June 6 (Reuters) - Rapport Therapeutics said on Thursday

that it has raised $154 million in its initial public offering

in the United States at a valuation of about $601.4 million.

The company said it plans to sell 8 million shares at $17

each, priced at the midpoint of its indicated price range of

$16-$18 apiece.

Rapport, backed by the venture capital arm of Johnson &

Johnson ( JNJ ) develops small molecule medicines for patients

suffering from central nervous system disorders.

The Boston, Massachusetts-based company was formed in

February 2022 with founding support from Third Rock Ventures and

Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC.

Initially named Precision Neuroscience NewCo, Rapport has

said that it plans to use a portion of the IPO proceeds to

advance the clinical development of its lead product candidate,

RAP-219, for the treatment of focal epilepsy.

The IPO shows that the U.S. IPO market has made a strong

comeback after two dismal years.

Companies have raised more than $15 billion this year via

IPOs on U.S. exchanges, according to Dealogic, up sharply from

about $9.1 billion at this point last year, the data shows.

Rapport's shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq

on June 7 under the ticker symbol "RAPP".

Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, TD Cowen and Stifel are the

underwriters for the offering.