CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bicycle Therapeutics, a next generation biotherapeutics company co-founded by Sir Gregory Winter and Professor Christian Heinis, today announced the appointment of Rolf Günther, MD, PhD as Chief Executive Officer. Bicycle has developed a proprietary bicyclic peptide technology that enables the discovery of a new class of drug candidates with antibody-like selectivity and specificity that can be manufactured with economics similar to new chemical entities. Under Dr. Günther’s leadership, the company will apply the technology to drug discovery projects addressing a wide range of challenging targets, through its own programmes and by entering into corporate partnerships.
Dr. Günther has over 21 years of pharmaceutical industry experience with an extensive background in drug development, biologics and speciality pharmaceuticals. He previously served as CEO and COO of Affimed, a monoclonal antibody company, since 2004 and has successfully developed its clinical product portfolio in oncology. Dr. Günther will continue to be engaged as COO in Affimed in a part time position until August this year. He held the position of VP and General Manager of the Critical Care business unit of Aventis Behring, which he joined as VP Global Clinical Research in 1996, and was responsible for successful drug approvals in the US and Europe.
Andrew Sandham, Chairman, said “Rolf has deep experience in developing pharmaceuticals using disruptive technologies, delivering significant medical advances to patients over the last decade. We are pleased to have attracted him to lead the Bicycle team, as we transition from platform development to drug discovery.”
Rolf Günther, CEO, said, “Bicycle’s technology presents entirely new chemical space that can lead to a new generation of medicines addressing challenging drug targets. I am excited about the enormous potential of the technology and am delighted to have the opportunity to lead us through the next stage of our corporate development. “
About Bicycle Therapeutics
Bicycle Therapeutics is a biotechnology company based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, U.K. developing a novel technology for the creation of a new generation of biotherapeutics which combine the desirable features of small molecules and biopharmaceuticals. Bicycle technology is based on discoveries made at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge by co-founders, Professor Christian Heinis and Sir Gregory Winter, which have been developed at the company into a robust technology platform under the leadership of Dr. John Tite (CSO). The company is funded by Atlas Venture, Novartis Venture Fund, SV Life Sciences and SR One.
For more information visit www.bicycletherapeutics.com
Contact:
Bicycle Therapeutics Limited
Rolf Günther
E-mail: rolf.guenther@bicycletherapeutics.com
Phone: +44 (0)1223 497399
Website: http://www.bicycletherapeutics.com
