INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
Bicycle Therapeutics | October 26, 2021
Bicycle Therapeutics plc a biotechnology company pioneering a new and differentiated class of therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycle®) technology, today announced that Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, has exercised an option to initiate a new program, expanding the exclusive strategic collaboration agreement with Bicycle to discover, develop and commercialize novel Bicycle®-based immuno-oncology therapies.
Bicycle and Genentech are collaborating on the discovery and pre-clinical development of novel Bicycle-based immunotherapies against multiple targets. Pursuant to the terms of the February 2020 agreement, Genentech has exercised an option to include a new program under the agreement, triggering a $10 million payment to Bicycle. None of the compounds in Bicycle’s wholly owned oncology pipeline, including its immuno-oncology candidates, are included in the collaboration.
“We are pleased both with the progress achieved so far in our ongoing work with Genentech and that Genentech has elected to exercise an option to add a new program under the collaboration. We believe the expansion of our collaboration underscores the potential utility of Bicycles compared to other modalities, as well as the potential broad applicability of Bicycles in a wide-range of targets “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the preeminent immuno-oncology team at Genentech to develop potential new cancer treatments based on Bicycles.”
Kevin Lee, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Bicycle Therapeutics
About Bicycle Therapeutics
Bicycle Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BCYC) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of medicines, referred to as Bicycles, for diseases that are underserved by existing therapeutics. Bicycles are fully synthetic short peptides constrained with small molecule scaffolds to form two loops that stabilize their structural geometry. This constraint facilitates target binding with high affinity and selectivity, making Bicycles attractive candidates for drug development. Bicycle is evaluating BT5528, a second-generation Bicycle Toxin Conjugate (BTC™) targeting EphA2, and BT8009, a second-generation BTC™ targeting Nectin-4, a well-validated tumor antigen, in company-sponsored Phase I/II trials. In addition, BT1718, a BTC™ that targets MT1-MMP, is being investigated in an ongoing Phase I/IIa clinical trial sponsored by the Centre for Drug Development of Cancer Research UK. Bicycle is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with many key functions and members of its leadership team located in Lexington, MA. For more information, visit bicycletherapeutics.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “seeks,” “will” and variations of these words or similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Bicycle’s collaboration with Genentech; the discovery, development and potential commercialization of potential product candidates using Bicycle’s technology and under the collaboration agreement; the therapeutic potential for Bicycles in immuno-oncology and other applications; and the potential to receive milestone payments and royalties under the strategic collaboration agreement. Bicycle may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including: the risk that Bicycle may not realize the intended benefits of its technology or of the collaboration agreement with Genentech, including that Bicycle and Genentech may not successfully identify, develop and commercialize additional product candidates; the risk that Bicycle may not be able to maintain its collaboration with Genentech and realize the benefits thereof; and other important factors, any of which could cause Bicycle’s actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, are described in greater detail in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Bicycle’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 5, 2021, as well as in other filings Bicycle may make with the SEC in the future. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Bicycle expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether because of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
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CELL AND GENE THERAPY
I-Mab | July 12, 2021
I-Mab, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical business dedicated to discovering, developing, and commercialization of novel biologics, announced today the signing of two new partnerships with Chinese emerging biotech firms to enhance its next-generation innovation pipeline.
Collaborations with Immorna, an mRNA biotech company, and neoX Biotech, an AI-enabled R&D biotech company, provide I-Mab access to revolutionary technologies to search for new cancer treatments. I-Mab will create new anti-cancer antibody therapies using Immorna's ground-breaking self-replicating mRNA technology. Furthermore, I-Mab will collaborate with neoX Biotech on up to ten new biologics programs that will use neoX's unique artificial intelligence algorithm under a strategic partnership agreement. Today's announcement adds to the Company's existing collaboration agreements with Complix for a cell-penetrating antibody platform and Affinity for a masking antibody platform in March 2021, allowing it to continue expanding its globally competitive pipeline of next-generation antibody assets enabled by transformative technologies.
The cooperation agreements specify that both partner firms will earn secret upfront and milestone payments.
About I-Mab
I-Mab is a global biotech business focused on discovering, developing and ultimate commercialization of new and highly distinct biologics in the immuno-oncology therapeutic space. Through drug discovery, the Company's goal is to deliver transformational medicines to patients all around the globe. I-internationally, Mab's competitive pipeline of more than 15 clinical and preclinical stage therapeutic candidates is driven by its internal R&D capabilities and global licensing agreements based on the Company's exclusive Fast-to-Proof-of-Concept and Fast-to-Market pipeline development methods. The Company is quickly transitioning from clinical-stage biotech to a fully integrated global biopharmaceutical company with cutting-edge global R&D capabilities, a world-class GMP manufacturing facility, and commercialization capacity. I-Mab has a global presence in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Hong Kong in China, and Maryland and San Diego in the United States.
About Immorna
Immorna, founded in 2019, is a rapidly expanding biotech company focused on creating self-replicating and traditional mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines. Immorna has developed a strong CMC platform for mRNA synthesis, purification, and analytical testing since its inception, and it is ideally suited for commercial development. In addition, Immorna has developed an arsenal of mRNA delivery vehicles using cutting-edge screening tools, including polymers and lipid nanoparticles containing multiple proprietary cationic lipids suited for intramuscular, intravenous, or tissue-targeting delivery. Immorna's pipeline is diverse, including cancer immunotherapy, infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders, and cosmetology. Immorna's oncology and infectious disease projects are nearing the clinical stage. Immorna's global presence includes Hangzhou, Shanghai in China, and Wilmington, DE in the United States.
About neoX Biotech
neoX Biotech is a next-generation biotech firm that focuses on computational design for novel drug research and development. neoX focuses on studying and developing macromolecular medicines and multi-specific drugs by combining artificial intelligence (AI), biophysics, and high-throughput experiments. neoX has created a highly transferable and sophisticated platform for early drug discovery via in-depth protein-protein interaction analysis (PPI). NeoX has shown preclinical success in a number of novel drug pipelines derived from this platform. Founded in 2018 by two physicians from MIT and Caltech, neoX has received over $100 million in funding from renowned venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital China, 5Y Capital, Vision Plus Capital, Vertex Ventures, LYFE Capital, ZhenFund, and others.
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Medicalxpress | July 01, 2019
For years, researchers have been trying to target a gene called MYC that is known to drive tumor growth in multiple cancer types when it is mutated or over-expressed, but hitting that target successfully has proven difficult. Now researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania have identified a new pathway that works as a partner to MYC and may be its Achilles' Heel. The pathway involves a protein called ATF4, and when it's blocked, it can cause cancer cells to produce too much protein and die. These findings in cell lines and mouse models could point the way toward a new therapeutic approach as inhibitors that can block synthesis of ATF4 already exist. The journal Nature Cell Biology published the findings today. MYC is a gene that controls normal cell growth, but when it is mutated or amplified in cancer, it sets off a chain reaction that helps tumors grow uncontrollably. While there is currently no specific way to target it, previous research has focused on blocking other steps in the chain as a workaround to impede tumor growth. The team, led by Constantinos Koumenis, Ph.D., the Richard Chamberlain Professor of Radiation Oncology and vice chair and research division director of Radiation Oncology, have previously shown that in certain tumors, one of these steps is regulated by a kinase called PERK, which activates ATF4. However, in this new study, they've shown that blocking PERK does not always stop tumor growth because MYC actually controls a second process that can work in parallel as a redundancy in the system. This study identified this second kinase, which is called GCN2.
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