The funding from Atlas Venture, Novartis Venture Fund, SR One, SV Life Sciences and Astellas Venture will enable Bicycle to continue its drug development programmes and to advance new drug candidates to clinical development for use in oncology.
Bicycle Therapeutics was spun-out of the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge in 2009, following the pioneering work of the founding scientists Sir Gregory Winter and Dr.Christian Heinis. The company has developed a proprietary bicyclic peptide technology that enables the discovery of a new class of drug candidates with antibody-like selectivity and specificity that can be manufactured with economics similar to new chemical entities. The company is applying the technology to drug discovery projects in oncology, metabolic and inflammatory diseases and will also make the platform accessible for collaborative discovery with pharma partners. This financing will support the clinical development of bicycle-drug conjugates (BDCs) that are highly selective to tumour-specific targets, with sub-nanomolar affinities.
Dr Rolf Guenther, CEO of Bicycle Therapeutics, said: “Mills & Reeve’s expertise and depth of experience in the equity investment field were vital to ensuring that this transaction proceeded swiftly and smoothly. Securing further funding will enable us to take the next leap forward and help us advance our BDC candidates to clinical development in cancer indications.”
Zickie Lim, corporate finance partner who led the team said: “We’re delighted to have been able to assist Bicycle Therapeutics again and to be part of their next exciting step. Cambridge has long been a hub for ground-breaking science and we are thrilled to be so closely involved in the growth of so many of these innovative companies.”
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