Roche has entered into a significant strategic alliance with UK-based Bicycle Therapeutics, committing up to $1.7 billion to harness the biotech's innovative bicyclic peptide platform for cancer immunotherapy development. The collaboration, secured with a $30 million upfront payment, gives Roche's Genentech unit access to a promising new therapeutic modality in the immuno-oncology space.
Novel Therapeutic Platform
Bicycle's proprietary technology centers on bicyclic peptides, or 'bicycles,' which represent a unique hybrid between traditional therapeutic approaches. These molecules combine the precise targeting capabilities of monoclonal antibodies with the favorable pharmaceutical properties of small molecules, potentially offering significant advantages in manufacturing, dosing, and tissue penetration.
A key feature of the platform is the ability to fine-tune the peptides' pharmacokinetic properties, enabling precise control over drug exposure in the body. This characteristic could prove particularly valuable in optimizing the therapeutic window for cancer treatments.
Strategic Collaboration Structure
Under the agreement terms, Bicycle will spearhead the discovery and preclinical development of bicyclic peptides against multiple targets, including novel candidates nominated by Roche. Once promising programs advance to clinical testing, Roche will assume responsibility for further development and commercialization.
"Bicycles represent a novel therapeutic modality and have shown promise as modulators of several types of tumour-killing immune cells," said Dr. James Sabry, Roche's head of pharma partnering, highlighting the potential direction of the collaboration.
Expanding Partnership Portfolio
This deal marks another significant move in Roche's recent series of major pipeline-building initiatives, as the company adapts to increasing biosimilar competition for its key antibody drugs. The agreement joins Roche's impressive roster of recent partnerships, including a $2.85 billion collaboration with Sarepta and a $2 billion alliance with Adaptive Biotech.
Bicycle's Growing Industry Recognition
For Bicycle Therapeutics, this partnership adds to an already impressive list of collaborations. The company maintains existing alliances with AstraZeneca in respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases, as well as partnerships with Oxurion in ophthalmology and with Cancer Research UK.
The company's internal pipeline demonstrates the platform's versatility, with lead candidate BT1718, a bicycle toxin conjugate targeting MT1-MMP, currently in phase 1/2a trials for solid tumors. Their second-generation candidate, BT5528, targeting EphA2, is also advancing through phase 1/2 studies in advanced solid tumors.
