Star-crossed AstraZeneca strikes a drug discovery deal with upstart Bicycle
AstraZeneca has struck a discovery deal with Bicycle Therapeutics, a trans-Atlantic biotech which hopes to make a splash with a new breed of molecules.
The biotech gained their second round of $32 million two years ago, attracting support from Atlas Venture, Novartis Venture Fund, SR One, SV Life Sciences and Astellas Venture Management. The venture groups were drawn to a Cambridge, UK startup that promised to develop bicycle peptides that would combine the specificity of antibodies with the rapid tissue penetration of small molecules. And they brought in some high profile players, including Pfizer vet Kevin Lee as CEO, adding a US office in that “other” Cambridge in Massachusetts for its BD team.
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