Roche’s Genentech has recruited Bicycle therapeutics in a latest move to discover, develop and commercialise novel immuno-oncology therapies.
The early discovery collaboration will help Bicycle to explore its technology on a wider range of immuno-oncology targets, combining the expertise of both companies, says Genentech.
Under the deal, Bicycle brings its proprietary discovery platform to the table with Genentech’s knowledge of immuno-oncology drug discovery and emerging target biology.
The companies say that the collaboration “recognises the potential of Bicycle’s differentiated technology, which allows us to specifically direct immune cell stimulators and other payloads to tumours in a highly targeted manner,” according to Kevin Lee, chief executive officer of Bicycle Therapeutics.
He continued, “In addition, the flexibility of the Bicycle platform enables rapid exploration of structure-activity relationships to fully optimise candidate molecules. We look forward to working closely with Genentech to pioneer the discovery and development of potential new cutting-edge cancer treatments based on Bicycles.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Genentech and Bicycle will collaborate on the discovery and pre-clinical development of novel Bicycle-based immunotherapies against multiple targets. Bicycle will then be responsible for discovery research and early pre-clinical development up to candidate selection, and Genentech will be responsible for further development and commercialisation upon the selection of candidates.
Bicycle has also revealed that it will receive a $30 million upfront payment, which would be boosted to $1.7 billion with potential discovery, development, regulatory and commercial-based milestone payments.
