder and CEO of Burning Rock, said, "After the listing, Burning Rock will invest more in R&D and certification, and provide cancer patients with products and services that meet their needs of diagnosis and treatment."

Looking into the use of the raised funds disclosed in the prospectus of Burning Rock, we can roughly understand the main development direction of Burning Rock in the next stage-- cancer concomitant diagnosis and early screening.

Lake Bleu Capital is a Hong Kong-based investment platform that specializes in healthcare. With a long-term investment horizon, it manages strategies through both public and private equity with a primary focus on mid- to late-stage investments.