Boston — Bicycle Therapeutics reported a narrower net loss for the second quarter of 2026 as the company advanced its oncology pipeline and focused spending on its lead Bicycle Drug Conjugate and radioconjugate programs.
The company posted a net loss of $50.3 million, or 72 cents per share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $79 million, or $1.14 per share, a year earlier.
Bicycle ended the quarter with $510.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, down from $628.1 million at the end of 2025. The company said its current resources are expected to fund operations into 2030.
Research and development expenses declined to $41.2 million from $71 million in the second quarter of 2025. Bicycle attributed the decrease primarily to lower clinical spending on zelenectide pevedotin, reduced personnel and share-based compensation costs following a workforce reduction announced in March, and lower discovery and platform expenses.
General and administrative expenses fell to $14 million from $18.5 million, reflecting lower professional fees and reduced personnel-related costs.
“We are pleased with the progress we made during the second quarter,” said Kevin Lee, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Bicycle Therapeutics. “Our financial discipline with refined focus on nuzefatide pevedotin and our next-generation Bicycle conjugate pipeline, including Bicycle Radioconjugates, leaves us well capitalized to pursue our mission to help patients to not only live longer, but also live well.”
Bicycle is developing medicines based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide technology, which is designed to deliver therapeutic payloads to cancer targets with greater precision.
The company highlighted clinical and preclinical data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research and American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meetings.
Nuzefatide pevedotin, a potentially first-in-class Bicycle Drug Conjugate targeting EphA2, is being evaluated in several EphA2-expressing cancers.
In a Phase 1/2 study, 14 patients with metastatic urothelial cancer who had previously progressed on a checkpoint inhibitor received nuzefatide in combination with nivolumab. Bicycle said the regimen demonstrated a differentiated safety profile and promising antitumor activity as of a February 9 data cutoff.
Preclinical studies also showed activity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. EphA2 expression was detected in all 16 patient-derived pancreatic cancer models evaluated, while 10 of 14 models tested for antitumor activity were sensitive to nuzefatide. Six showed high sensitivity.
The therapy also demonstrated preclinical activity in EphA2-expressing models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Bicycle is enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial of nuzefatide in recurrent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The first patient was dosed in April at the preferred dose of 8 milligrams per square meter once every two weeks.
Lee said the findings support development of nuzefatide in recurrent pancreatic cancer and reinforce the potential of Bicycle’s platform to target proteins that have historically been difficult to address using antibody-based approaches.
Human imaging data presented at AACR also showed that a gallium-68-labeled Bicycle molecule targeting EphA2 localized to tumors in seven patients with pancreatic cancer.
The company said the results support EphA2 as a potential cancer target and demonstrate the possible use of Bicycle molecules in targeted radioligand therapies and diagnostic imaging.
Bicycle expects to begin a Phase 1 trial in 2027 for BT1702, a Bicycle Radioconjugate targeting MT1-MMP.
The company also reported updated findings for zelenectide pevedotin, a Bicycle Drug Conjugate targeting Nectin-4, in previously untreated metastatic urothelial cancer.
In the randomized Phase 2 Duravelo-2 study, patients received one of two doses of zelenectide in combination with pembrolizumab. Bicycle said it reached alignment with regulators on a dose of 6 milligrams per square meter as the preferred dose for both combination treatment and monotherapy.
Among 26 patients treated at the selected dose, the overall response rate was 65%, regardless of confirmation, while the confirmed response rate determined by blinded independent central review was 58% at the 27-week cutoff.
An additional confirmed response recorded after the cutoff would have increased the response rate to 62%, the company said.
Zelenectide-related adverse events of clinical interest included sensory peripheral neuropathy in 33% of patients, skin reactions in 17% and eye disorders in 10%. No treatment-related hyperglycemia or severe skin reactions were reported.
Updated results from the Phase 1 Duravelo-1 study showed an overall response rate of 59% among 22 previously untreated, cisplatin-ineligible patients who received zelenectide with pembrolizumab.
The confirmed response rate was 50%, including complete responses in five patients and partial responses in six. The disease control rate was 82%, and median progression-free survival was 13 months.
Bicycle said no new safety signals were identified and no Grade 4 or Grade 5 treatment-related adverse events of clinical interest were reported.
The company also appointed Thomas Powles, MBBS, MRCP, M.D., to its Clinical Advisory Board.
Powles is Professor of Genitourinary Oncology and Director of Barts Cancer Centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. He also leads solid tumor research at Barts Cancer Institute and has participated in more than 20 randomized clinical trials that supported multiple U.S. and European regulatory approvals.
“It is an honor to welcome world-renowned oncologist Professor Thomas Powles to our Clinical Advisory Board,” Lee said. “His deep clinical insights and distinguished leadership in urothelial cancers will be instrumental as we accelerate our efforts to deliver precision-targeted therapies for patients.”
