Updated:
Bicycle Therapeutics
Kevin Lee leads Bicycle Therapeutics, the biotech behind a Nobel Prize-invented bicyclic peptide platform targeting cancer with toxin conjugates.
Bicycle Therapeutics
Bicycle Therapeutics was founded in 2009 to commercialize bicyclic peptide technology invented at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology by Sir Gregory Winter, the Nobel laureate behind Humira's antibody platform. Kevin Lee, a former AstraZeneca R&D executive who co-founded the firm, returned as CEO in 2015 and has guided it through a 2019 NASDAQ listing and multiple Big Pharma alliances. The company's Discovery engine remains anchored in Cambridge, UK, while its clinical operations run from the US. The firm's pipeline centers on Bicycle toxin conjugates, a novel class of chemically synthesized molecules that deliver a cytotoxic payload to tumors via high-affinity binding to specific cancer antigens. The lead asset, zelenectide pevedotin, targets Nectin-4 and is in a Phase 1/2 trial for metastatic urothelial cancer; early data presented in 2023 showed a 45% overall response rate in heavily pretreated patients (per Bicycle Therapeutics, 2023). Other disclosed programs target EphA2, MT1-MMP, and immune-checkpoint pathways. The strategy mixes wholly-owned programs with partnered work, including an immuno-oncology collaboration with Genentech signed in 2020 and a research deal with AstraZeneca in 2016. The Gates Foundation has funded Bicycle's work on a non-oncology application. In May 2024, the company named former Novartis oncology chief Pierre Ferre as Chief Medical Officer, signaling a push toward registrational trials for its lead asset. Bicycle employs roughly 200 people across Cambridge, UK, and a growing footprint in the Boston area. The company's balance sheet has been supported by several public follow-ons and upfront partnership payments, including $30 million from an expanded Roche pact. The leadership team blends pharma veterans from AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Merck. Bicycle's structural differentiator is pure technology platform risk. Its entire pipeline — every asset in the clinic — relies on a single chemical architecture invented in Winter's academic lab. This concentrates both the upside, should the bicyclic peptide class prove broadly druggable, and the downside, should the modality hit a wall in later-stage trials. The company answers the industry question of how to bridge the gap between antibody potency and small-molecule convenience, but the bridge remains under construction.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2009
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
Cambridge
Corporate office
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Principals
Kevin Lee
Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who invented Bicycle Therapeutics' platform technology?
The bicyclic peptide platform was invented in the laboratory of Sir Gregory Winter at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. Winter, a 2018 Nobel laureate in chemistry, is the scientific founder of Bicycle Therapeutics. His earlier work at the LMB produced the antibody-phage display technology that became the basis for Humira, the world's best-selling drug.
What makes bicyclic peptides structurally different from antibodies or small molecules?
Bicyclic peptides are constrained, short-chain peptides stabilized by a central scaffold that locks them into a rigid, bicycle-shaped conformation. This gives them the high-affinity target binding of an antibody in a molecule roughly 100 times smaller. The small size allows them to penetrate tumors more rapidly and potentially access targets that bulkier biologics cannot reach.
Who are Bicycle's major pharmaceutical partners?
The company has disclosed collaborations with Genentech (Roche), signed in February 2020 for discovery and development of bicyclic peptide-based immuno-oncology therapies, and with AstraZeneca, formed in 2016 covering multiple targets. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has also funded work applying the platform to infectious disease alongside oncology.
What is the clinical status of Bicycle's lead programs?
The lead wholly-owned candidate, zelenectide pevedotin (BT8009), is a Nectin-4-targeting Bicycle toxin conjugate in Phase 1/2 trials for metastatic urothelial cancer and other solid tumors. In 2023, the company reported a 45% overall response rate in a subset of urothelial cancer patients. Other clinical-stage assets include BT5528 targeting EphA2 and BT7480, a tumor-targeted immune cell agonist partnered with Genentech.
Where is the wealth to run these programs coming from if Bicycle is a pre-revenue biotech?
Bicycle trades on NASDAQ under the ticker BCYC and has funded operations through a combination of public equity raises, including a 2019 IPO and subsequent follow-ons, plus upfront and milestone payments from pharmaceutical partners. This is a publicly traded development-stage company backed by institutional biotech investors — not a family office structure.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on asset managers?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: