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 it has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Novartis to develop, manufacture and commercialize Bicycle® radio-conjugates (BRCs) for multiple agreed upon oncology targets.
“This collaboration builds on the groundbreaking clinical work we have been doing in the toxin conjugate field and provides new and additional validation for this unique technology,” said Kevin Lee, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Bicycle Therapeutics. “We look forward to working closely with Novartis to pioneer the discovery and development of potential new cutting-edge radiopharmaceutical cancer treatments based on Bicycles. We believe the properties of Bicycles make them well suited for the development of precision guided radiopharmaceuticals and represents the next leg in the application of our proprietary discovery platform in oncology.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Bicycle will utilize its proprietary phage platform to discover Bicycles to be developed into BRCs. Novartis will be responsible for further development, manufacture and commercialization of the BRCs. Novartis will fund all pre-clinical and clinical development and commercialization activities. Bicycle will receive a $50 million upfront payment and is eligible for development and commercial-based milestone payments totaling up to $1.7 billion. Bicycle will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties on Bicycle-based medicines commercialized by Novartis.
About Bicycle Therapeutics
Bicycle Therapeutics 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 targeting EphA2; BT8009, a second-generation BTC targeting Nectin-4, a well-validated tumor antigen; and BT7480, a Bicycle TICA™ targeting Nectin-4 and agonizing CD137, 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 Cancer Research UK Centre for Drug Development. Bicycle is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with many key functions and members of its leadership team located in Cambridge, MA.