Cambridge Innovation Capital has celebrated an exit as Bicycle Therapeutics successfully lists in the US.

Bicycle Therapeutics, a UK-based developer of treatments for diseases with a high unmet need spun out of research institute MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, floated on the Nasdaq Global Market yesterday following a $60.7m initial public offering. The company issued approximately 4.3 million American Depositary Shares, equivalent to the same number of ordinary shares, priced at $14. Shares dropped to $12 by the end of close yesterday. Bicycle had initially hoped to raise as much as $86m through the offering when it filed last month. Founded in 2009, Bicycle Therapeutics is working on therapeutics aimed at conditions with a high unmet need, with an initial focus on oncology. The spinout expects to eventually also target additional disease areas, and has entered into collaboration deals with a range of biopharmaceutical firms to develop drugs covering antibacterial, cardiovascular, haematology, ophthalmology and respiratory indications. Bicycle Therapeutics advances research by Gregory Winter and Christian Heinis at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. The proceeds will allow Bicycle to conclude preparations for phase 2 and 3 trials for its lead asset, BT1718, which targets certain forms of ovarian, bladder, endometrial and triple negative breast cancer. The spinout has also allocated capital to the advancing two other drug candidates through phase 1a and 2a studies. Its standalone cancer treatment programs, CD137, will be progressed through preclinical development and one of the assets in that program will enter a phase 1 trial. Bicycle Therapeutics raised $52m in series B1 funding in May 2017 from investors including Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), the patient capital fund backed by University of Cambridge. The series B1 round was led by Vertex Ventures HC, a healthcare fund of Singaporean state-owned VC firm Vertex Ventures, and also included SR One and Novartis Venture Fund, respective investment subsidiaries of pharmaceuticals firms GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. Longwood Fund, Atlas Venture and SV Life Sciences filled out the series B1 round, which was followed by another $6.6m in October 2017 seemingly provided by Ahren Innovation Capital, an investment fund officially launched by Cambridge researchers in September 2018. CIC returned for a $27.9m series B2 round in December 2018, investing alongside Ahren Innovation Capital, Aquila Investments and Vertex Ventures HC. Bicycle then obtained $1.6m from an undisclosed investor a month later. The spinout had already collected $32m in capital in 2014 from Novartis Venture Fund, SR One and Astellas Venture Management, the corporate venture capital fund of pharmaceutical firm Astellas, as well as Atlas Venture and SV Life Sciences.…

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Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).