Bicycle Therapeutics spelled out its pipeline priorities on Tuesday, adding that it will be looking for collaborators for its immune-oncology pipeline. It is also narrowing its executive team.
The company said that it would focus on its bicyclic peptide programs, which it calls bicycles, that “have the highest potential to maximize value creation.” This means that in its pipeline of about 10 assets, it is prioritizing its bicyclic toxin conjugates zelenectide pevedotin and BT5528, according to its second-quarter earnings report.
Nick Keen, Bicycle’s chief scientific officer, is also leaving his role in the company but will stay on as an advisor “as needed.” The company added that it will have a new “streamlined” leadership, with chief technology officer Michael Skynner taking over the discovery research team, which will be consolidated and moved to the company’s headquarters in Cambridge, MA, from Boston.
Zelenectide is in two trials: a Phase 2/3 study for metastatic urothelial cancer and a Phase 1/2 test in Nectin-4-driven tumors. Meanwhile, BT5528 is in a Phase 1/2 trial as a monotherapy in cancers that express the Ephrin type-A receptor 2.
Bicycle added that its near-term research focus will also mean it is advancing its bicyclic radionuclide pipeline, which has several assets and some already under partnership with Bayer and Novartis. In 2023, Novartis paid Bicycle $50 million upfront in a deal that includes milestones adding up to a potential $1.7 billion for Bicycle to use its platform to discover new bicyclic peptides for radiotherapies.
The company said it will also sharpen its immuno-oncology portfolio, which has early-stage assets and a partnership with Genentech. It will look for ways to advance its immune-oncology candidates through collaborations, except for BT7480, which is in a Phase 1/2 trial as a monotherapy and will read out data in September.