Bicycle Therapeutics inks collaboration with Novartis

Shares US biotech Bicycle Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BCYC) closed up more than 11% at $22.40 yesterday, after it revealed a licensing deal that could earn it as much as $1.7 billion.

The agreement is with Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX), which, having recently terminated collaborations with Pliant Therapeutics and Sangamo, is looking to top up its portfolio, gaining rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize Bicycle radio-conjugates (BRCs) for multiple agreed upon oncology targets.

“This collaboration builds on the ground-breaking clinical work we have been doing in the toxin conjugate field and provides new and additional validation for this unique technology,” said Kevin Lee, chief executive of Bicycle Therapeutics. “We look forward to working closely with Novartis to pioneer the discovery and development of potential new cutting-edge radiopharmaceutical cancer treatments based on Bicycles. We believe the properties of Bicycles make them well suited for the development of precision guided radiopharmaceuticals and represents the next leg in the application of our proprietary discovery platform in oncology,” he added.