USA —Bayer, a renowned pharmaceutical company, has unveiled its latest venture in the heart of Cambridge’s prestigious Kendall Square—an innovative life sciences incubator dedicated to providing comprehensive support to emerging cell and gene therapy startups.
This incubator, spanning 26,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, is housed in the same building as the Bayer Research and Innovation Center.
Co.Lab Cambridge joins three other Co.Lab incubators located in Berlin, Kobe (Japan), and West Sacramento, with plans for further expansion in China.
The primary objective of Co.Lab Cambridge is to foster collaboration with entrepreneurs in the early stages of their ventures.
Bayer aims to provide a nurturing environment for creative and disruptive ideas that carry a high level of risk but also offer the potential for high returns.
Christian Rommel, Bayer’s head of drug research and development, emphasized the company’s intention to support these startups by offering guidance on data development, insights on manufacturing, and valuable lessons drawn from Bayer’s own experiences in the field.
Moreover, participating startups may gain access to Bayer’s cell therapy manufacturing programs, receiving assistance that they may not be aware of yet.
Leading the Co.Lab Cambridge incubator is Fiona Mack, who previously held the position of head of JLABS @ TMC, the Johnson & Johnson incubator located in the Texas Medical Center.
Mack has now been named the Vice President and Head of Co.Lab Cambridge, bringing her expertise and experience to drive the success of the incubator.
In addition to its commitment to nurturing startups, Bayer has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Bicycle Therapeutics, a pioneering biotechnology firm in the United Kingdom.
The collaboration aims to jointly discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize Bicycle’s groundbreaking radioconjugates, specifically targeting various oncology indications.
Under this agreement, Bicycle Therapeutics will utilize its cutting-edge phage platform to identify and develop bicyclic peptides, while Bayer will fully fund and manage all preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities.
As part of the collaboration, Bicycle Therapeutics will receive an upfront payment of US$45 million, in addition to the potential for up to US$1.7 billion in milestone fees tied to development and commercial achievements.
Furthermore, Bicycle Therapeutics stands to gain tiered commercial royalties on any Bicycle-based medicines successfully brought to market by Bayer.
Bicyclic peptides, the cornerstone of Bicycle Therapeutics’ technology, are synthetic amino acid-based molecules renowned for their remarkable affinity and selectivity toward their targets.
These peptides exhibit enhanced tumor penetration capabilities and rapid clearance from healthy organs, offering immense potential in oncology treatments.
Leveraging their unique mode of action, these therapies hold promise in addressing unmet medical needs in cancer patients.
Kevin Lee, CEO of Bicycle Therapeutics, expressed his confidence in the collaboration, stating that Bayer’s expertise in radiopharmaceuticals, combined with Bicycle’s bicyclic peptide platform, has the potential to deliver improved clinical outcomes for cancer patients.
Lee emphasized that this collaboration further validates Bicycle’s unique technology and sets the stage for the development of potential first-in-class radiopharmaceutical treatments.
Christian Rommel emphasized that strategic collaborations like this are essential for Bayer to expand its access to innovation and drive advancements in cancer therapy.
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