Ruthless Bicycle slashes headcount but extends cash runway in commercialisation crunch

As costs escalate in nearing the marketplace, Bicycle says it was forced to reach for the guillotine and is believed to have laid off as much as a quarter of its workforce – around 76 of its 305 people – from the end of 2024. Jobs have gone at the Granta Park headquarters in Cambridge UK and in its Cambridge US operation.

So clinical advancement has come at a price in terms of the redundancies, needed to save around 30 per cent of overheads, according to the company. Bicycle confirmed the staff cull along with its Q2 results in which the Nasdaq quoted company also revealed that it had made continued advancement across its R & D pipeline. Key programme updates are expected in the coming months.

A Phase 1/2 Duravelo-4 trial for zelenectide pevedotin in NECTIN4-amplified non-small cell lung cancer is open and actively recruiting patients. Duravelo-4 is Bicycle Therapeutics’ second trial to leverage NECTIN4 gene amplification as a biomarker for patient selection and to expand the development of zelenectide pevedotin for additional solid tumours.

Bicycle has further strengthened its clinical leadership and bolstered its roster of scientific advisers with additions to the Board  as well as creating a Research and Innovation Advisory Board as it nears crunch in the clinic.

Q2 cash and equivalents of $721.5 million at June 30 are expected to have stretched the company's financial runway into 2028. They compared to $879.5m at December 31, 2024. The fall was primarily due to cash used in operations, including increased payments for clinical program activities.

R & D expenses were $71m for the three months compared to $40.1m for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The increase was primarily due to increased clinical programme expenses for zelenectide pevedotin development, increased discovery, platform and other expenses, and increased personnel-related costs, offset by decreased clinical program expenses for Bicycle Tumor-Targeted Immune Cell Agonist® (Bicycle TICA®) molecules as well as higher UK R & D tax credits.

General and administrative expenses were $18.5m compared to $15.9m year-on-year. The increase was primarily due to increased personnel-related costs, as well as increased professional and consulting fees. Net loss was $79m compared to net loss of $39.8m.

The company is pioneering a new and differentiated class of therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycle®) technology and CEO Kevin Lee spelled out the realities facing the business.

He said: “We continue to execute on our strategy, which is grounded in scientific rigour and focused on fulfilling our mission to develop next-generation precision-guided therapeutics that have the potential to help patients live longer and live well. 

“We are energised by the progress we are making across our pipeline and with this momentum we are pleased to welcome our new Research and Innovation Advisory Board members, as well as new Board member Charles Swanton, to further our innovation and strategic growth.

“As we advance our various pipeline programs that hold strong potential for changing the treatment paradigm for patients with cancer and creating value for shareholders, Bicycle remains committed to disciplined capital allocation. 

“We have announced organisational streamlining efforts that provide us with operational flexibility to deliver potentially value-generating datasets while strengthening our financial position in uncertain market conditions. 

“Saying goodbye to talented team members is very difficult and we sincerely thank them for their dedication to our company. We believe Bicycle is strongly positioned to realise our strategic priorities and milestones and look forward to providing key program updates over the second half of this year.”

With several trials underway assessing the potential for zelenectide pevedotin to treat mUC, breast cancer and lung cancer, the company has decided to pause the previously announced Phase 1/2 Duravelo-5 trial in multiple tumours.

The company has expanded its Board with the addition of Charles Swanton, current chair of the Clinical Advisory Board. Dr. Swanton leads the Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute. 

His research focuses on how tumours evolve over space and time, developing an understanding of branching evolutionary histories of solid tumours, processes that drive cancer cell-to-cell variation and the impact of cancer diversity on effective immune surveillance and clinical outcomes. 

The newly-formed Research and Innovation Advisory Board (RAB) is designed to support scientific advancement and strategic growth across preclinical programmes and replaces Bicycle’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Inaugural RAB members include Jose-Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos - a director on the Bicycle Therapeutics Board. He also serves as the chief science officer at Abcam owner Danaher Corporation, leading the Danaher Innovation Centers and the Danaher Scientific Advisory Board. 

Previously, he was head of global drug discovery at AbbVie Inc., group senior vice president of biotherapeutics research and development at Pfizer Inc., and senior vice president and CEDD head of immuno-inflammation at GlaxoSmithKline. 

RAB colleague Jason Lewis is the Emily Tow Chair at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and currently serves as the deputy director at the Sloan Kettering Institute, overseeing the Office of Scientific Education and Training. He is also the scientific director of the Radiochemistry and Molecular Imaging Probe Core Facility at MSKCC. 

Robert Lutz  is a consultant/adviser to biotech and pharma with more than 30 years of experience with a significant focus on the development of antibody-drug conjugates. He currently serves as chief scientific officer of Iksuda Therapeutics and is a board member and chief development officer of Synthis Therapeutics. Prior to his consulting practice, Dr. Lutz was vice president of translational research and development at ImmunoGen, where he was responsible for the advancement of multiple ADC programs.

Michael Hofman is a nuclear medicine physician and professor at the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology at the University of Melbourne in Australia. His research has been instrumental in advancing PSMA PET imaging and PSMA radioligand therapy, helping to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.  He was named Australia’s top researcher in nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and molecular imaging in both 2024 and 2025. 

Michael Method has joined the effort as senior vice president of clinical development. Dr. Method is an academic and clinical gynecologic oncologist with extensive drug development experience. 

He most recently served as a senior vice president of clinical development at Karyopharm Therapeutics, Inc., after his time as an executive medical director at ImmunoGen, Inc. where he led global clinical development for gynecologic and female malignancies. Previously, Dr. Method was a senior adviser for global medical affairs at Eli Lilly, focused on breast cancer.