Bicycle Therapeutics plc

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒	QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2025

☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 001-38916

Bicycle Therapeutics plc

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


England and Wales		Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

Blocks A & B, Portway Building, Granta Park Great Abington, Cambridge, United Kingdom		CB21 6GS
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: +44 1223 261503

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary shares, nominal value £0.01 per share*	n/a	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
American Depositary Shares, each representing one ordinary share, nominal value £0.01 per share	BCYC	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

* Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of the American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.


Large accelerated filer ⌧	Accelerated filer ◻
Non-accelerated filer ◻	Smaller reporting company ◻
	Emerging growth company ◻

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ⌧

As of April 28, 2025, the registrant had 47,761,845 ordinary shares, nominal value £0.01 per share, and 21,492,099 non-voting ordinary shares, nominal value £0.01 per share, outstanding.

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PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements.

Bicycle Therapeutics plc

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)


	March 31,		December 31,
	2025		2024
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	792,973	$	879,520
Accounts receivable		136		—
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		16,739		13,432
Research and development incentives receivable		46,238		35,653
Total current assets		856,086		928,605
Property and equipment, net		8,736		9,516
Operating lease right-of-use assets		6,712		7,673
Other assets		12,360		11,074
Total assets	$	883,894	$	956,868
Liabilities and shareholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	11,107	$	15,793
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		33,992		41,246
Deferred revenue, current portion		12,524		10,191
Total current liabilities		57,623		67,230
Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion		2,609		3,990
Deferred revenue, net of current portion		82,213		91,467
Other long‑term liabilities		1,116		1,121
Total liabilities		143,561		163,808
Commitments and contingencies (Note 11)
Shareholders’ equity:
Ordinary shares, including non-voting ordinary shares, £0.01 nominal value; 158,505,729 and 155,876,645 shares authorized on March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively; 69,202,355 and 69,061,418 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively		892		890
Additional paid-in capital		1,482,447		1,472,842
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income		(1,461)		119
Accumulated deficit		(741,545)		(680,791)
Total shareholders’ equity		740,333		793,060
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	883,894	$	956,868

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the condensed consolidated financial statements

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Bicycle Therapeutics plc

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Collaboration revenue	$	9,977	$	19,530
Operating expenses:
Research and development		59,058		34,864
General and administrative		21,123		16,382
Total operating expenses		80,181		51,246
Loss from operations		(70,204)		(31,716)
Other income (expense):
Interest and other income		8,414		5,624
Interest expense		(51)		(821)
Total other income, net		8,363		4,803
Net loss before income tax provision		(61,841)		(26,913)
Benefit from income taxes		(1,087)		(350)
Net loss	$	(60,754)	$	(26,563)
Net loss per share, basic and diluted	$	(0.88)	$	(0.62)
Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding, basic and diluted		69,196,945		42,560,091

Comprehensive loss:
Net loss	$	(60,754)	$	(26,563)
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign currency translation adjustment		(1,580)		526
Total comprehensive loss	$	(62,334)	$	(26,037)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the condensed consolidated financial statements

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Bicycle Therapeutics plc

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity

(In thousands, except share data)

(Unaudited)


						Accumulated
				Additional		Other				Total
	Ordinary Shares			Paid‑in		Comprehensive		Accumulated		Shareholders’
	Shares	Amount		Capital		Income (Loss)		Deficit		Equity
Balance at December 31, 2024	69,061,418	$	890	$	1,472,842	$	119	$	(680,791)	$	793,060
Issuance of ADSs upon settlement of restricted share units	140,937		2		—		—		—		2
Share-based compensation expense	—		—		9,605		—		—		9,605
Foreign currency translation adjustment	—		—		—		(1,580)		—		(1,580)
Net loss	—		—		—		—		(60,754)		(60,754)
Balance at March 31, 2025	69,202,355	$	892	$	1,482,447	$	(1,461)	$	(741,545)	$	740,333


						Accumulated
				Additional		Other				Total
	Ordinary Shares			Paid‑in		Comprehensive		Accumulated		Shareholders’
	Shares	Amount		Capital		Income (Loss)		Deficit		Equity
Balance at December 31, 2023	42,431,766	$	550	$	883,446	$	(1,304)	$	(511,760)	$	370,932
Issuance of ADSs upon exercise of share options	133,735		2		1,868		—		—		1,870
Issuance of ADSs upon settlement of restricted share units	67,096		1		—		—		—		1
Share-based compensation expense	—		—		9,282		—		—		9,282
Foreign currency translation adjustment	—		—		—		526		—		526
Net loss	—		—		—		—		(26,563)		(26,563)
Balance at March 31, 2024	42,632,597	$	553	$	894,596	$	(778)	$	(538,323)	$	356,048

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the condensed consolidated financial statements

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Bicycle Therapeutics plc

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss	$	(60,754)	$	(26,563)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Share-based compensation expense		9,605		9,282
Depreciation and amortization		1,634		1,658
Non-cash interest		—		104
Deferred income tax benefit		(1,316)		(767)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable		(133)		—
Research and development incentives receivable		(9,278)		(15,268)
Prepaid expenses and other assets		(2,968)		(8,390)
Operating lease right‑of‑use assets		1,089		1,085
Accounts payable		(5,019)		(5,923)
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		(8,208)		(5,412)
Operating lease liabilities		(1,295)		(1,179)
Deferred revenue		(9,727)		(19,555)
Other long-term liabilities		—		59
Net cash used in operating activities		(86,370)		(70,869)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment		(604)		(12)
Net cash used in investing activities		(604)		(12)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from the exercise of share options and settlement of restricted share units		2		1,871
Payments of finance lease obligations		(43)		—
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities		(41)		1,871
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		468		(416)
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		(86,547)		(69,426)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period		880,067		526,970
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period	$	793,520	$	457,544
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
Cash and cash equivalents	$	792,973	$	456,997
Restricted cash included in other assets		547		547
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	793,520	$	457,544
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information
Cash paid for interest on debt	$	—	$	686
Cash paid for interest on finance lease obligations	$	22	$	—
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities	$	1,454	$	1,435
Changes in purchases of property and equipment in accounts payable and accrued expenses	$	—	$	26

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the condensed consolidated financial statements

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Bicycle Therapeutics plc

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited)

1. Nature of the business and basis of presentation

Bicycle Therapeutics plc (collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Company”) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing a novel class of medicines, which the Company refers to as Bicycle^® molecules, for diseases that are underserved by existing therapeutics. Bicycle molecules are a unique therapeutic modality combining the pharmacology usually associated with a biologic with the manufacturing and pharmacokinetic properties of a small molecule. The Company’s initial internal programs are focused on oncology indications with high unmet medical need. The Company is evaluating zelenectide pevedotin, formerly BT8009, a Bicycle Drug Conjugate (a “BDC^TM”molecule) targeting Nectin-4, in an ongoing company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial in patients with Nectin-4 expressing advanced malignancies and an ongoing company-sponsored Phase II/III registrational trial, called Duravelo-2, in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. The Company is also evaluating zelenectide pevedotin in an ongoing company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial in patients with NECTIN4 amplified advanced breast cancer, which commenced recruiting patients in the first quarter of 2025. In addition, the Company is evaluating BT5528, a BDC molecule targeting Ephrin type-A receptor 2 (“EphA2”), in a company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial, and BT7480, a Bicycle Tumor-Targeted Immune Cell Agonist^® (a “Bicycle TICA^®” molecule) targeting Nectin-4 and agonizing CD137, in a company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial. The Company’s discovery pipeline in oncology includes next-generation BDC molecules and Bicycle Radioconjugates (“BRC^®”molecules). Beyond the Company’s wholly owned oncology portfolio, the Company is collaborating with biopharmaceutical companies and organizations in therapeutic areas in which the Company believes its proprietary Bicycle screening platform can identify therapies to treat diseases with significant unmet medical need.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Bicycle Therapeutics plc and its wholly owned subsidiaries, BicycleTx Limited, BicycleRD Limited and Bicycle Therapeutics Inc. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated on consolidation.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

Liquidity

As of March 31, 2025, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $793.0 million.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of continuity of operations, realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities and commitments in the ordinary course of business. Since inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to business planning, research and development, recruiting management and technical staff, and raising capital. The Company has funded its operations primarily with proceeds from the sale of its ordinary shares, American Depositary Shares representing ordinary shares (“ADSs”), including in offerings pursuant to its at-the-market offering (“ATM”) program, and non-voting ordinary shares, as well as proceeds received from its collaboration arrangements (Note 9) and proceeds from a loan agreement with Hercules Capital, Inc. (“Hercules”) (Note 6).

The Company has incurred recurring losses since inception, including net losses of $60.8 million and $26.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $741.5 million. The Company expects to continue to generate operating losses in the foreseeable future. The Company expects that its cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through at least twelve months from the issuance date of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The Company expects its expenses to increase substantially in connection with ongoing activities, particularly as the Company advances its clinical trials for its product candidates in development and preclinical activities.

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Accordingly, the Company will need to obtain additional funding in connection with continuing operations. If the Company is unable to raise funding when needed, or on attractive terms, it could be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate its research or drug development programs or any future commercialization efforts. There is no assurance that the Company will be successful in obtaining sufficient funding on terms acceptable to the Company to fund continuing operations, if at all.

The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including but not limited to, risks of delays in initiating or continuing research programs and clinical trials, risks of failure of preclinical studies and clinical trials, the need to obtain marketing approval for any drug product candidate that it may identify and develop, the need to successfully commercialize and gain market acceptance of its product candidates, if approved, dependence on key personnel and collaboration partners, protection of proprietary technology, compliance with government regulations, development by competitors of technological innovations, and the ability to secure additional capital to fund operations. Product candidates currently under development will require significant additional research and development efforts, including preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval prior to commercialization. Even if the Company’s research and development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Company will realize significant revenue from product sales.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

The Company’s significant accounting policies are disclosed in the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), on February 25, 2025 (the “2024 Annual Report”). Since the date of such consolidated financial statements, there have been no changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies, other than those disclosed below.

Use of estimates

The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, revenue recognition, the accrual for research and development expenses and research and development incentives receivable, share-based compensation expense, valuation of right-of-use assets and liabilities and income taxes, including the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience, known trends and other market-specific or other relevant factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates are periodically reviewed in light of reasonable changes in circumstances, facts and experience. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results could differ from those estimates or assumptions.

Significant risks and uncertainties

The Company currently operates in a period of economic uncertainty which has been significantly impacted by domestic and global monetary and fiscal policy, including changes to global trade policies, geopolitical conflicts such as the ongoing wars involving Ukraine and Israel, inflation and interest rates, and fluctuations in monetary exchange rates. While the Company has experienced limited financial impacts at this time, the Company continues to monitor these factors and events and the potential effects each may have on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Unaudited interim financial information

Certain information in the footnote disclosures of these financial statements has been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2024 included in the Company’s 2024 Annual Report.

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The accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2025, the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, condensed consolidated statements of shareholders’ equity, and condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, and the related financial information disclosed in these notes are unaudited. The unaudited interim financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair statement of the Company’s financial position as of March 31, 2025, the results of its operations and its cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024. The results for the three months ended March 31, 2025 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2025, any other interim periods, or any future year or period.

Research and development incentives and receivable

The Company, through its subsidiaries in the U.K., receives reimbursements of certain research and development expenditures as part of a U.K. government research and development tax reliefs program. For 2024, the Company benefitted from the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (“SME”) R&D Tax Relief program, under which the Company was able to surrender trading losses that arose from qualifying research and development expenses incurred by the Company’s subsidiaries in the U.K. for a cash rebate of up to 26.97% of qualifying expenditure incurred as long as the Company qualified as “R&D intensive” (broadly, a loss-making SME whose relevant R&D expenditure represents, for 2024, 40% of its total expenditure for the accounting period). Such rebate percentage was increased from 18.6% of qualifying expenditure, retroactively applied to expenditures incurred after April 1, 2023, upon the enactment of Finance Act 2024 in February 2024. For accounting periods beginning after April 1, 2024, Finance Act 2024 replaced the legacy research and development expenditure credit and the SME R&D Tax Relief program with a merged research and development expenditure credit scheme (“RDEC”) and an enhanced research and development intensive support scheme (“ERIS”). Therefore, for 2025 the Company qualifies for the ERIS scheme as it remains R&D intensive (for 2025, a loss-making SME whose relevant R&D expenditure represents 30% of its total expenditure for the accounting period). Going forward, if the Company no longer qualifies as an R&D intensive SME during an accounting period, the Company will be subject to a single 20% gross rebate rate applying to all claims under the RDEC scheme.

Management has assessed the Company’s research and development activities and expenditures to determine which activities and expenditures are likely to be eligible under the research and development incentive program described above. At each period end, management estimates the reimbursement available to the Company based on available information at the time.

The Company recognizes income from the research and development incentives when the relevant expenditure has been incurred, the associated conditions have been satisfied and there is reasonable assurance that the reimbursement will be received. The Company records these research and development incentives as a reduction to research and development expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, as the research and development tax credits are not dependent on us generating future taxable income, the Company’s ongoing tax status, or tax position. The research and development incentives receivable represents amounts due in connection with the above program. The Company recorded a reduction to research and development expenses of $9.3 million and $15.3 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, the Company had research and development incentives receivable of $46.2 million.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which requires disclosure of incremental segment information on an interim and annual basis. ASU 2023-07 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, and requires retrospective adoption to all prior periods presented in the consolidated financial statements. The adoption of ASU 2023-07 had no impact on the Company’s reportable segments identified and additional required disclosures have been included in Note 14.

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Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income – Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40), which requires more detailed disclosures about specified categories of expenses included in certain expense captions presented on the face of the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, including employee compensation, depreciation and amortization. ASU No. 2024-03 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and for interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments may be applied either prospectively to financial statements issued for reporting periods after the effective date of the ASU or retrospectively to all prior periods presented. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU No. 2024-03 on its consolidated financial statement disclosures.

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740) Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU No. 2023-09”), which prescribes standard categories for the components of the effective tax rate reconciliation and requires disclosure of additional information for reconciling items meeting certain quantitative thresholds, requires disclosure of disaggregated income taxes paid, and modifies certain other income tax-related disclosures. ASU No. 2023-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 and allows for adoption on a prospective basis, with a retrospective option. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact of the adoption of ASU No. 2023-09 on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

3. Fair value of financial assets and liabilities

Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable: Level 1, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2, observable inputs (other than Level 1 quoted prices), such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets or liabilities, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data; Level 3, unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity that are significant to determining the fair value of the assets or liabilities, including pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques.

The carrying values of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, accounts receivable, research and development incentives receivable, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses and other current liabilities approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these assets and liabilities.

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

The Company considers all highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash with original maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had cash equivalents of $593.1 million and $664.9 million, consisting of money market funds that are primarily invested in U.S. Treasury securities, which are considered Level 1 assets. As of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, there were no other assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis.

As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had $0.5 million of restricted cash related to a collateralized letter of credit in connection with the Company’s lease for office and laboratory space in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is included within other assets in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet.

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4. Property and equipment, net

Property and equipment, net consisted of the following (in thousands):


	March 31,		December 31,
	2025		2024
Laboratory equipment	$	15,655	$	14,658
Leasehold improvements		11,262		10,903
Finance lease right-of-use assets		1,064		1,033
Computer equipment and software		616		581
Furniture and office equipment		1,327		1,290
		29,924		28,465
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(21,188)		(18,949)
	$	8,736	$	9,516

Depreciation and amortization expense was $1.6 million and $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Depreciation and amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 included amortization expense of $0.1 million and zero, respectively, related to property and equipment obtained under finance leases.

5. Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):


	March 31,		December 31,
	2025		2024
Accrued employee compensation and benefits	$	6,234	$	16,272
Accrued external research and development expenses		17,412		14,978
Accrued professional fees		4,321		4,196
Current portion of operating lease liabilities		5,532		5,328
Current portion of finance lease liabilities		184		175
Other		309		297
	$	33,992	$	41,246

In August 2024, the Company consolidated all discovery research activities to the Company’s headquarters in Cambridge, U.K. As a result, at December 31, 2024, the Company had a remaining liability of $0.4 million related to unpaid severance and other one-time termination benefits. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company paid $0.3 million. The remaining $0.1 million in unpaid benefits are included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2025.

6. Debt

On September 30, 2020, Bicycle Therapeutics plc and its subsidiaries (the “Borrowers”) entered into a loan and security agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Hercules, as amended from time to time, which provided for aggregate maximum borrowings of up to $75.0 million, of which the Company drew down an aggregate of $30.0 million in 2021 and 2020. Payments on borrowings under the Loan Agreement were interest-only until April 1, 2025 and interest was paid at an annual rate of the Wall Street Journal prime rate plus 4.55%, with a minimum annual rate of at least 8.05%, capped at a rate no greater than 9.05%, and the Loan Agreement included a 5.0% end-of-term charge payable upon maturity or repayment. The scheduled maturity date was July 1, 2025. On July 9, 2024, the Company repaid all amounts outstanding, including the outstanding borrowings of $30.0 million, accrued and unpaid interest of $0.1 million, an end-of-term charge of $1.5 million and a prepayment charge of $0.3 million, for a total aggregate payment of $31.9 million, and terminated the Loan Agreement. Upon termination of the Loan Agreement, all security interests granted to the secured parties thereunder were terminated and released. Interest expense associated with the Loan Agreement for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was zero and $0.8 million, respectively.

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7. Ordinary shares

The Company’s ordinary shares are divided into two classes: (i) ordinary shares and (ii) non-voting ordinary shares. Each holder of ordinary shares is entitled to one vote per ordinary share and to receive dividends when and if such dividends are recommended by the board of directors and declared by the shareholders. Holders of ADSs are not treated as holders of the Company’s ordinary shares, unless they withdraw the ordinary shares underlying their ADSs in accordance with the deposit agreement and applicable laws and regulations. The depositary is the holder of the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs. Holders of ADSs therefore do not have any rights as holders of the Company’s ordinary shares, other than the rights that they have pursuant to the deposit agreement with the depositary.

The non-voting ordinary shares have the same rights and restrictions as the ordinary shares and otherwise rank pari passu in all respects with the ordinary shares except for the following:

●

a holder of non-voting ordinary shares shall, in relation to the non-voting ordinary shares held, have no right to receive notice of, or to attend or vote at, any general meeting of shareholders save in relation to a variation of class rights of the non-voting ordinary shares;

●

the non-voting ordinary shares shall be re-designated as ordinary shares by the Company’s board of directors, or a duly authorized committee or representative thereof, upon receipt of a re-designation notice and otherwise subject to the terms and conditions set out in the terms of issue. A holder of non-voting ordinary shares shall not be entitled to have any non-voting ordinary shares re-designated as ordinary shares where such re-designation would result in such holder thereof beneficially owning (for purposes of section 13(d) of the Exchange Act), when aggregated with “affiliates” and “group” members with whom such holder is required to aggregate beneficial ownership for the purposes of section 13(d) of the Exchange Act, in excess of 9.99% of any class of the Company’s securities registered under the Exchange Act (which percentage may be increased or decreased on a holder-by-holder basis subject to the provisions set out in the terms of issue); and

●

the non-voting ordinary shares shall be re-designated as ordinary shares automatically upon transfer of a non-voting ordinary share by its holder to any person that is not an “affiliate” or “group” member with whom such holder is required to aggregate beneficial ownership for purposes of section 13(d) of the Exchange Act. This automatic re-designation shall only be in respect of the non-voting ordinary shares that are subject to such transfer.

As of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, the Company had not declared any dividends.

As of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, the Company’s authorized share capital consisted of 158,505,729 and 155,876,645 ordinary shares, respectively, including ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares, with a nominal value of £0.01 per share. Authorized share capital, or shares authorized, comprises (i) the currently issued and outstanding ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares, (ii) the remaining ordinary shares available for allotment under the existing authority granted to the Board at the annual general meeting held on May 16, 2024, (iii) ordinary shares issuable on the exercise of outstanding options and settlement of vested restricted share units (“RSUs”) and (iv) ordinary shares reserved for issuance under the Bicycle Therapeutics plc 2024 Inducement Plan (the “2024 Inducement Plan”), the Bicycle Therapeutics plc 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended from time to time, the “2020 Plan”) and/or the Bicycle Therapeutics plc 2019 Employee Share Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”).

As of March 31, 2025, there were 47,710,256 ordinary shares issued and outstanding and 21,492,099 non-voting ordinary shares issued and outstanding.

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8. Share-based compensation

Employee incentive pool

2024 Inducement Plan

In July 2024, the Company’s board of directors approved the 2024 Inducement Plan. The 2024 Inducement Plan allows for the granting of nonqualified share options, RSUs, and other equity awards under the plan to persons not previously an employee or director of the Company, or following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement material to such persons entering into employment with the Company. Share options granted under the 2024 Inducement Plan have a 10-year contractual life and generally vest over a four-year service period with 25% of the award vesting on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the balance thereafter in 36 equal monthly installments.

The Company initially reserved 1,500,000 of its ordinary shares, or the equivalent number of ADSs, for the issuance of awards under the 2024 Inducement Plan. As of March 31, 2025, there were 1,012,800 shares available for future issuance under the 2024 Inducement Plan.

As of March 31, 2025, there were options to purchase 487,200 shares outstanding under the 2024 Inducement Plan.

2020 Equity Incentive Plan

In June 2020, the Company’s shareholders first approved the 2020 Plan, under which the Company may grant market value options, market value stock appreciation rights or restricted shares, RSUs, performance RSUs and other share-based awards to the Company’s employees. The Company’s non-employee directors and consultants are eligible to receive awards under the 2020 Non-Employee Sub-Plan to the 2020 Plan. All awards under the 2020 Plan, including the 2020 Non-Employee Sub-Plan, will be set forth in award agreements, which will detail the terms and conditions of awards, including any applicable vesting and payment terms, change of control provisions and post-termination exercise limitations. In the event of a change of control of the Company, as defined in the 2020 Plan, any outstanding awards under the 2020 Plan will vest in full immediately prior to such change of control.

The Company initially reserved up to 4,773,557 ordinary shares for future issuance under the 2020 Plan, including shares subject to options that were granted under the Company’s 2019 Share Option Plan (the “2019 Plan”) and that were granted pursuant to option contracts granted prior to the Company’s IPO, in each case that expire, terminate, are forfeited or otherwise not issued from time to time, if any. In June 2022, the Company’s shareholders approved the amended and restated 2020 Plan, which increased the number of ordinary shares reserved for future issuance by 750,000 shares. Additionally, the number of ordinary shares reserved for issuance pursuant to the 2020 Plan will automatically increase on the first day of January of each year, initially commencing on January 1, 2021 and continuing up to and including January 1, 2032, in an amount equal to 5% of the total number of the Company’s ordinary shares outstanding on the last day of the preceding year, or a lesser number of shares determined by the Company’s board of directors. Pursuant to this “evergreen” provision, on January 1, 2025, the number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2020 Plan was increased by 2,378,465 shares. As of March 31, 2025, there were 202,018 shares available for issuance.

Share options granted under the 2020 Plan have a 10-year contractual life and generally vest over either a three-year service period in three equal annual installments for new non-employee director grants, or a four-year service period with 25% of the award vesting on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the balance thereafter in 36 equal monthly installments for employees and consultants. Certain options granted to the Company’s non-employee directors vest over a one-year service period in four equal quarterly installments.

The Company grants RSUs to non-employee directors, consultants and certain employees under the 2020 Plan. Each RSU represents the right to receive one of the Company’s ordinary shares upon vesting. RSUs granted to employees and consultants vest over a four-year service period with 25% of the award vesting on the first anniversary of

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the vesting commencement date and the remaining RSUs vesting in 12 equal quarterly installments. Certain RSUs granted to the Company’s non-employee directors either vest over a three-year service period in three equal annual installments for new non-employee director grants or over a one-year service period in four equal quarterly installments. The Company may also, in its sole discretion, provide for deferred settlement of RSUs granted to the Company’s non-employee directors.

As of March 31, 2025, there were options to purchase 7,451,468 shares and RSUs for 1,974,801 shares outstanding under the 2020 Plan.

2019 Share Option Plan

In May 2019, the Company adopted the 2019 Plan, which became effective in conjunction with the IPO. As of March 31, 2025, there were 1,773,816 options to purchase ordinary shares outstanding under the 2019 Plan. In conjunction with the adoption of the 2020 Plan, all shares available for future issuance under the 2019 Plan as of June 29, 2020 became available for issuance under the 2020 Plan and the Company ceased making awards under the 2019 Plan. The 2020 Plan is the successor of the 2019 Plan.

Share options previously issued under the 2019 Plan have a 10-year contractual life, and generally either vest monthly over a three-year service period, or over a four-year service period with 25% of the award vesting on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the balance thereafter in 36 equal monthly installments. Certain awards granted to the Company’s non-employee directors were fully vested on the date of grant. The exercise price of share options issued under the 2019 Plan is not less than the fair value of ordinary shares as of the date of grant.

Employee Share Purchase Plan

In May 2019, the Company adopted the ESPP, which became effective in conjunction with the IPO. The Company initially reserved 215,000 ordinary shares for future issuance under this plan. The ESPP provides that the number of shares reserved and available for issuance will automatically increase each January 1, beginning on January 1, 2020 and each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2029, by the lower of: (i) 1% of the outstanding number of ordinary shares on the immediately preceding December 31; (ii) 430,000 ordinary shares or (iii) such lesser number of shares as determined by the Compensation Committee. The number of shares reserved under the ESPP is subject to adjustment in the event of a split-up, share dividend or other change in the Company’s capitalization. The number of shares reserved for issuance under the ESPP was increased by 430,000 shares effective January 1, 2025. As of March 31, 2025, the total number of shares available for issuance under the ESPP was 2,007,671 ordinary shares. As of March 31, 2025, there have been no offering periods to employees under ESPP.

Share-based compensation

The Company recorded share-based compensation expense in the following expense categories of its condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Research and development expenses	$	4,352	$	4,531
General and administrative expenses		5,253		4,751
	$	9,605	$	9,282

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Share options

The following table summarizes the Company’s option activity since December 31, 2024:


	Number of			Weighted
	Shares	Weighted		Average	Aggregate
	Underlying	Average		Contractual	Intrinsic
	Share Options	Exercise Price		Term	Value
				(in years)	(in thousands)
Outstanding as of December 31, 2024	8,748,726	$	22.41	6.81	$	9,559
Granted	1,541,838		13.57	—		—
Forfeited	(62,893)		23.56	—		—
Outstanding as of March 31, 2025	10,227,671	$	21.06	7.02	$	3,319
Vested and expected to vest as of March 31, 2025	10,227,671	$	21.06	7.02	$	3,319
Options exercisable as of March 31, 2025	6,022,652	$	21.73	5.66	$	3,319

The weighted average grant-date fair value of share options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $9.31 per share and $12.93 per share, respectively.

The aggregate intrinsic value of share options is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the share options and the fair value of the Company’s ordinary shares. The aggregate intrinsic value of share options exercised was zero and $1.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recorded share-based compensation expense for share options granted of $6.9 million and $7.5 million, respectively.

The following table presents, on a weighted average basis, the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of share options granted to employees and directors:


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Risk-free interest rate	4.4	%	4.0	%
Expected volatility	74.2	%	77.8	%
Expected dividend yield	—		—
Expected term (in years)	6.1		6.1

As of March 31, 2025, total unrecognized compensation expense related to the unvested employee and director share options was $54.9 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.6 years.

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Restricted share units

The following table summarizes the Company’s RSU activity under the 2020 Plan since December 31, 2024:


	Number of Shares	Weighted-Average
	Underlying RSUs	Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested at December 31, 2024	674,262	$	22.96
Granted	1,407,427		13.99
Vested and settled	(140,937)		21.69
Vested and deferred⁽¹⁾	(15,821)		16.14
Forfeited	(7,951)		14.95
Unvested outstanding at March 31, 2025	1,916,980		16.57
Vested but subject to deferred settlement at December 31, 2024⁽¹⁾	42,000		18.07
Vested and deferred⁽¹⁾	15,821		16.14
Vested but subject to deferred settlement at March 31, 2025⁽¹⁾	57,821		17.54
Outstanding at March 31, 2025	1,974,801	$	16.57

(1)

The Company has granted certain RSUs to the Company’s non-employee directors which provide for deferred settlement of the RSUs to a specified date following the first to occur of (i) the date of the director’s separation from service, (ii) the date of the director’s disability, (iii) the date of the director’s death, or (iv) the date of a change in control event.

The fair value of RSUs that vested during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $2.1 million and $1.5 million, respectively.

Total share-based compensation expense for RSUs granted was $2.7 million and $1.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested RSUs was $28.2 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.1 years.

9. Significant agreements

For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized revenue for its collaborations with Bayer Consumer Care AG (“Bayer”), Novartis Pharma AG (“Novartis”), Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Ionis”) and Genentech, Inc. (“Genentech”). The following table summarizes the revenue recognized in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss from these arrangements (in thousands):


	Three Months
	Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Collaboration revenues
Bayer	$	848	$	818
Novartis		1,405		1,247
Ionis		—		5,854
Genentech		7,724		11,611
Total collaboration revenues	$	9,977	$	19,530

Bayer Collaboration Agreement

On May 4, 2023, the Company and Bayer entered into a collaboration and license agreement (the “Bayer Collaboration Agreement”), pursuant to which the parties will perform research and discovery activities under a mutually agreed upon research plan during a research term up to a specified number of years per target program to generate radiopharmaceutical compounds incorporating optimized Bicycle constructs directed to two specified targets, under the oversight of a joint research committee. In addition, Bayer has a one-time right to expand the collaboration to include a third target program, and with respect to each of the up to three target programs, Bayer has an option,

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exercisable within a specified period of time following the effective date of the Bayer Collaboration Agreement, to generate, develop and commercialize non-radiopharmaceutical compounds directed to the applicable target, either itself or in collaboration with the Company. Bayer also has certain limited target substitution rights, in certain cases subject to specified additional payments.

For each collaboration program, Bayer may elect, at its sole discretion, to progress compounds arising from activities under the research programs into further preclinical development of potential products directed to the target of such collaboration program. On a target-by-target basis, if Bayer elects to progress development candidates directed to such target into further clinical development, Bayer will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and seek regulatory approval in certain major markets for products directed to the applicable target.

Bayer paid an upfront payment to the Company of $45.0 million in July 2023. All other payments under the Bayer Collaboration Agreement will be made in British Pound Sterling. If Bayer elects to expand the collaboration to include an additional target program, it will be required to make a one-time payment to the Company in connection with the selection of such target in the high single-digit millions. In addition, on a target-by-target basis, if Bayer elects to exercise its option to expand its rights with respect to such target to develop and commercialize non-radiopharmaceutical compounds directed to such target, Bayer will be required to pay to the Company, for each such target program for which it exercises such option, either a one-time option fee payment or quarterly payments of specified installment amounts for a specified maximum time period during which the Company is performing research activities, with the aggregate amounts receivable by the Company ranging from the high single-digit millions in the case of the one-time option fee payment, to the low single-digit millions in the case of the quarterly installments, in each case where the Company is performing specified research activities following the exercise of the option. Additionally, for each collaboration program, Bayer will reimburse the Company for certain expenses incurred in connection with specified research and discovery activities performed by a contract research organization (“CRO”).

On a target-by-target basis for the up to three targets, if Bayer elects to progress one or more candidate compounds into further development, Bayer will be required to pay a candidate selection fee for the first such compound progressed by Bayer directed to such target that incorporates a radionuclide, and for the first such compound directed to such target that does not incorporate a radionuclide (and for which Bayer has not paid the one-time option fee payment for non-radiopharmaceutical compounds), ranging from high single-digit millions to the mid-single-digit millions. Upon declaring a candidate, Bayer will be responsible for all future development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities. On a target-by-target basis, if Bayer successfully conducts clinical development and achieves regulatory approval for compounds arising from the collaboration directed to such target in two indications, Bayer will be required to pay to the Company development and regulatory/first commercial sale milestones of up to £178.3 million for the first product directed to the applicable target to achieve such milestones (whether radiopharmaceutical or non-radiopharmaceutical), or £534.9 million across all three potential target programs. In addition, if Bayer successfully commercializes products arising from the collaboration, Bayer will be required to pay to the Company, on a product-by-product basis, tiered royalties on net sales of products by Bayer, its affiliates or sublicensees at percentages ranging from the mid-single digits to the very-low double digits, subject to standard reductions and offsets in certain circumstances, and a royalty floor. If Bayer commercializes diagnostic products directed to a target, royalties will be payable on such diagnostic products at a specified reduced percentage of the rates for therapeutic products. Royalties will be payable under the Bayer Collaboration Agreement on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, commencing on the first commercial sale of each product, until the latest of (a) the expiration of the last valid claim of certain patents licensed by the Company to Bayer, (b) a specified number of years following first commercial sale of such product, and (c) expiration of all data and regulatory exclusivity for such product in the applicable country. On a target-by-target basis, Bayer will also owe the Company tiered sales milestones based on the achievement of specified levels of net sales of therapeutic products directed to such target totaling up to £194.5 million in the aggregate per target, or £583.5 million across all three potential target programs, and on diagnostic products directed to such target at a low double-digit percentage of the therapeutic product milestones.

The Bayer Collaboration Agreement will remain in force on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, unless earlier terminated by either party, until the expiration of the obligation for Bayer to make royalty payments to the Company for such product in such country and will terminate in its entirety on the expiration of all such royalty terms in all countries. Either party may terminate the agreement upon 90 days’ written notice for the other party’s

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rights, as Bayer cannot benefit from the development and commercialization rights until Bayer, in its sole discretion, elects to progress candidates into further development and pays the associated candidate selection fees.

The transaction price was initially determined to be $47.5 million, consisting of the $45.0 million upfront fee and an estimated $2.5 million for the reimbursement of certain external CRO costs. The Company utilized the expected value method to determine the amount of variable consideration to be received. Additional payments to the Company upon Bayer’s exercise of options are excluded from the transaction price as they relate to option fees and milestones that can only be achieved subsequent to the exercise of an option. The estimated $2.5 million in variable consideration was first allocated entirely to the first and second target combined performance obligations as the terms of the variable consideration relate specifically to the Company’s efforts in satisfying the performance obligations and allocating the variable consideration entirely to those performance obligations is consistent with the allocation objective in ASC 606. The remaining transaction price was allocated to the performance obligations based on the relative estimated standalone selling prices of each performance obligation. The estimated standalone selling prices for the combined performance obligations for the first and second targets were based on the nature of the services to be performed and estimates of the associated effort and costs of the services, adjusted for a reasonable profit margin for what would be expected to be realized under similar contracts. The estimated standalone selling prices for the material rights were determined based on the fees that Bayer would pay to exercise the options, the estimated value of the underlying goods and services, and the probability that Bayer would exercise the options, inclusive of the probability of technical success. Based on the relative standalone selling prices, the allocation of the transaction price to the separate performance obligations was as follows (in thousands):


	Allocation of
Performance Obligations	Transaction Price
Two combined performance obligations related to the licenses and research and development services associated with radiopharmaceutical compounds directed to the first and second targets	$	14,976
Material right associated with limited substitution rights for either the first or second target		1,527
Two material rights associated with the option to progress radiopharmaceutical candidates directed to the first and second targets into further development		14,691
Two material rights associated with the option to progress a non-radiopharmaceutical compound directed to the first and second targets		8,703
Material right for the option to expand the collaboration to include a third target and the underlying additional option rights		7,603
	$	47,500

The Company is recognizing revenue related to amounts allocated to the first and second target combined performance obligations as the underlying services are performed using a proportional performance model over the period of service using input-based measurements of full-time equivalent efforts and external costs incurred to date as a percentage of total expected full-time equivalent efforts and external costs, which best reflects the progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligations. The amounts allocated to the material rights are recorded as deferred revenue and the Company will commence revenue recognition upon exercise of or upon expiry of the respective option. The first and second target combined performance obligations are expected to be satisfied over a period of approximately four years and the remaining material rights are expected to be exercised or expire within approximately seven years from contract inception.

During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized revenue of $0.8 million and $0.8 million, respectively, in connection with the Bayer Collaboration Agreement. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company recorded deferred revenue of $40.4 million and $40.0 million, respectively, in connection with the Bayer Collaboration Agreement.

Novartis Collaboration Agreement

On March 27, 2023, the Company and Novartis entered into a collaboration and license agreement (the “Novartis Collaboration Agreement”), pursuant to which the parties will perform research and discovery activities under a mutually agreed upon research plan during a research term of up to a specified number of years per target program to

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generate compounds incorporating optimized Bicycle constructs directed to two specified targets, under the oversight of a joint steering committee. The Company granted Novartis a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable (subject to certain restrictions) license under the Company’s intellectual property solely for Novartis to perform its research activities under each collaboration program during the research term (the “Novartis Research License”). For each collaboration program, Novartis may elect to progress compounds arising from activities under the research programs (“Licensed Compounds”) into further preclinical development of potential products directed to the target of such collaboration program. At a specified point, the Company will grant Novartis an exclusive, royalty-bearing, sublicensable, license under certain of the Company’s intellectual property to develop, manufacture, and commercialize such Licensed Compound, subject to certain limitations. Novartis also has certain limited substitution rights for each target, and Novartis may extend the initial research term by one year by electing to make an additional payment. On a target-by-target basis, if Novartis elects to progress development candidates directed to such target into further clinical development, Novartis will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and seek regulatory approval in certain major markets for products containing Licensed Compounds directed to the applicable target.

Novartis paid a nonrefundable upfront payment to the Company of $50.0 million in April 2023. During the research term, upon achievement of a specified discovery milestone for the first target program, Novartis will make a one-time payment to the Company in the low single-digit millions. On a target-by-target basis, if Novartis elects to progress one or more candidate compounds into further development and obtain an exclusive license for commercialization, Novartis will be required to pay a candidate selection fee for the first such Licensed Compound progressed by Novartis that incorporates a radionuclide, and for the first such Licensed Compound that does not incorporate a radionuclide, in each case in the mid-teen millions. Upon declaring a candidate, Novartis will be responsible for all future development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities. On a target-by-target basis, Novartis will be required to pay to the Company additional development and regulatory/first commercial sale milestones of up to $210.0 million for each of the first radionuclide product and non-radionuclide product directed to the applicable target upon the achievement of specified milestones, or $840.0 million in the aggregate if Novartis successfully achieves all such milestone events for both a radionuclide and a non-radionuclide product in each of the targets. In addition, the Company is eligible to receive tiered sales milestones based on the achievement of specified levels of net sales of such products totaling up to $200.0 million in the aggregate per product, or $800.0 million in the aggregate if Novartis successfully commercializes both a radionuclide and a non-radionuclide product in each of the target programs. In addition, (i) the Company is eligible to receive, on a therapeutic product-by-therapeutic product basis, tiered royalties on net sales of products by Novartis, its affiliates or sublicensees at percentages ranging from the high single-digits to the very low double-digits, subject to standard reductions and offsets in certain circumstances, and a royalty floor, and (ii) the Company is eligible to receive low single digit royalties on net sales of diagnostic products on a diagnostic product-by-diagnostic product basis and a low single-digit percentage of sublicensing income on diagnostic products. Royalties will be payable under the Novartis Collaboration Agreement on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, commencing on the first commercial sale of each product in a country, until the latest of (a) the expiration of the last valid claim of certain patents licensed by Company to Novartis, (b) a specified number of years following first commercial sale of such product, and (c) expiration of all data and regulatory exclusivity for such product in the applicable country.

The Novartis Collaboration Agreement will remain in force on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, unless earlier terminated by either party, until the expiration of the obligation for Novartis to make royalty payments to Company for such product in such country, and will terminate in its entirety on the expiration of all such royalty payment obligations in all countries. Either party may terminate the agreement upon 60 days’ written notice for the other party’s uncured material breach, or upon the other party’s insolvency. In addition, Novartis may terminate the Collaboration Agreement (i) in its entirety or on a product-by-product or target-by-target basis for any reason upon 90 days’ written notice to Company, and (ii) on a target-by-target basis on 30 days’ written notice if Novartis determines that a safety or regulatory issue exists which would have a material adverse effect on the development, manufacture, or commercialization of any product with respect to a given target. The Company may terminate the Novartis Collaboration Agreement, (a) on a target-by-target basis upon 30 days’ prior written notice if Novartis has not yet declared a development candidate for such target by the sixth anniversary of the commencement of research activities for such target and (b) if Novartis or any of its affiliates or sublicensees challenges the validity or enforceability of any of the patents in the Company’s licensed intellectual property.

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Accounting Analysis

Upon the execution of the Novartis Collaboration Agreement, the Company identified the following performance obligations:

(i)

Two combined performance obligations comprised of the Novartis Research License and the related research and development services during the research term for the first and second targets;

(ii)

Two material rights associated with certain limited substitution rights with respect to the first and second targets;

(iii)

Two material rights associated with the option to progress development candidates that incorporate a radionuclide with respect to the first and second target; and

(iv)

Two material rights associated with the option to progress development candidates that do not incorporate a radionuclide with respect to the first and second target.

The Company concluded that certain rights that require the payment of additional consideration, which approximates the standalone selling price of the underlying services to be provided, do not provide the customer with a material right and therefore, are not considered as performance obligations at the inception of the arrangement. The Company’s participation in the joint steering committee was assessed as immaterial in the context of the contract.

The Company has concluded that the Novartis Research License is not distinct from the research and development services as Novartis cannot obtain the benefit of the research license without the Company performing the research and development services. The services incorporate proprietary technology and unique skills and specialized expertise, particularly as they relate to constrained peptide technology that is not available in the marketplace. As a result, for each target, the research license has been combined with the research and development services into a single performance obligation. The Company exercised judgment in concluding that Novartis’ rights to obtain certain research and development services associated with compounds that do not incorporate a radionuclide during the research term are not options that are material rights as they do not represent either options for additional goods or services or options for additional services that are at a discount that it would not have otherwise received.

In assessing whether the various options under the Novartis Collaboration Agreement represent material rights, the Company considered the additional consideration the Company would be entitled to upon option exercise and the standalone selling price of the underlying goods and services. For the material rights identified above the Company concluded that each of the options provided Novartis with a discount that it otherwise would not have received.

The total transaction price was initially determined to be $50.0 million, consisting of the $50.0 million upfront fee. The Company utilizes the most likely amount method to determine the amount of variable consideration to be received. Variable consideration for development milestones not subject to option exercises was fully constrained as a result of the uncertainty regarding whether any of the milestones will be achieved. Additional consideration to be paid to the Company upon the exercise of options by Novartis is excluded from the transaction price as they relate to option fees and milestones that can only be achieved subsequent to the exercise of an option.

The transaction price was allocated to the performance obligations based on the relative estimated standalone selling prices of each performance obligation. The estimated standalone selling prices for the combined performance obligations for each of the targets were based on the nature of the services to be performed and estimates of the associated effort and costs of the services, adjusted for a reasonable profit margin for what would be expected to be realized under similar contracts. The estimated standalone selling prices for the material rights were determined based on the fees Novartis would pay to exercise the options, the estimated value of the underlying goods and services, and the probability that Novartis would exercise the options, inclusive of the probability of technical success. Based on the

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relative standalone selling prices, the allocation of the transaction price to the separate performance obligations was as follows (in thousands):


	Allocation of
Performance Obligations	Transaction Price
Two combined performance obligations for the first and second targets comprised of the Novartis Research License and the related research and development services during the research term for the first and second targets	$	18,008
Two material rights associated with limited substitution rights		2,466
Two material rights associated with options to progress development candidates incorporating radionuclides		19,684
Two material rights associated with options to progress development candidates not incorporating radionuclides		9,842
	$	50,000

In November 2024, the Company achieved a specified discovery milestone for the first target program and therefore updated its estimate of the variable consideration to include an additional $3.0 million, that is no longer constrained. The arrangement consideration was increased to $53.0 million. The Company allocated the additional $3.0 million to the performance obligations based on the relative estimated standalone selling prices of each performance obligation.

The Company is recognizing revenue related to amounts allocated to the first and second target combined performance obligations as the underlying services are performed using a proportional performance model over the period of service using input-based measurements of total full-time equivalent efforts and external costs incurred to date as a percentage of total full-time equivalent efforts and expected external costs, which best reflects the progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligations. The amounts allocated to the material rights are recorded as deferred revenue and the Company will commence revenue recognition upon exercise of or upon expiry of the respective option. The first and second target combined performance obligations are expected to be satisfied over a period of approximately three years and the remaining material rights are expected to be exercised or expire within approximately six years from contract execution. During the second quarter of 2024, the Company recognized revenue of $2.5 million upon the expiration of Novartis’ material rights for limited substitution rights for the first and second targets. The research and discovery activities for these targets are ongoing.

During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized revenue of $1.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively, in connection with the Novartis Collaboration Agreement. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company recorded deferred revenue of $44.1 million and $44.1 million, respectively, in connection with the Novartis Collaboration Agreement.

Ionis Agreements

Ionis Collaboration Agreement

Following the exercise by Ionis of an option granted pursuant to an evaluation and option agreement, on July 9, 2021, the Company and Ionis entered into a collaboration and license agreement (the “Ionis Collaboration Agreement”). Pursuant to the Ionis Collaboration Agreement, the Company granted to Ionis a worldwide exclusive license under the Company’s relevant technology to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize products incorporating Bicycle peptides directed to the protein coded by the gene TFRC1 (transferrin receptor) (“TfR1 Bicycle” molecules) intended for the delivery of oligonucleotide compounds directed to targets selected by Ionis for diagnostic, therapeutic, prophylactic and preventative uses in humans. Ionis will maintain exclusivity to all available targets unless it fails to achieve specified development diligence milestone deadlines. If Ionis fails to achieve one or more development diligence milestone deadlines, the Company has the right to limit exclusivity to certain specific collaboration targets, subject to the payment by Ionis of a low single-digit million dollar amount per target as specified in the Ionis Collaboration Agreement. Each party was responsible for optimization of such TfR1 Bicycle molecules and other research and discovery activities related to TfR1 Bicycle molecules, as specified by a research plan which was substantially completed in the second

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quarter of 2024, and thereafter Ionis is responsible for all future research, development, manufacture and commercialization activities. The Company performed research and discovery activities including a baseline level of effort for a period of three years for no additional consideration. The parties will negotiate a commercially reasonable rate if additional research activities are agreed to be performed. The Company has retained certain rights, including the right to use TfR1 Bicycle molecules for all non-oligonucleotide therapeutic purposes.

The activities under the Ionis Collaboration Agreement are governed by a joint steering committee (“JSC”) with an equal number of representatives from the Company and Ionis. The JSC will oversee the performance of the research and development activities. Upon first commercial sales of a licensed product, the JSC will have no further responsibilities or authority under the Ionis Collaboration Agreement.

Under the Ionis Collaboration Agreement, Ionis made a non-refundable upfront payment of $31.0 million in addition to $3.0 million already paid under an evaluation and option agreement, and reimbursed the Company for certain pass-through costs incurred. If Ionis is at risk of failing to achieve a specified development diligence milestone deadline, it can make up to three separate payments of a mid-single-digit million dollar amount to extend the development diligence milestone deadlines. On a collaboration target-by-collaboration target basis, Ionis will be required to make a low single-digit million dollar payment upon acceptance of an investigational new drug application (“IND”) for the first product directed to such collaboration target (provided that Ionis will have a high single-digit million dollar credit to be applied towards the IND acceptance fee for four collaboration targets, or for exclusivity payments for certain targets if specified development diligence milestones deadlines are not achieved), and Ionis will be required to make milestone payments upon the achievement of specified development and regulatory milestones of up to a low double-digit million dollar amount per collaboration target. In addition, the Company is eligible to receive up to a low double-digit million dollar amount in cumulative sales milestone payments. The Company is also entitled to receive tiered royalty payments on net sales at percentages in the low single-digits, subject to certain standard reductions and offsets. Royalties will be payable, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the latest of the expiration of specified licensed patents covering such product in such country, ten years from first commercial sale of such product in such country, or expiration of marketing exclusivity for such product in such country.

In December 2021, the Company and Ionis entered into the first amendment to the Ionis Collaboration Agreement (the “First Ionis Amendment”) and Ionis paid the Company $1.6 million to perform additional research services utilizing its proprietary phage screening technology to identify and optimize new product candidates that target the TfR1 receptor. In April 2023, the Company and Ionis entered into the third amendment to the Ionis Collaboration Agreement (the “Third Ionis Amendment”) and Ionis paid the Company $0.8 million to perform additional research services to continue to evaluate and optimize the new product candidates that target the TfR1 receptor for a period of one year.

Either party may terminate the Ionis Collaboration Agreement for the uncured material breach of the other party or in the case of insolvency. Ionis may terminate the Ionis Collaboration Agreement for convenience on specified notice periods depending on the development stage of the applicable target, either in its entirety or on a target-by-target basis.

Ionis Share Purchase Agreement

Concurrently with the execution of the Ionis Collaboration Agreement on July 9, 2021, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement (the “Ionis Share Purchase Agreement”) with Ionis, pursuant to which Ionis purchased 282,485 of the Company’s ordinary shares (the “Ionis Shares”) at a price per share of $38.94, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $11.0 million.

The Company determined the fair value of the Ionis Shares to be $7.6 million, based on the closing price of the Company’s ADSs of $31.11 per ADS on the date of the Ionis Share Purchase Agreement, less a discount for lack of marketability associated with resale restrictions applicable to the Ionis Shares. The Company concluded that the premium paid by Ionis under the Ionis Share Purchase Agreement represents additional consideration for the goods and services to be provided under the Ionis Collaboration Agreement. As such, the total premium of $3.4 million was included in the transaction price under the Ionis Collaboration Agreement.

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Accounting Analysis

Upon execution of the Ionis Collaboration Agreement, the Company identified the following promises in the arrangement: i) a worldwide exclusive license to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize products incorporating TfR1 Bicycle molecules intended for the delivery of oligonucleotide compounds directed to targets selected by Ionis for diagnostic, therapeutic, prophylactic and preventative uses in humans; ii) research and discovery activities to customize and optimize such TfR1 Bicycle molecules; iii) four material rights associated with options to obtain credits to be applied towards the IND acceptance fee for four collaboration targets.

The Company’s participation in the JSC was deemed immaterial in the context of the contract. The Company concluded that the exclusive license to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize products was not distinct from the research and discovery services and it was combined with the research and discovery activities into a single performance obligation. The Company concluded that the low-single-digit million dollar payments upon acceptance of an IND (and payment to extend the exclusive license to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize a product candidate for certain specific collaboration targets if Ionis fails to achieve specified development diligence milestone deadlines) is a customer option, and that each of the options to obtain credits provided Ionis with a material right represented by a discount that Ionis otherwise would not have received without entering into the Ionis Collaboration Agreement.

The total transaction price was initially determined to be $38.0 million, consisting of the $31.0 million up front payment, the $3.0 million already paid under an evaluation and option agreement that was credited against the total upfront payment payable pursuant to the Ionis Collaboration Agreement, the $3.4 million premium paid under the Ionis Share Purchase Agreement, and an estimated $0.6 million for the reimbursement of CRO costs. Additional variable consideration including development diligence milestone deadline extension payments, development and regulatory milestone payments, sales milestone payments and royalty payments, was fully constrained as a result of the uncertainty regarding whether any of the milestones will be achieved.

The transaction price was allocated to the performance obligations based on the relative estimated standalone selling prices of each performance obligation. The estimated standalone selling price of the Ionis combined licenses and research and discovery performance obligation was based on the nature of the licenses to be delivered, as well as the services to be performed and estimates of the associated effort and costs of the services, adjusted for a reasonable profit margin for what would be expected to be realized under similar contracts. The estimated standalone selling price for the material rights was determined based on the estimated value of the underlying goods and services, and the probability that Ionis would exercise the option. Based on the relative standalone selling price, the initial allocation of the transaction price to the separate performance obligations was as follows (in thousands):


	Allocation of
Performance Obligations	Transaction Price
Combined licenses and research and discovery performance obligation	$	34,100
Four material rights associated with credits for IND Acceptance fees		3,900
	$	38,000

During the first quarter of 2024, the Company updated its estimate of variable consideration for the reimbursement of CRO costs from $0.6 million to $0.4 million, and the transaction price decreased to $37.8 million.

The Company recognized revenue related to amounts allocated to the combined licenses and research and discovery performance obligation using a proportional performance model over the period of service using input-based measurements including total full-time equivalent effort and external costs incurred to date as a percentage of total full-time equivalent effort and external costs expected, which best reflects the progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligation. As of March 31, 2025, the combined licenses and research and discovery performance obligation is complete and all revenue allocated to the combined licenses and research and discovery performance obligation has been recognized. The amount allocated to the material rights is recorded as deferred revenue and the Company commences revenue recognition upon exercise of or upon expiry of the respective option. The Company

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anticipates that the material rights may be exercisable or may expire after approximately four to seven years from contract execution.

The Company concluded that the First Ionis Amendment was a separate contract, which was modified by the Third Ionis Amendment. Revenue was recognized under the First Ionis Amendment and the Third Ionis Amendment using a proportional performance model over the period of service using input-based measurements of total full time equivalent efforts and external costs incurred to date as a percentage of total expected full time equivalent efforts and expected external costs, which best reflects the progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligation.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized revenue of zero and $5.9 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, the Company recorded deferred revenue of $3.7 million and $3.6 million, respectively, in connection with the Ionis Collaboration Agreement and Ionis Amendments.

Genentech Collaboration Agreement

On February 21, 2020, the Company entered into a Discovery Collaboration and License Agreement, as amended from time to time (as amended, the “Genentech Collaboration Agreement”), with Genentech. The collaboration is focused on the discovery and development of Bicycle peptides directed to biological targets selected by Genentech and aimed at developing up to four potential development candidates against multiple immuno-oncology targets suitable for Genentech to advance into further development and commercialization.

Under the terms of the Genentech Collaboration Agreement, the Company received a $30.0 million upfront, non-refundable payment. The initial discovery and optimization activities are focused on utilizing the Company’s phage screening technology to identify product candidates aimed at two immuno-oncology targets (“Genentech Collaboration Programs”), which may also include additional discovery and optimization of Bicycle molecules as a targeting element for each Genentech Collaboration Program (each a “Targeting Arm”). Genentech also had the option to nominate up to two additional immuno-oncology targets (each, an “Expansion Option”) as additional Genentech Collaboration Programs, which may also include an additional Targeting Arm for each Expansion Option. Genentech exercised the Expansion Options in October 2021 and June 2022, respectively. Genentech paid the Company an expansion fee of $10.0 million for each Expansion Option. The Genentech Collaboration Agreement included rights, under certain limited circumstances, for Genentech to select an alternative target to be the subject of a Genentech Collaboration Program, in some cases subject to payment of an additional target selection fee.

If Genentech elects for the Company to perform discovery and optimization services for certain Targeting Arms, the Company will be entitled to receive an additional advance payment for the additional research services. Genentech exercised its right to select a Targeting Arm for one of the initial Genentech Collaboration Programs at the inception of the arrangement, and for the first Expansion Option in October 2021, which entitled the Company to additional payments of $1.0 million each. If a Targeting Arm achieves specified criteria in accordance with the research plan, Genentech will be required to pay a further specified amount in the low single-digit millions for each such Targeting Arm as consideration for the additional services to be provided.

The Company granted Genentech a non-exclusive research license under the Company’s intellectual property solely to enable Genentech to perform any activities under the agreement. The activities under the Genentech Collaboration Agreement are governed by a joint research committee (“JRC”) with representatives from each of the Company and Genentech. The JRC will oversee, review and recommend direction of each Genentech Collaboration Program, achievement of development criteria, and variations of or modifications to the research plans.

After the Company performs the initial discovery and optimization activities in accordance with an agreed research plan and achieves specified criteria, Genentech will have the option to have the Company perform initial pre-clinical development and optimization activities in exchange for an additional specified milestone payment in the mid single-digit millions for each Genentech Collaboration Program (the “LSR Go Option”). Upon completion of such initial pre-clinical development and optimization activities for each Genentech Collaboration Program, Genentech will have the option to obtain an exclusive license to exploit any compound developed under such Genentech Collaboration Program in exchange for an additional specified payment in the mid to high single-digit millions for each of the initial

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research program, the research license has been combined with the research and development services into a single performance obligation. In addition, the Company concluded that the Dev Go Option is not distinct or separately exercisable from the LSR Go Option, as the customer cannot benefit from the Dev Go Option unless and until the LSR Go Option is exercised.

In assessing whether the various options under the Genentech Collaboration Agreement represent material rights, the Company considered the additional consideration the Company would be entitled to upon the option exercise, the standalone selling price of the underlying goods, services, and additional options. For the material rights identified above the Company concluded that each of the options provided Genentech with a discount that it otherwise would not have received.

The total transaction price was initially determined to be $31.0 million, consisting of the $30.0 million upfront fee and the additional $1.0 million for Genentech’s selection of a new Targeting Arm at inception. The Company utilizes the most likely amount method to determine the amount of research and development funding to be received. Additional consideration to be paid to the Company upon the exercise of options by Genentech and subsequent milestones are excluded from the transaction price as they relate to option fees and milestones that can only be achieved subsequent to the exercise of an option. In addition, other variable consideration for development milestones not subject to option exercises was fully constrained, as a result of the uncertainty regarding whether any of the milestones will be achieved. In March 2021, the Company achieved specified criteria in accordance with the research plan under the Genentech Collaboration Agreement and therefore updated its estimate of the variable consideration to include an additional $2.0 million, that is no longer constrained. The arrangement consideration was increased to $33.0 million.

The transaction price was allocated to the performance obligations based on the relative estimated standalone selling prices of each performance obligation. The estimated standalone selling prices for the Genentech Collaboration Programs was based on the nature of the services to be performed and estimates of the associated effort and costs of the services, adjusted for a reasonable profit margin for what would be expected to be realized under similar contracts. The estimated standalone selling price for the material rights was determined based on the fees Genentech would pay to exercise the options, the estimated value of the underlying goods and services, and the probability that Genentech would exercise the option and any underlying options. Based on the relative standalone selling price, the allocation of the transaction price to the separate performance obligations was as follows (in thousands):


	Allocation of
Performance Obligations	Transaction Price
Genentech Collaboration Program #1 Performance Obligation	$	4,019
Genentech Collaboration Program #2 Performance Obligation		8,037
Specified Targeting Arm Material Right Arm for Genentech Collaboration Program #1		352
Two material rights associated with the LSR Go Option for Collaboration Programs #1 and #2		12,400
Material rights associated with limited substitution rights		1,187
Two material rights for Expansion Options		7,005
	$	33,000

The Company recognizes revenue related to amounts allocated to the Genentech Collaboration Program #1 and #2 Performance Obligations as the underlying services are performed using a proportional performance model over the period of service using input-based measurements of total full-time equivalent efforts and external costs incurred to date as a percentage of total full-time equivalent efforts and expected external costs, which best reflects the progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligation. The amount allocated to the material rights is recorded as deferred revenue and the Company will commence revenue recognition upon exercise of or upon expiry of the respective option. In June 2023, Genentech terminated Genentech Collaboration Program #2 and revenue of $6.0 million was recognized during the second quarter of 2023 related to the expiration of the material right associated with the LSR Go Option for Collaboration Program #2. The Company expects that the remaining Genentech Collaboration Performance Program #1 performance obligations will be satisfied over the next one to two years, and the remaining deferred revenue allocated to the LSR Go Option for Collaboration Program #1 will commence revenue recognition when the option is exercised or expires within approximately four to five years from contract execution.

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In October 2021 and June 2022, respectively, Genentech exercised the first and second Expansion Options to add additional Genentech Collaboration Programs (Genentech Collaboration Program #3 and Genentech Collaboration Program #4) and paid to the Company an expansion fee of $10.0 million for each option. For the first Expansion Option, Genentech also elected for the Company to perform discovery and optimization services for a Targeting Arm, and the Company received an additional payment of $1.0 million for additional research services. The Company concluded that the exercise of each Expansion Option, including the option to a specified Targeting Arm for the first Expansion Option, is accounted for as a continuation of an existing contract as the customer decided to purchase additional goods and services contemplated in the original contract. For the first Expansion Option, the additional arrangement consideration of $11.0 million received upon the option exercises and the $3.5 million originally allocated to the first Expansion Option material right is allocated to the underlying goods and services associated with the first Expansion Option on the same basis as the initial allocation of the Genentech Collaboration Agreement. In December 2022, the Targeting Arm associated with the first Expansion Option achieved specified criteria in accordance with the research plan under the Genentech Collaboration Agreement and therefore the Company updated its estimate of variable consideration to include an additional $2.0 million, that is no longer constrained. The Company allocated the additional $2.0 million entirely to the Genentech Collaboration Program #3 and Targeting Arm services as the terms of the variable consideration relate specifically to the Company’s efforts in satisfying the performance obligation and allocating the variable consideration entirely to the performance obligation is consistent with the allocation objective in ASC 606. For the second Expansion Option, the additional arrangement consideration of $10.0 million received pursuant to the option exercise together with the $3.5 million originally allocated to the second Expansion Option material right is allocated to the underlying goods and services associated with the second Expansion option on the same basis as the initial allocation of the Genentech Collaboration Agreement. The Company recognized the $8.4 million allocated to the Genentech Collaboration Program #3 and Targeting Arm services and $5.3 million allocated to the Genentech Collaboration Program #4 services as the underlying services were performed using a proportional performance model over the period of service for each program using input-based measurements of total full-time equivalent efforts and external costs incurred to date as a percentage of total full-time equivalent efforts and external costs expected, which best reflects the progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligations. The amount allocated to the material rights associated with an LSR Go Options for Genentech Collaboration Program #3 and Genentech Collaboration Program #4 of $7.4 million and $7.4 million, respectively, limited substitution material rights of $0.7 million and $0.7 million, respectively, and the material right associated with the option to select a Targeting Arm for Genentech Collaboration Program #4 of $0.1 million, were recorded as deferred revenue. In January 2024, the JRC reached a decision to discontinue research activities associated with Genentech Collaboration Program #3 and, as a result, the Company recognized revenue of $10.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024, including $7.5 million related to the expiration of remaining material rights. In January 2025, Genentech provided the Company with a notice of termination for Genentech Collaboration Program #4, effective in March 2025, and the Company recognized revenue of $7.5 million related to the expiration of remaining material rights. As of March 31, 2025, Genentech Collaboration Program #1 remains ongoing.

During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized revenue of $7.7 million and $11.6 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company recorded $6.6 million and $14.0 million, respectively, of deferred revenue in connection with the Genentech Collaboration Agreement.

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Summary of Contract Assets and Liabilities

The following table presents changes in the balances of the Company’s contract liabilities (in thousands):


	Beginning Balance						Impact of		Ending Balance
	January 1,						Exchange		March 31,
	2025		Additions		Deductions		Rates		2025
Contract liabilities:
Deferred revenue
Bayer collaboration deferred revenue	$	39,960	$	136	$	(848)	$	1,179	$	40,427
Novartis collaboration deferred revenue		44,073		—		(1,405)		1,386		44,054
Ionis collaboration deferred revenue		3,587		—		—		107		3,694
Genentech collaboration deferred revenue		14,038		—		(7,724)		248		6,562
Total deferred revenue	$	101,658	$	136	$	(9,977)	$	2,920	$	94,737


	Beginning Balance						Impact of		Ending Balance
	January 1,						Exchange		December 31,
	2024		Additions		Deductions		Rates		2024
Contract liabilities:
Deferred revenue
Bayer collaboration deferred revenue	$	43,618	$	296	$	(3,393)	$	(561)	$	39,960
Novartis collaboration deferred revenue		50,008		3,000		(8,161)		(774)		44,073
Ionis collaboration deferred revenue		12,464		90		(8,881)		(86)		3,587
Genentech collaboration deferred revenue		29,104		—		(14,840)		(226)		14,038
Total deferred revenue	$	135,194	$	3,386	$	(35,275)	$	(1,647)	$	101,658

Contract assets represent research and development services which have been performed but have not yet been billed and are reduced when they are subsequently billed. There were no contract assets at March 31, 2025 or December 31, 2024.

As of March 31, 2025, the Bayer, Novartis, Ionis, and Genentech deferred revenue balances include $32.9 million, $32.9 million, $3.7 million, and $6.2 million, respectively, allocated to material rights that will commence revenue recognition when the respective option is exercised or when the option expires.

During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized the following revenues as a result of changes in the contract asset and the contract liability balances in the respective periods (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Revenue recognized in the period from:
Revenue recognized based on proportional performance	$	2,464	$	11,631
Revenue recognized based on expiration of material rights		7,513		8,034
Revenue recognized based on changes in transaction price		—		(135)
Total	$	9,977	$	19,530

10. Income taxes

During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $1.1 million and $0.4 million, respectively. The Company is subject to corporate taxation in the U.K. Due to the nature of its business, the Company has generated losses since inception and has therefore not paid U.K. corporation tax. The benefit from income taxes included in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss represents the tax impact from operating activities in the United States, which has generated taxable income based on intercompany service arrangements. Deferred tax assets in the United States do not have a valuation allowance against them because of profits that will be generated by an intercompany service agreement.

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The Company regularly assesses its ability to realize its deferred tax assets. Assessing the realization of deferred tax assets requires significant judgment. In determining whether its deferred tax assets are more likely than not realizable, the Company evaluated all available positive and negative evidence, and weighed the evidence based on its objectivity. After consideration of the evidence, including the Company’s history of cumulative net losses in the U.K., the Company has concluded that it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize the benefits of its U.K. deferred tax assets and accordingly the Company has provided a valuation allowance for the full amount of the deferred tax assets in the U.K. as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. The Company has considered the Company’s history of cumulative net profits in the United States, estimated future taxable income and concluded that it is more likely than not that the Company will realize the benefits of its U.S. deferred tax assets and has not provided a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets in the United States.

The Company intends to continue to maintain a full valuation allowance on its U.K. deferred tax assets until there is sufficient evidence to support the reversal of all or some portion of these allowances. The release of the valuation allowance would result in the recognition of certain deferred tax assets and an increase to the benefit from income taxes for the period the release is recorded. However, the exact timing and amount of the valuation allowance release are subject to change on the basis of the level of profitability that the Company is able to actually achieve.

The benefit from income taxes recorded in the condensed consolidated statements of operations differs from amounts that would result from applying the statutory tax rates to income before taxes primarily because of certain permanent expenses that were not deductible, U.K., federal and state research and development credits, as well as the application of valuation allowances against the U.K. deferred tax assets.

11. Commitments and contingencies

Leases

In January 2023, the Company entered into a lease agreement for office and laboratory space in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The lease has a contractual period of approximately three years, which, subject to certain conditions, may be extended for an additional two years at the Company’s option. The Company concluded that the lease term is three years, representing the non-cancelable lease period, as it is not reasonably certain that the lease will be extended. The annual rent is approximately $2.1 million in the first year of the lease and increases annually with the last year of the lease having annual rent of approximately $2.3 million. The annual rent is payable monthly in advance following a two-month rent-free period. In connection with the lease agreement, the Company has delivered to the landlord a security deposit in the form of a letter of credit of approximately $0.5 million. The Company recorded an operating lease right-of-use asset and operating lease liability of approximately $5.8 million, respectively, at the lease commencement date, based on the present value of future lease payments, discounted at 9.0%, the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate at the commencement of the lease, over the lease term.

In December 2021, the Company entered into a lease of new office and laboratory space in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The lease has a contractual period of 10 years but may be cancelled by the Company on the fifth anniversary of the lease commencement date. The lease term is five years, representing the non-cancelable lease period, as it is not reasonably certain that the lease will not be cancelled. The Company has a contractual right to renew the lease for a further ten-year period, which also may be cancelled after five years. The annual rent is approximately $3.0 million, payable quarterly in advance beginning in June 2022, following a six-month rent-free period. There was no deposit paid in conjunction with the lease. The Company recorded an operating lease right-of-use asset of approximately $11.6 million and operating lease liability of approximately $11.1 million at the lease commencement date, based on the present value of future lease payments, discounted at 6.9%, the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate at the commencement of the lease, over the lease term.

In September 2017, Bicycle Therapeutics Inc. entered into a lease agreement for office and laboratory space in Lexington, Massachusetts, which commenced on January 1, 2018. In conjunction with the lease agreement, Bicycle Therapeutics Inc. paid a security deposit of $0.2 million. The deposit is recorded in other assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. In March 2022, Bicycle Therapeutics Inc. notified the landlord of its intent to exercise its option to extend the lease, originally set to expire on December 31, 2022, for a successive period through December 31,

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2027 which successive period was not included in the original lease term. The Company accounted for the lease extension as a modification of the existing lease and remeasured the operating lease right-of-use asset and operating lease liability by calculating the present value of lease payments, discounted at 7.0%, the Company’s incremental borrowing rate, over the new lease term. In May 2022, the lease was extended. The payments for the extended lease are approximately $0.2 million remaining through December 31, 2022, $0.7 million in 2023, and increases annually pursuant to an escalation clause with the last year of the lease term having a per annum fixed rent obligation of $0.8 million.

From time to time, the Company may enter into finance lease agreements for property and equipment. Amortization expense related to finance lease right-of-use assets is recognized on straight-line basis over the earlier of the useful life of the right-of-use asset or the lease term and interest expense for finance leases is recognized based on the effective interest method using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company recorded finance lease right-of-use assets of $1.0 million and $1.0 million, respectively, which are included in property and equipment, net, in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company recorded finance lease liabilities of $1.0 million and $1.0 million, respectively, which are included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, as applicable, in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The components of the Company’s lease expense, which are recorded as a component of research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, are as follows (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Operating lease cost	$	1,251	$	1,341
Variable lease cost		798		781
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of finance lease right-of-use assets		52		—
Interest on finance lease liabilities		22		—
Total finance lease cost	$	74	$	—

The weighted average remaining operating lease term was 1.8 years and 2.7 years as of March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and the weighted average operating lease discount rate was 7.7% and 7.9% as of March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The weighted average remaining finance lease term was 4.5 years as of March 31, 2025, and the weighted average finance lease discount rate was 9.5% as of March 31, 2025.

The following table summarizes the maturities of the Company’s lease liabilities as of March 31, 2025 (in thousands):


Year Ending December 31,	Operating Leases		Finance Leases
2025		4,430		198
2026		3,384		264
2027		821		264
2028		—		264
2029		—		196
Present value adjustment		(494)		(209)
Total lease liabilities		8,141		977
Less: current lease liabilities		(5,532)		(184)
Long term lease liabilities	$	2,609	$	793

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Other commitments

The Company has entered into various agreements with contract research organizations to provide clinical trial services, contract manufacturing organizations to provide clinical trial materials and with vendors for preclinical research studies, synthetic chemistry and other services for operating purposes. These contracts are generally cancelable at any time upon less than 90 days’ prior written notice. The Company is not contractually able to terminate for convenience and avoid any and all future obligations to these vendors. In some cases, the Company is contractually obligated to make certain minimum payments to the vendors, based on the timing of the termination notification and the exact terms of the agreement.

The Company has also entered into separate agreements with third parties which provide for various future milestone payments upon the achievement of specified development, regulatory, commercial and sales-based milestones with an aggregate total value of $166.2 million, as well as potential future royalty and other payments at percentages ranging from very low to low single digits. These additional milestone payments are contingent upon future events that are not considered probable of achievement as of March 31, 2025. As of March 31, 2025, the Company was unable to estimate the timing or likelihood of achieving any of these milestones.

Legal proceedings

From time to time, the Company or its subsidiaries may become involved in various legal proceedings and claims, either asserted or unasserted, which arise in the ordinary course of business. The Company is currently not subject to any material legal proceedings. At each reporting date, the Company evaluates whether or not a potential loss amount or a potential range of loss is probable and reasonably estimable under the provisions of ASC 450, Contingencies.

Indemnification obligations

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may provide indemnification of varying scope and terms to vendors, lessors, business partners and other parties with respect to certain matters including, but not limited to, losses arising out of breach of such agreements or from intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties. The Company also has indemnification obligations towards members of its board of directors and officers that will require the Company, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. In addition, the Company has agreed to indemnify certain investors in limited circumstances. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification arrangements is, in many cases, unlimited. To date, the Company has not incurred any material costs as a result of such indemnification obligations. The Company is not aware of any claims under indemnification arrangements, and therefore it has not accrued any liabilities related to such obligations in its condensed consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.

12. Net loss per share

Basic and diluted net loss per share was calculated as follows (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Numerator:
Net loss	$	(60,754)	$	(26,563)
Denominator:
Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding, basic and diluted		69,196,945		42,560,091
Net loss per share, basic and diluted	$	(0.88)	$	(0.62)

The Company’s potentially dilutive securities, which are options to purchase ordinary shares and RSUs, have

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14. Segments and geographic information

The Company operates and manages its business as a single operating segment, which is developing a unique class of chemically synthesized medicines based on its proprietary platform. The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”). The CODM reviews consolidated operating results, manages the business on a consolidated basis and utilizes consolidated net loss from the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as the primary measure of segment profit or loss in making decisions surrounding allocating resources and assessing performance of the Company. The CODM is regularly provided detailed expense information, including expenses by program and expense category, and the CODM makes decisions surrounding capital and personnel allocation using this information on a consolidated basis.

The following table presents information about the Company’s single operating segment, including significant segment expenses, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024
Collaboration revenue	$	9,977	$	19,530
Significant segment expenses
Research and development:
Zelenectide pevedotin (Nectin-4)		32,347		17,743
BT5528 (EphA2)		2,518		1,770
Bicycle tumor-targeted immune cell agonists		1,127		2,585
Discovery, platform and other expense		8,648		7,882
Employee and contractor related expenses		17,586		13,780
Share-based compensation		4,352		4,531
Facility expenses		1,787		1,918
Research and development incentives and government grants		(9,307)		(15,345)
Total research and development		59,058		34,864
General and administrative:
Personnel-related costs		7,050		5,716
Professional and consulting fees		6,428		3,970
Other general and administrative costs		2,193		2,016
Share-based compensation		5,253		4,751
Effect of foreign exchange rates		199		(71)
Total general and administrative		21,123		16,382
Total significant segment expenses		80,181		51,246
Other segment items⁽¹⁾		9,450		5,153
Segment net loss	$	(60,754)	$	(26,563)

(1)	Other segment items include interest and other income, interest expense and benefit from income taxes.

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

You should read this discussion and analysis of our financial condition and consolidated results of operations together with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report and our audited financial statements and related notes for the year ended December 31, 2024, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, or the 2024 Annual Report, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on February 25, 2025. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this report, including statements of our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of this report, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. Please also see the section titled “Forward-Looking Statements.”

Overview

We are a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing a novel class of medicines, which we refer to as Bicycle^® molecules, for diseases that are underserved by existing therapeutics. Bicycle molecules are fully synthetic short peptides constrained to form two loops which stabilize their structural geometry. This constraint facilitates target binding with high affinity and selectivity, making Bicycle molecules attractive candidates for drug development. Bicycle molecules are a unique therapeutic modality combining the pharmacology usually associated with a biologic with the manufacturing and pharmacokinetic, or PK, properties of a small molecule. The relatively large surface area presented by Bicycle molecules allows targets to be drugged that have historically been intractable to non-biological approaches. Bicycle molecules are excreted by the kidney rather than the liver and have shown no signs of immunogenicity to date, qualities which we believe explain the molecules’ favorable toxicological profile.

We have a novel and proprietary phage display screening platform which we use to identify Bicycle molecules in an efficient manner. The platform initially displays linear peptides on the surface of engineered bacteriophages, or phages, before “on-phage” cyclization with a range of small molecule scaffolds which can confer differentiated physicochemical and structural properties. Our platform encodes quadrillions of potential Bicycle molecules which can be screened to identify molecules for optimization to potential product candidates. We have used this powerful screening technology to identify our current portfolio of candidates in oncology and intend to use it in conjunction with our collaborators to seek to develop additional future candidates across a range of other disease areas.

Our product candidates zelenectide pevedotin, formerly BT8009, and BT5528 are each a Bicycle Drug Conjugate, or BDC^TMmolecule. These Bicycle molecules are chemically attached to a toxin that when administered is cleaved from the Bicycle molecule and kills the tumor cells. We are evaluating zelenectide pevedotin, a BDC molecule targeting Nectin-4, in an ongoing company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics and clinical activity in patients with Nectin-4 expressing advanced malignancies and an ongoing Phase II/III registrational trial called Duravelo-2, allowing for potential accelerated approval in untreated and previously treated metastatic urothelial cancer. We are also evaluating zelenectide pevedotin in an ongoing company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of zelenectide pevedotin in patients with NECTIN4 amplified advanced breast cancer, which commenced recruiting patients in the first quarter of 2025. Enrollment in these trials is ongoing. In addition, we are evaluating BT5528, a BDC molecule targeting Ephrin type A receptor 2, or EphA2, in a company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial, for which enrollment is ongoing. Additionally, our other product candidate, BT7480, is a Bicycle Tumor-Targeted Immune Cell Agonist^®, or Bicycle TICA^®molecule. A Bicycle TICA molecule links immune cell receptor binding Bicycle molecules to tumor antigen binding Bicycle molecules. We are evaluating BT7480, a Bicycle TICA molecule targeting Nectin-4 and agonizing CD137, in a company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial. Our discovery pipeline in oncology includes next-generation BDC molecules and Bicycle Radioconjugates, or BRC^®molecules.

Zelenectide pevedotin has been granted Fast Track Designation, or FTD, by the FDA as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer as well as for the treatment of adult patients with previously treated, NECTIN4 gene-amplified, advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. BT5528 has been granted FTD for the treatment of adult patients with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. Zelenectide pevedotin has also been selected to

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participate in the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls, or CMC, Development and Readiness Pilot Program launched by the FDA to facilitate CMC development for therapies with expedited clinical development timeframes based on the anticipated clinical benefits of earlier patient access to the therapy.

In September 2024, we announced updated Phase I/II clinical results for zelenectide pevedotin used as a monotherapy in metastatic urothelial cancer at the European Society for Medical Oncology, or ESMO, Congress 2024, and in January 2025, we also announced updated topline results from the ongoing Phase I trial evaluating 5 mg/m² weekly of zelenectide pevedotin plus 200 mg of pembrolizumab once every three weeks. In addition, in December 2024, we announced data showing the enhanced anti-tumor activity of zelenectide pevedotin monotherapy in breast cancer patients with NECTIN4 gene amplification at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and shared topline monotherapy data for zelenectide pevedotin in non-small cell lung cancer patients with NECTIN4 gene amplification. We plan to advance development of zelenectide pevedotin in broader indications outside of metastatic urothelial cancer utilizing a NECTIN4 gene amplification strategy to target patients who have the potential for significantly deeper responses.

In addition, at the ESMO Congress 2024, we announced updated Phase I/II clinical results for BT5528 in advanced solid tumors, including metastatic urothelial cancer and ovarian cancer, and updated Phase I/II clinical results for BT7480 in advanced solid tumors. In October 2024, first human imaging data for a BRC molecule targeting MT1-MMP was presented by the German Cancer Consortium, or DKTK, and we presented preclinical data about BRC molecules for radioisotope delivery to solid tumors at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, or EANM, 2024 Congress.

Beyond our wholly owned oncology portfolio, we are collaborating with biopharmaceutical companies and organizations in additional therapeutic areas in which we believe our proprietary Bicycle screening platform can identify therapies to treat diseases with significant unmet medical need.

Financial Overview

Since our inception, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to developing our Bicycle platform and our product candidates, conducting research and development of our product candidates and preclinical programs, raising capital and providing general and administrative support for our operations. To date, we have financed our operations primarily with proceeds from the sale of our equity securities; proceeds received from upfront payments, research and development payments, and development milestone payments from our collaboration agreements; and borrowings pursuant to a loan and security agreement, or the Loan Agreement, with Hercules Capital, Inc., or Hercules. From our inception in 2009 through March 31, 2025, we have received gross proceeds of $1.4 billion from the sale of our equity securities; and $236.6 million of cash payments under our collaboration arrangements, including $45.3 million from Bayer, $53.0 million from Novartis, $47.7 million from Ionis, and $56.0 million from Genentech. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales.

Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our ability to generate product revenue sufficient to achieve profitability will depend on the successful development and eventual commercialization of one or more of our product candidates. Our net losses were $60.8 million and $26.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $741.5 million. These losses have resulted primarily from costs incurred in connection with research and development activities and general and administrative costs associated with our operations. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future.

We anticipate that our expenses and capital requirements will increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance our product candidates into later-stage clinical trials and continue preclinical activities and clinical trials for our pipeline programs and, if any product candidates are approved, pursue the

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development programs because these costs are deployed across multiple product development programs and, as such, are not separately classified.

Through our subsidiaries in the U.K., we receive reimbursements of certain research and development expenditures as part of a U.K. government research and development tax reliefs program. For 2024, we benefitted from the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, or SME, R&D Tax Relief program, under which we were able to surrender trading losses that arose from qualifying research and development expenses incurred by our subsidiaries in the U.K. for a cash rebate of up to 26.97% of qualifying expenditure incurred as long as we qualified as “R&D intensive” (broadly, a loss-making SME whose relevant R&D expenditure represents, for 2024, 40% of its total expenditure for the accounting period). Such rebate percentage was increased from 18.6% of qualifying expenditure, retroactively applied to expenditures incurred after April 1, 2023, upon the enactment of the Finance Act 2024 in February 2024. For accounting periods beginning on or after April 1, 2024, the Finance Act 2024 replaced the legacy research and development expenditure credit and the SME R&D Tax Relief program with a merged research and development expenditure credit scheme, or RDEC, and an enhanced research and development intensive support scheme, or ERIS. Therefore, for 2025 we qualify for the ERIS scheme as it remains R&D intensive (for 2025, a loss-making SME whose relevant R&D expenditure represents 30% of its total expenditure for the accounting period). Going forward, if we no longer qualify as an R&D intensive SME during an accounting period, we will be subject to a single 20% gross rebate rate applying to all claims under the RDEC scheme.

For 2025 and beyond, the Finance Act 2024 also introduces restrictions (unless limited exceptions apply) on the tax relief that can be claimed for expenditures incurred on sub-contracted R&D activities or externally provided workers, where such sub-contracted activities are not carried out in the U.K. or such workers are not subject to U.K. payroll taxes. These restrictions may limit our ability to claim R&D tax credits for sub-contracted R&D in the future.

The U.K. research and development tax credit is fully refundable to us after surrendering tax losses and is not dependent on current or future taxable income. As a result, we have recorded the entire benefit from the U.K. research and development tax credit as a reduction to research and development expenses and is not reflected as part of the income tax provision. If, in the future, any U.K. research and development tax credits generated are needed to offset a corporate income tax liability in the U.K., that portion would be recorded as a benefit within the income tax provision and any refundable portion not dependent on taxable income would continue to be recorded as a reduction to research and development expenses.

Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect that our research and development expenses will continue to increase for the foreseeable future as a result of our expanded portfolio of product candidates and as we: (i) continue the clinical development and seek to obtain marketing approval for our product candidates; (ii) initiate clinical trials for our product candidates; and (iii) build our in-house process development and analytical capabilities and continue to discover and develop additional product candidates.

The successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain. As such, at this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and estimated costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the remainder of the development of these product candidates. We are also unable to predict when, if ever, material net cash inflows will commence from our product candidates. This is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing products, including the uncertainty of:

●

identifying new product candidates to add to our development pipeline, including expanding our pipeline of BRC molecules;

●

completing research and preclinical development of our product candidates;

●

establishing an appropriate safety profile with IND-enabling studies to advance our preclinical programs into clinical development;

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Results of Operations

Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 and 2024

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the periods presented:


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2025		2024		Change

	(in thousands)
Collaboration revenue	$	9,977	$	19,530	$	(9,553)
Operating expenses:
Research and development		59,058		34,864		24,194
General and administrative		21,123		16,382		4,741
Total operating expenses		80,181		51,246		28,935
Loss from operations		(70,204)		(31,716)		(38,488)
Other income (expense):
Interest and other income		8,414		5,624		2,790
Interest expense		(51)		(821)		770
Total other income, net		8,363		4,803		3,560
Net loss before income tax provision		(61,841)		(26,913)		(34,928)
Benefit from income taxes		(1,087)		(350)		(737)
Net loss	$	(60,754)	$	(26,563)	$	(34,191)

Collaboration Revenue

Collaboration revenue decreased by $9.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, due to decreases of $5.9 million from our collaboration with Ionis due to the completion of the combined licenses and research and discovery performance obligation in the second quarter of 2024, as well as $3.9 million from our collaboration with Genentech which was primarily due to the timing of revenue recognized upon the Genentech joint research committee’s decision to discontinue research activities for Collaboration Program #3 in the first quarter of 2024 and the notice of termination for Genentech Collaboration Program #4 in the first quarter of 2025.

Research and Development Expenses

The table below summarizes our research and development expenses for the periods presented:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025		2024		Change

	(in thousands)
Zelenectide pevedotin (Nectin‑4)	$	32,347	$	17,743	$	14,604
BT5528 (EphA2)		2,518		1,770		748
Bicycle tumor-targeted immune cell agonists		1,127		2,585		(1,458)
Discovery, platform and other expense		8,648		7,882		766
Employee and contractor related expenses		17,586		13,780		3,806
Share-based compensation		4,352		4,531		(179)
Facility expenses		1,787		1,918		(131)
Research and development incentives and government grants		(9,307)		(15,345)		6,038
Total research and development expenses	$	59,058	$	34,864	$	24,194

Research and development expenses increased by $24.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, due to increases of $14.6 million in clinical program expenses for zelenectide pevedotin primarily due to the ongoing Phase II/III Duravelo-2 registrational trial as well as the ongoing

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Phase I/II clinical trial assessing zelenectide pevedotin in patients with NECTIN4 amplified advanced breast cancer, which commenced recruiting patients in the first quarter of 2025, $6.0 million resulting from a decrease in research and development incentives due to the impact of U.K. R&D tax credit reimbursement rate changes which were enacted in the first quarter of 2024, retroactively applied to April 1, 2023, $3.8 million in employee and contractor related expenses primarily attributable to increased headcount, $0.8 million in discovery, platform and other expense and $0.7 million in BT5528 clinical program expenses. These increases were primarily offset by a decrease of $1.5 million in Bicycle TICA program development expenses due to the timing of clinical program activities.

We begin to separately track program expenses at candidate nomination, at which point we accumulate all direct external program costs to support that program to date. Through March 31, 2025, we have incurred approximately $189.0 million and $51.3 million of direct external expenses for the development of zelenectide pevedotin and BT5528, respectively, since their candidate nominations, and an aggregate of $50.4 million of direct external expenses for the development of two named Bicycle TICA candidates since their nominations.

General and Administrative Expenses

The table below summarizes our general and administrative expenses for the periods presented:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025		2024		Change

	(in thousands)
Personnel-related costs	$	7,050	$	5,716	$	1,334
Professional and consulting fees		6,428		3,970		2,458
Other general and administration costs		2,193		2,016		177
Share-based compensation		5,253		4,751		502
Effect of foreign exchange rates		199		(71)		270
Total general and administrative expenses	$	21,123	$	16,382	$	4,741

General and administrative expenses increased by $4.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. This increase is primarily due to increases of $2.5 million in professional and consulting fees primarily associated with increased legal and consulting fees to support our growth, $1.3 million in personnel-related costs as a result of increased headcount, and $0.5 million of incremental share-based compensation expense primarily associated with equity grants issued since the same period in the prior year.

Other Income, net

Other income, net increased by $3.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, which was primarily due to an increase in interest income of $2.8 million primarily related to higher average interest-bearing cash and cash equivalents balances period over period and a decrease in interest expense of $0.8 million due to the repayment and termination of the Loan Agreement in July 2024.

Benefit from Income Taxes

The benefit from income taxes of $1.1 million and $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, is mainly the result of deferred tax assets in the United States that do not have a valuation allowance against them because of profits that will be generated by an intercompany service agreement.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity

From our inception through March 31, 2025, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from our operations. We do not expect to generate significant revenue from sales of any products for several years, if at all.

To date, we have financed our operations primarily with proceeds from the sale of our ordinary shares, ADSs, non-voting ordinary shares and convertible preferred shares; proceeds received from upfront payments, payments for research and development services, and development milestone payments pursuant to collaboration agreements; and borrowings pursuant to our Loan Agreement with Hercules.

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our cash flows for each of the periods presented:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025		2024

	(in thousands)
Net cash used in operating activities	$	(86,370)	$	(70,869)
Net cash used in investing activities		(604)		(12)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities		(41)		1,871
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash		468		(416)
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	(86,547)	$	(69,426)

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $86.4 million as compared to $70.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase in cash used in operations of $15.5 million is primarily due to an increase in cash payments for clinical program activities, primarily related to the multiple ongoing clinical trials for zelenectide pevedotin, including for the ongoing Phase II/III registrational trial for zelenectide pevedotin in patients with untreated and previously treated metastatic urothelial cancer and the initiation of the Phase I/II clinical trial for zelenectide pevedotin in patients with NECTIN4 amplified advanced breast cancer.

Investing Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, we used $0.6 million and $12,000, respectively, of cash in investing activities for purchases of property and equipment, consisting primarily of laboratory equipment.

Financing Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2025, net cash used in financing activities was $41,000, primarily consisting of payments of finance lease obligations.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, net cash provided by financing activities was $1.9 million, primarily consisting of net proceeds of from the exercise of share options.

At-the-Market Program

On June 5, 2020, we entered into a Sales Agreement, or the Sales Agreement, with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., or the Sales Agents, with respect to an ATM program pursuant to which we may offer and sell through the Sales Agents, from time to time at our sole discretion, ADSs, each ADS representing one ordinary share. No ADSs were issued or sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement during the three months ended March 31, 2025.

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Capital Resources and Funding Requirements

Our material cash requirements include expenses associated with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance the preclinical activities and clinical trials of our product candidates and as we:

●

continue our development of our product candidates, including continuing current trials and conducting future clinical trials of zelenectide pevedotin, BT5528 and BT7480;

●

seek to identify and develop additional product candidates, including expanding our pipeline of BRC molecules;

●

develop the necessary processes, controls and manufacturing data to seek to obtain marketing approval for our product candidates and to support manufacturing of product to commercial scale;

●

develop, maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;

●

seek marketing approvals for any of our product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials, if any;

●

hire and retain additional personnel, such as non-clinical, clinical, pharmacovigilance, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, manufacturing, distribution, legal, compliance, medical affairs, finance, commercial and scientific personnel;

●

acquire or in-license other products and technologies;

●

expand our infrastructure and facilities to accommodate our growing employee base, including adding equipment and infrastructure to support our research and development; and

●

add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our research and development programs, any future commercialization efforts.

If we obtain marketing approval for any product candidate that we identify and develop, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution to the extent that such sales, marketing, and distribution are not the responsibility of our collaboration partners.

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of March 31, 2025, and the effects that such obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods. For additional information, see Note 11 to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report.


	Payments due by period
			Less than
	Total		1 year		1 to 3 years		3 years to 5 years

	(in thousands)
Operating lease commitments⁽¹⁾	$	8,635	$	5,924	$	2,711	$	—
Finance lease commitments		1,186		264		527		395
Total	$	9,821	$	6,188	$	3,238	$	395

(1)

Amounts reflect minimum payments due for our office and laboratory space leases. We have one office and laboratory lease in Cambridge, U.K. under an operating lease with a lease term through December 2026. We have two office and laboratory leases in Massachusetts, U.S. under operating leases with lease terms through March 2026 and December 2027.

In the ordinary course of business, we enter into various agreements with contract research organizations to provide clinical trial services, with contract manufacturing organizations to provide clinical trial materials, and with vendors for preclinical research studies, synthetic chemistry and other services for operating purposes. These payments

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●

the costs of operating as a public company.

Until such time, if ever, that we can generate product revenue sufficient to achieve profitability, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, monetization transactions, government contracts or other strategic transactions. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity, ownership interests of existing holders of our ADSs and ordinary shares will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares. If we raise additional funds through collaboration agreements, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements, monetization transactions, or marketing and distribution arrangements, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us or grant rights to develop and market products or product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. Future debt financing, if available, may involve covenants restricting our operations or our ability to incur additional debt. Any debt or equity financing that we raise may contain terms that are not favorable to us or our shareholders.

Recent global trade disruption, volatility in the capital markets and continued uncertainty may contribute to a general global economic slowdown or recession. The resulting high inflation rates may materially affect our business and corresponding financial position and cash flows. Inflationary factors, such as increases in the cost of our clinical trial materials and supplies, interest rates and overhead costs may adversely affect our operating results. High interest rates also present a recent challenge impacting the U.S. economy and could make it more difficult for us to obtain traditional financing on acceptable terms, if at all, in the future. Additionally, the general consensus among economists suggests that we should expect a higher recession risk to continue over the next year, which, together with the foregoing, could result in further economic uncertainty and volatility in the capital markets in the near term, and could negatively affect our operations. Furthermore, such economic conditions have produced downward pressure on share prices. Although we do not believe that inflation has had a material impact on our financial position or results of operations to date, we may experience increases in the near future (especially if inflation rates remain high or begin to rise again) on our operating costs, including our labor costs and research and development costs, due to supply chain constraints, consequences associated with geopolitical conflicts such as the ongoing wars involving Ukraine and Israel, worsening global macroeconomic conditions, including those resulting from changes in global trade policies, which may result in additional stress on our working capital resources. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce, or eliminate our research and development programs or future commercialization efforts.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures requires us to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses, and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our critical accounting policies are described under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Estimates” in our 2024 Annual Report, which was filed with the SEC on February 25, 2025. If actual results or events differ materially from the estimates, judgments and assumptions used by us in applying these policies, our reported financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected. Other than as disclosed in Note 2 to the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report, there have been no significant changes to our critical accounting estimates from those described in our 2024 Annual Report.

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk

Interest Rate Sensitivity

As of March 31, 2025, we had cash and cash equivalents of $793.0 million. Our exposure to interest rate sensitivity is impacted by changes in the underlying U.K. and U.S. bank interest and treasury rates. Our surplus cash has been invested in money market funds that invest primarily in U.S. Treasury obligations and fully collateralized repurchase obligations and that maintain a constant net asset value. We have not entered into investments for trading or speculative purposes. Due to the conservative nature of our investment portfolio, which is predicated on capital preservation of investments with short-term maturities, we do not believe an immediate one percentage point change in interest rates would have a material effect on the fair market value of our portfolio. Our earnings would be affected by changes in interest rates due to the impact those changes have on interest income generated from our cash and cash equivalents. We believe we have minimal interest rate risk as a one percentage point change in the average interest rate on our portfolio would not have a material effect on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

The functional currency is the currency of the primary economic environment in which an entity’s operations are conducted. The functional currency of Bicycle Therapeutics plc and Bicycle Therapeutics Inc. is the United States Dollar, or USD. The functional currency of Bicycle Therapeutics plc’s wholly owned non-U.S. subsidiaries, BicycleTx Limited and BicycleRD Limited, is the British Pound Sterling, and the condensed consolidated financial statements are presented in USD. The functional currency of our subsidiaries is the same as the local currency.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are remeasured into the functional currency at rates of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet dates. Non-monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are remeasured into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing at the date of the transaction. Exchange gains or losses arising from foreign currency transactions are included in the determination of net loss for the respective periods. Adjustments that arise from exchange rate changes on transactions denominated in a currency other than the local currency are included in general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as incurred. We recorded a foreign exchange loss of $0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and a foreign exchange gain of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

For financial reporting purposes, our condensed consolidated financial statements have been translated into USD. We translate the assets and liabilities of BicycleTx Limited and BicycleRD Limited into USD at the exchange rate in effect on the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at the average exchange rate in effect during the period and shareholders’ equity amounts are translated based on historical exchange rates as of the date of each transaction. Translation adjustments are not included in determining net loss but are included in our foreign exchange adjustment included in the condensed consolidated statements of shareholders’ equity as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

We do not currently engage in currency hedging activities in order to reduce our currency exposure, but we may begin to do so in the future.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As required by Rule 13a-15(d) of the Exchange Act, our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, conducted an evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting to determine whether any changes occurred during the period covered by this Quarterly Report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Based on the evaluation of our

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seek to discover and develop additional product candidates and further expand our clinical product pipeline;

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seek marketing and regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;

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require the manufacture of larger quantities of product candidates for clinical development and, potentially, commercialization;

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maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;

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expand our research and development infrastructure, including hiring and retaining additional personnel, such as clinical, quality control and scientific personnel;

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establish sales, marketing, distribution and other commercial infrastructure in the future to commercialize products for which we obtain marketing approval, if any;

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add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our product development and commercialization and help us comply with our obligations as a public company; and

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add equipment and physical infrastructure to support our research and development.

Our ability to become and remain profitable depends on our ability to generate revenue. Generating product revenue will depend on our or any of our collaborators’ ability to obtain marketing approval for, and successfully commercialize, one or more of our product candidates. Successful commercialization will require achievement of key milestones, including completing clinical trials of our product candidates, obtaining marketing approval for these product candidates, manufacturing, marketing and selling those products for which we, or any of our collaborators, may obtain marketing approval, satisfying any post-marketing requirements and obtaining reimbursement for our products from private insurance or government payors. Because of the uncertainties and risks associated with these activities, we are unable to accurately predict the timing and amount of revenues, and if or when we might achieve profitability. We and any collaborators may never succeed in these activities and, even if we do, or any collaborators do, we may never generate revenues that are large enough for us to achieve profitability. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.

Our revenue to date has been primarily generated from our research collaborations with Bayer Consumer Care AG, or Bayer, Novartis Pharma AG, or Novartis, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Ionis, and Genentech Inc., or Genentech. There can be no assurance that we will generate revenue from our collaborations in the future.

Our failure to become and remain profitable would depress the market price of our ADSs and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our product offerings or continue our operations. If we continue to suffer losses, investors may not receive any return on their investment and may lose their entire investment.

Our limited operating history may make it difficult for holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability.

Our business commenced operations in 2009. Our operations to date have been limited to financing and staffing our company, developing our technology, conducting preclinical research and early-stage clinical trials for our product candidates and pursuing strategic collaborations to advance our product candidates. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully conduct late-stage clinical trials, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial-scale product, or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Accordingly, any current or prospective holder of our ADSs or ordinary shares should consider our prospects in light of the costs, uncertainties, delays and difficulties frequently encountered by

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companies in the early stages of development, especially clinical-stage pharmaceutical companies such as ours. Any predictions made about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they would be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products.

We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known or unknown factors in achieving our business objectives. We will eventually need to transition from a company with a development focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition.

We expect our financial condition and operating results to continue to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control and reliance should not be made upon the results of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance.

We may need substantial additional funding, and if we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our product discovery and development programs or commercialization efforts.

Developing pharmaceutical products, including conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, is a very time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete. We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we initiate new clinical trials of, initiate new research and preclinical development efforts for and seek marketing approval for, our current product candidates or any future product candidates. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we may incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution to the extent that such sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution are not the responsibility of a collaborator. Furthermore, we expect to incur significant ongoing costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we may be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our research and development programs or any future commercialization efforts.

We will be required to expend significant funds in order to advance the development of the product candidates in our pipeline, as well as other product candidates we may seek to develop. In addition, while we may seek one or more collaborators for future development of our product candidates, we may not be able to enter into a collaboration for any of our product candidates for such indications on suitable terms, on a timely basis or at all. In any event, our existing cash will not be sufficient to fund all of the efforts that we plan to undertake or to fund the completion of development of any of our product candidates. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources. We do not have any committed external source of funds. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents of $793.0 million as of March 31, 2025, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least 12 months from the date of filing of this Quarterly Report. Our estimate may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Further, changing circumstances, some of which may be beyond our control, could cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. Our future funding requirements, both short-term and long-term, will depend on many factors, including:

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the scope, progress, timing, costs and results of clinical trials of, and research and preclinical development efforts for, our current and future product candidates;

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our ability to enter into, and the terms and timing of, any collaborations, licensing or other arrangements;

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our ability to identify one or more future product candidates for our pipeline;

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the number of future product candidates that we pursue and their development requirements;

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the outcome, timing and costs of seeking regulatory approvals;

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the costs of commercialization activities for any of our product candidates that receive marketing approval to the extent such costs are not the responsibility of any collaborators, including the costs and timing of establishing product sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities;

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subject to receipt of marketing approval, revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our current and future product candidates;

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our headcount growth and associated costs as we expand our research and development and establish a commercial infrastructure;

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the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and protecting our intellectual property rights including enforcing and defending intellectual property related claims; and

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the costs of operating as a public company.

While the long-term economic impact of public health crises, geographical tensions and wars, such as the ongoing wars involving Ukraine and Israel, and worsening global macroeconomic conditions, including from recent changes to global trade policies, is difficult to assess or predict, these events have caused or may cause significant disruptions to the global financial markets and have contributed or may contribute to a general global economic slowdown. Furthermore, inflation rates, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, have increased to levels not seen in decades. Increased inflation may result in increased operating costs (including labor costs) and may affect our operating budgets. In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve has raised, and may further raise, interest rates in response to concerns about inflation. Increases in interest rates, especially if coupled with reduced government spending and volatility in financial markets and the global banking system, may further increase economic uncertainty and heighten these risks.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing shareholders or holders of our ADSs, restrict our operations or cause us to relinquish valuable rights.

We may seek additional capital through a combination of public and private equity offerings, debt financings, strategic partnerships and alliances, licensing arrangements or monetization transactions. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity, convertible debt securities or other equity-based derivative securities, the ownership interest of existing holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares will be diluted and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect existing holders’ rights. Any indebtedness we incur would result in increased fixed payment obligations and could involve restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Furthermore, the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our ADSs to decline and existing shareholders may not agree with our financing plans or the terms of such financings. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships and alliances, licensing arrangements or monetization transactions with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, or our product candidates, or grant licenses on terms unfavorable to us. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

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Risks Related to the Discovery, Development and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates

We are substantially dependent on the success of our internal development programs and of our product candidates from our BDC and Bicycle TICA programs, which may not successfully complete clinical trials, receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized.

Our future success will depend heavily on the success of our internal development programs and of product candidates from our BDC and Bicycle TICA programs.

Within our BDC programs, we are evaluating zelenectide pevedotin, formerly BT8009, a BDC molecule that targets Nectin-4 and carries a monomethyl auristatin E, or MMAE, cytotoxin payload, in an ongoing company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial to assess safety, pharmacokinetics and clinical activity in patients with Nectin-4 expressing advanced malignancies, an ongoing Phase II/III registrational trial called Duravelo-2 in patients with untreated and previously treated metastatic urothelial cancer, and an ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial to assess zelenectide pevedotin in patients with NECTIN4 amplified advanced breast cancer. We are also evaluating BT5528, a BDC molecule that targets Ephrin type-A receptor 2, or EphA2 and carries a MMAE cytotoxin payload, in an ongoing, company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial to assess safety, pharmacokinetics and preliminary clinical activity of the molecule in advanced solid tumors historically associated with EphA2 expression. In addition, we are evaluating BT7480, a Bicycle TICA molecule targeting Nectin-4 and agonizing CD137, in a company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trial to assess the safety and tolerability of BT7480, and to determine a recommended Phase II dose. There can be no assurance our BDC molecules or Bicycle TICA molecules will ever demonstrate evidence of safety or effectiveness for any use or receive regulatory approval in the United States, the European Union, or any other country in any indication. Even if clinical trials show positive results, there can be no assurance that the FDA in the United States, or the European Commission, whose decision is based on an opinion from the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in Europe or similar regulatory authorities will approve our BDC molecules or any of our other product candidates for any given indication for several potential reasons, including the failure to follow Good Clinical Practice, or GCP, a negative assessment of the risks and benefits, insufficient product quality control and standardization, failure to have Good Manufacturing Practices, or GMP, compliant manufacturing facilities, or the failure to agree with regulatory authorities on clinical endpoints.

Our ability to successfully commercialize our BDC molecules, Bicycle TICA molecules, and our other product candidates will depend on, among other things, our ability to:

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successfully complete preclinical studies and clinical trials, which may be delayed;

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receive regulatory approvals from the FDA, the European Commission based on an opinion from the EMA and other similar regulatory authorities;

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establish and maintain collaborations with third parties for the development and/or commercialization of our product candidates, or otherwise build and maintain strong development, sales, distribution and marketing capabilities that are sufficient to develop products and launch commercial sales of any approved products;

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obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from payors such as government health care systems and insurance companies and achieve commercially attractive levels of pricing;

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secure acceptance of our product candidates from physicians, health care payors, patients and the medical community;

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produce, through a validated process, in manufacturing facilities inspected and approved by regulatory authorities, including the FDA, sufficiently large quantities of our product candidates to permit successful commercialization;

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manage our spending as expenses increase due to clinical trials and commercialization; and

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obtain and enforce sufficient intellectual property rights for any approved products and product candidates and maintain freedom to operate for such products with respect to the intellectual property rights of third parties.

Of the large number of drugs in development in the pharmaceutical industry, only a small percentage result in the submission of a new drug application, or NDA, to the FDA or comparable foreign applications to competent regulatory authorities abroad, and even fewer are approved for commercialization. Furthermore, even if we do receive regulatory approval to market our product candidates, any such approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses or patient populations for which we may market the product. Accordingly, even if we are able to obtain the requisite financing to continue to fund our development programs, we cannot provide assurance that our product candidates will be successfully developed or commercialized. If we are unable to develop, or obtain regulatory approval for, or, if approved, to successfully commercialize our product candidates, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to continue our business.

In addition, the policies of the FDA, the competent authorities of the EU Member States, the EMA, the European Commission and other comparable regulatory authorities responsible for clinical trials may change and additional government regulations may be enacted. For instance, the regulatory landscape related to clinical trials in the EU recently evolved. The EU Clinical Trials Regulation, or CTR, which was adopted in April 2014 and repeals the EU Clinical Trials Directive, became applicable on January 31, 2022. The CTR allows sponsors to make a single submission to both the competent authority and an ethics committee in each EU Member State, leading to a single decision for each EU Member State. The assessment procedure for the authorization of clinical trials has been harmonized as well, including a joint assessment by all EU Member States concerned, and a separate assessment by each EU Member State with respect to specific requirements related to its own territory, including ethics rules. Each EU Member State’s decision is communicated to the sponsor via the centralized EU portal. Once the clinical trial is approved, clinical study development may proceed. The CTR foresees a three-year transition period. The extent to which ongoing and new clinical trials will be governed by the CTR varies. For clinical trials in relation to which application for approval was made on the basis of the Clinical Trials Directive before January 31, 2023, the Clinical Trials Directive continued to apply on a transitional basis until January 31, 2025, by which date, all ongoing trials under the Clinical Trials Directive became subject to the provisions of the CTR and all new trials since January 31, 2023 have been subject to the CTR. Compliance with the CTR requirements by us and our third-party service providers, such as CROs, may impact our developments plans.

In addition, on April 26, 2023, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Directive and Regulation to revise the existing pharmaceutical legislation. The proposed revisions remain to be agreed and adopted by the European Council. Moreover, on December 1, 2024, a new European Commission took office. The proposal could, therefore, still be subject to revisions. If adopted in the form proposed, the recent European Commission proposals to revise the existing EU laws governing authorization of medicinal products may result in a decrease in data and market exclusivity opportunities for our product candidates in the EU and make them open to generic or biosimilar competition earlier than is currently the case with a related reduction in reimbursement status.

The U.K.’s regulatory framework in relation to clinical trials is derived from existing legislation of the EU (as implemented into the law of the U.K., through secondary legislation). On January 17, 2022, the MHRA launched an eight-week consultation on reframing the U.K.’s legislation for clinical trials. The U.K.’s government published its response to the consultation on March 21, 2023 confirming that it would bring forward changes to the legislation. These changes were laid before parliament on December 12, 2024 and if adopted will bring the U.K. into closer alignment with the EU.

If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, our development plans may be impacted.

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We are at an early stage in our development efforts, and our product candidates and those of our collaborators represent a new category of medicines and may be subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny until they are established as a therapeutic modality.

Bicycle molecules are fully synthetic short peptides constrained to form two loops which stabilize their structural geometry. This constraint facilitates target binding with high affinity and selectivity, making Bicycle molecules attractive candidates for drug development. Bicycle molecules are a unique therapeutic modality combining the pharmacology usually associated with a biologic with the manufacturing and pharmacokinetic, or PK, properties of a small molecule. Our product candidates may not demonstrate in patients any or all of the pharmacological benefits we believe they may possess. We have not yet succeeded and may never succeed in demonstrating efficacy and safety for these or any other product candidates in clinical trials or in obtaining marketing approval thereafter.

Regulatory authorities have limited experience with Bicycle molecules and may require evidence of safety and efficacy that goes beyond what we and our collaborators have included in our development plans. In such a case, development of Bicycle product candidates may be more costly or time-consuming than expected, and our candidate products and those of our collaboration partners may not prove to be viable.

If we are unsuccessful in our development efforts, we may not be able to advance the development of our product candidates, commercialize products, raise capital, expand our business or continue our operations.

Our product candidates and those of our collaborators will need to undergo preclinical and clinical trials that are time consuming and expensive, the outcomes of which are unpredictable, and for which there is a high risk of failure. If preclinical or clinical trials of our or their product candidates fail to satisfactorily demonstrate safety and efficacy to the FDA, the EMA and the European Commission and any other comparable regulatory authority, additional costs may be incurred or delays experienced in completing, the development of these product candidates, or their development may be abandoned.

The FDA in the United States, the European Commission based on a positive opinion from the EMA, or national competent regulatory authorities in the European Economic Area, or EEA, countries and any other comparable regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions must approve product candidates before they can be marketed, promoted or sold in those territories. We have not previously submitted an NDA to the FDA or similar drug approval filings to comparable foreign regulatory authorities for any of our product candidates. We must provide these regulatory authorities with data from preclinical studies and clinical trials that demonstrate that our product candidates are safe and effective for a specific indication before they can be approved for commercial distribution. We cannot be certain that our clinical trials for our product candidates will be successful or that any of our other product candidates will receive approval from the FDA, the European Commission based on a positive opinion from the EMA or any other comparable regulatory authority.

Preclinical studies and clinical trials are long, expensive and unpredictable processes that can be subject to extensive delays. We cannot guarantee that any clinical trials will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. It may take several years and require significant expenditures to complete the preclinical studies and clinical trials necessary to commercialize a product candidate, and delays or failure are inherently unpredictable and can occur at any stage. New or ongoing public health crises may also impact our and our collaboration partners’ abilities to activate trial sites or enroll patients in clinical trials or to otherwise advance those clinical trials. Interruptions resulting from such crises may reduce our, or our collaboration partners’, abilities to administer the investigational product to enrolled patients, present difficulties for enrolled patients to adhere to protocol-mandated visits and laboratory/diagnostic testing, increase the possibility of patient dropouts, or impact our, and our suppliers’, abilities to provide investigational product to trial sites, all of which could negatively impact the data we are able to obtain from our clinical trials and complicate regulatory review.

We may also be required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates beyond the trials and testing that we contemplate, which may lead to us incurring additional unplanned costs or result in delays in clinical development. In addition, we may be required to redesign or otherwise modify our plans with respect to an ongoing or planned clinical trial, and changing the design of a clinical trial can be expensive and time consuming. An

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unfavorable outcome in one or more trials would be a major setback for our product candidates and for us. An unfavorable outcome in one or more trials may require us to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more product development programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and future growth prospects.

Many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval for our product candidates. The FDA, EMA or the European Commission or any other comparable regulatory authority may disagree with our clinical trial design and our interpretation of data from clinical trials or may change the requirements for approval even after it has reviewed and commented on the design for our clinical trials.

In connection with clinical trials of our product candidates, we face a number of risks, including risks that:

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a product candidate is ineffective, inferior or a rigorous comparison cannot be made to existing approved products for the same indications;

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a product candidate causes or is associated with unacceptable toxicity or has unacceptable side effects;

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patients may die or suffer adverse effects for reasons that may or may not be related to the product candidate being tested;

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the results may not confirm the positive results of earlier trials;

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the results may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA, the EMA or the European Commission or other relevant regulatory authorities to establish the safety and efficacy of our product candidates for continued trial or marketing approval; and

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our collaborators may be unable or unwilling to perform under their contracts.

Furthermore, we sometimes estimate for planning purposes the timing of the accomplishment of various scientific, clinical, regulatory and other product development objectives. These milestones may include our expectations regarding the commencement or completion of scientific studies, clinical trials, the submission of regulatory filings or commercialization objectives. From time to time, we may publicly announce the expected timing of some of these milestones, such as the completion of an ongoing clinical trial, the initiation of other clinical programs, the receipt of marketing approval or a commercial launch of a product. The achievement of many of these milestones may be outside of our control. All of these milestones are based on a variety of assumptions, which may cause the timing of achievement of the milestones to vary considerably from our estimates. If we fail to achieve milestones in the timeframes we expect, the commercialization of our product candidates may be delayed, we may not be entitled to receive certain contractual payments, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and future growth prospects.

We may find it difficult to enroll patients in our clinical trials, which could delay or prevent us from proceeding with clinical trials of our product candidates.

Identifying and qualifying patients to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates is critical to our success. The timing of our clinical trials depends on our ability to recruit patients to participate as well as the completion of required follow-up periods. Patients may be unwilling to participate in our clinical trials because of negative publicity from adverse events related to novel therapeutic approaches, competitive clinical trials for similar patient populations, the existence of current treatments or for other reasons. Enrollment risks are heightened with respect to certain indications that we may target for one or more of our product candidates that may be rare diseases, which may limit the pool of patients that may be enrolled in our planned clinical trials. The timeline for recruiting patients, conducting trials and obtaining regulatory approval of our product candidates may be delayed, which could result in increased costs, delays in advancing our product candidates, delays in testing the effectiveness of our product candidates or termination of the clinical trials altogether.

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If we have difficulty enrolling a sufficient number of patients to conduct our clinical trials as planned, we may need to delay, limit or terminate ongoing or planned clinical trials, any of which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be predictive of results of future clinical trials.

The outcome of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and preliminary or interim results of clinical trials do not necessarily predict success in the results of completed clinical trials. Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in earlier development, and we could face similar setbacks. For example, our company-sponsored Phase I/II clinical trials of zelenectide pevedotin, BT5528 and BT7480 are ongoing, and the interim results of these trials, including specific patient responses we have observed and disclosed, may not be replicated in the completed data sets or in future trials at global clinical trial sites in a later stage clinical trial conducted by us or our collaborators. The design of a clinical trial can determine whether its results will support approval of a product and flaws in the design of a clinical trial may not become apparent until the clinical trial is well advanced. While we aligned with the FDA on the design of a Phase II/III registrational trial for zelenectide pevedotin, called Duravelo-2, which is currently enrolling, we otherwise have limited experience in designing clinical trials and may be unable to design and execute a clinical trial to support marketing approval.

Preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. Many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval for the product candidates. Even if we, or any collaborators, believe that the results of clinical trials for our product candidates warrant marketing approval, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree and may not grant marketing approval of our product candidates.

In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, our ability to enroll trial participants, changes in and adherence to the dosing regimen and other clinical trial protocols and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants. If we fail to receive positive results in clinical trials of our product candidates, the development timeline and regulatory approval and commercialization prospects for our most advanced product candidates, and, correspondingly, our business and financial prospects would be negatively impacted.

Failure to successfully validate, develop and obtain regulatory approval for companion diagnostics could harm our drug development strategy.

We may employ companion diagnostics to help us more accurately identify patients within a particular subset, both during our clinical trials and in connection with the commercialization of our product candidates that we are developing or may in the future develop. Companion diagnostics are subject to regulation by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities as medical devices and require separate regulatory approval or certification prior to commercialization. We do not develop companion diagnostics internally and thus we will be dependent on the sustained cooperation and effort of our third-party collaborators in developing and obtaining approval or certification for these companion diagnostics. There can be no guarantees that we will successfully find a suitable collaborator to develop companion diagnostics. We and our collaborators may encounter difficulties in developing and obtaining approval or certification for the companion diagnostics, including issues relating to selectivity/specificity, analytical validation, reproducibility, or clinical validation. Any delay or failure by our collaborators to develop or obtain regulatory approval or certification of the companion diagnostics could delay or prevent approval of our product candidates. In addition, our collaborators may encounter production difficulties that could constrain the supply of the companion diagnostics, and both they and we may have difficulties gaining acceptance of the use of the companion diagnostics in the clinical community or difficulties obtaining insurance coverage and reimbursement from private insurance or government payors. If such companion diagnostics fail to gain market acceptance, our ability to derive revenues from sales of any products, if approved, will be adversely affected. In addition, the diagnostic company with whom we contract may decide to discontinue selling or manufacturing the companion diagnostic that we anticipate using in connection with development and commercialization of our product candidates or our relationship with such diagnostic company may

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otherwise terminate. We may not be able to enter into arrangements with another diagnostic company to obtain supplies of an alternative diagnostic test for use in connection with the development and commercialization of our product candidates or do so on commercially reasonable terms, which could adversely affect and/or delay the development or commercialization of our product candidates.

Our current or future product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties when used alone or in combination with other approved products or investigational new drugs that could halt their clinical development, prevent their marketing approval, limit their commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences.

Undesirable or clinically unmanageable side effects could occur and cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of marketing approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Results of our trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or unexpected characteristics. If unacceptable side effect profiles arise, or side effects beyond those identified to date develop or worsen, as we continue development of our current or future product candidates, we, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, the Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, or independent ethics committees at the institutions in which our studies are conducted, or Safety Review Committees could suspend or terminate our clinical trials or the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease clinical trials or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Treatment-related side effects could also affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial, cause delays in ongoing clinical trials, or result in potential product liability claims. In addition, these side effects may not be appropriately recognized or managed by the treating medical staff. We may be required to train medical personnel using our product candidates to understand the side effect profiles for our clinical trials and upon any commercialization of any of our product candidates. Inadequate training in recognizing or managing the potential side effects of our product candidates could result in patient injury or death. Any of these occurrences may prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product candidate and may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.

Three of our product candidates are currently undergoing safety testing in the form of Phase I/II or Phase II/III clinical trials. None of our products have completed this testing to date. While our current and future product candidates will undergo safety testing to the extent possible and, where applicable, under such conditions discussed with regulatory authorities, not all adverse effects of drugs can be predicted or anticipated. Unforeseen side effects could arise either during clinical development or, if such side effects are rarer, after our products have been approved by regulatory authorities and the approved product has been marketed, resulting in the exposure of additional patients. So far, we have not demonstrated, and we cannot predict if ongoing or future clinical trials will demonstrate, that zelenectide pevedotin, BT5528, BT7480, or any other of our product candidates are safe in humans.

Moreover, clinical trials of our product candidates are conducted in carefully defined sets of patients who have agreed to enter into clinical trials. Consequently, it is possible that our clinical trials may indicate an apparent positive effect of a product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect, if any, or alternatively fail to identify undesirable side effects. If, following approval of a product candidate, we, or others, discover that the product is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, any of the following consequences could occur:

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regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval of the product or seize the product;

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we, or any collaborators, may need to recall the product, or be required to change the way the product is administered or conduct additional clinical trials;

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additional restrictions may be imposed on the marketing of, or the manufacturing processes for, the particular product;

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we may be subject to fines, injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties;

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regulatory authorities may require the addition of labeling statements, such as a boxed warning or a contraindication;

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we, or any collaborators, may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of the previously unidentified side effects for distribution to patients;

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we, or any collaborators, could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients;

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the product may become less competitive; and

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our reputation may suffer.

If any of our current or future product candidates fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical trials or do not gain marketing approval, we will not be able to generate revenue and our business will be harmed. Any of these events could harm our business and operations, and could negatively impact the price of our ADSs.

We may be delayed or may not be successful in our efforts to identify or discover additional product candidates.

Although we intend to utilize our Bicycle screening platform to explore other therapeutic opportunities in addition to the product candidates that we are currently developing, we may fail to identify other product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons. For example, our research methodology may not be successful in identifying potential product candidates or those we identify may be shown to have harmful side effects or other characteristics that make them unmarketable or unlikely to receive regulatory approval. A key part of our strategy is to utilize our screening technology to identify product candidates to pursue in clinical development. Such product candidates will require additional, time-consuming development efforts prior to commercial sale, including preclinical studies, clinical trials and approval by the FDA and/or applicable foreign regulatory authorities. All product candidates are prone to the risks of failure that are inherent in pharmaceutical product development. If we fail to identify and develop additional potential product candidates, we may be unable to grow our business and our results of operations could be materially harmed.

We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular development strategy, product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on strategies, product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

In August 2024, we focused our research and development pipeline on clinical programs and research areas that we believe have the highest potential to maximize value creation and we consolidated all discovery research activities to our headquarters in Cambridge, U.K. Moving forward, we will prioritize the clinical development of BDC molecules in multiple tumor types and focus our near-term research efforts on advancing our BRC pipeline and the discovery of next-generation BDC molecules. Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we intend to focus on developing product candidates for specific indications that we identify as most likely to succeed, in terms of both their potential for marketing approval and commercialization. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that may prove to have greater commercial potential.

Our recent resource allocation decisions, and those we may make in the future, may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable product candidates. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to the product candidate.

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We face potential product liability, and, if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability and costs. If the use of our product candidates harms patients, or is perceived to harm patients even when such harm is unrelated to our product candidates, our regulatory approvals could be revoked or otherwise negatively impacted and we could be subject to costly and damaging product liability claims.

The use of our product candidates in clinical trials and the sale of any products for which we obtain marketing approval expose us to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability claims might be brought against us by patients, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products. There is a risk that our product candidates may induce adverse events. If we cannot successfully defend against product liability claims, we could incur substantial liability and costs. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

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the impairment of our business reputation;

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the withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

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substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;

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costs due to related litigation;

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the distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;

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the inability to commercialize our product candidates; and

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decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale.

We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. We intend to expand our insurance coverage each time we commercialize an additional product; however, we may be unable to obtain product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or in adequate amounts. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits based on drugs or medical treatments that had unanticipated adverse effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our ADS price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could adversely affect our results of operations and business.

Patients with the diseases targeted by certain of our product candidates, such as our lead indications in oncology, are often already in severe and advanced stages of disease and have both known and unknown significant pre-existing and potentially life-threatening health risks. During the course of treatment, patients may suffer adverse events, including death, for reasons that may be related to our product candidates. Such events could subject us to costly litigation, require us to pay substantial amounts of money to injured patients, delay, negatively impact or end our opportunity to receive or maintain regulatory approval to market our products, or require us to suspend or abandon our commercialization efforts. Even in a circumstance in which we do not believe that an adverse event is related to our products, the investigation into the circumstance may be time-consuming or inconclusive. These investigations may interrupt our sales efforts, delay our regulatory approval process, or impact and limit the type of regulatory approvals our product candidates receive or maintain. As a result of these factors, a product liability claim, even if successfully defended, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We may seek designations for our product candidates with the FDA and other comparable regulatory authorities that are intended to confer benefits such as a faster development process or an accelerated regulatory pathway, but there can be no assurance that we will successfully obtain such designations. In addition, even if one or more of our product candidates are granted such designations, we may not be able to realize the intended benefits of such designations.

The FDA and other comparable regulatory authorities offer certain designations for product candidates that are intended to encourage the research and development of pharmaceutical products addressing conditions with significant

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unmet medical need. These designations may confer benefits such as additional interaction with regulatory authorities, a potentially accelerated regulatory pathway and priority review. There can be no assurance that we will successfully obtain such designation for any of our other product candidates. In addition, while such designations could expedite the development or approval process, they generally do not change the standards for approval. Even if we obtain such designations for one or more of our product candidates, there can be no assurance that we will realize their intended benefits.

For example, we may seek a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for one or more of our product candidates. A breakthrough therapy is defined as a therapy that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other therapies, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, if preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the therapy may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. For therapies that have been designated as breakthrough therapies, interaction and communication between the FDA and the sponsor of the trial can help to identify the most efficient path for clinical development while minimizing the number of patients placed in ineffective control regimens. Therapies designated as breakthrough therapies by the FDA are also eligible for accelerated approval. Designation as a breakthrough therapy is within the discretion of the FDA. Accordingly, even if we believe one of our product candidates meets the criteria for designation as a breakthrough therapy, the FDA may disagree and instead determine not to make such designation. In any event, the receipt of a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for a product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to therapies considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and does not assure ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, even if one or more of our product candidates qualify as breakthrough therapies, the FDA may later decide that such product candidates no longer meet the conditions for qualification.

We may also seek Fast Track Designation for some of our product candidates. If a therapy is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and the therapy demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for this condition, the therapy sponsor may apply for Fast Track Designation. The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant this designation, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for this designation, there can be no assurance that the FDA would decide to grant it. Even if we do receive Fast Track Designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures, and receiving a Fast Track Designation does not provide assurance of ultimate FDA approval. The FDA may withdraw Fast Track Designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program. The EMA has a similar program called PRIME.

We may seek priority review designation for one or more of our product candidates, but we might not receive such designation, and even if we do, such designation may not lead to a faster regulatory review or approval process.

If the FDA determines that a product candidate offers a treatment for a serious condition and, if approved, the product would provide a significant improvement in safety or effectiveness, the FDA may designate the product candidate for priority review. A priority review designation means that the goal for the FDA to review an application is six months, rather than the standard review period of ten months. We may request priority review for our product candidates. The FDA has broad discretion with respect to whether or not to grant priority review status to a product candidate, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for such designation or status, in particular if such product candidate has received a Breakthrough Therapy Designation, the FDA may decide not to grant it. Moreover, a priority review designation does not result in expedited development and does not necessarily result in expedited regulatory review or approval process or necessarily confer any advantage with respect to approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. Receiving priority review from the FDA does not guarantee approval within the six-month review cycle or at all.

Obtaining and maintaining marketing approval of our current and future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining marketing approval of our current and future product candidates in other jurisdictions.

Obtaining and maintaining marketing approval of our current and future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain marketing approval in any other jurisdiction, while a failure

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or delay in obtaining marketing approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the marketing approval process in others. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval of a product candidate, comparable regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the product candidate in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the United States, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials as clinical studies conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval. We do not have experience in obtaining reimbursement or pricing approvals in international markets.

Obtaining marketing approvals and compliance with regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries outside of the United States. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our product candidates will be harmed.

Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by layoffs, funding shortages or global health concerns could negatively impact our business.

The ability of the FDA to review proposed clinical trials or approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, statutory, regulatory, and policy changes, the FDA’s ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept payment of user fees, and other events that may otherwise affect the FDA’s ability to perform routine functions. In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, including executive and congressional priorities, the impacts of which are inherently fluid and unpredictable. Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may slow the time necessary for new product candidates to be reviewed and/or approved, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, including for 35 days beginning on December 22, 2018, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical FDA employees and stop critical activities. In addition, the current administration has proposed substantial reductions in force at various government agencies including the FDA, which could significantly reduce the FDA’s capacity to perform its functions in a manner consistent with its past practices and could delay reviews and negatively impact our business.

The withdrawal of the U.K. from the EU, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” may adversely impact our ability to obtain regulatory approvals of our product candidates in the EU, result in restrictions or imposition of taxes and duties for importing our product candidates into the EU, and may require us to incur additional expenses in order to develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates in the EU.

Following Brexit, the U.K. and the EU signed a EU-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement, or TCA, which became provisionally applicable on January 1, 2021, and entered into force on May 1, 2021. The TCA primarily focuses on ensuring free trade between the EU and the U.K. in relation to goods, including medicinal products. Among the changes that have occurred are that the U.K. is treated as a “third country,” a country that is not a member of the EU and whose citizens do not enjoy the EU right to free movement. Northern Ireland continues to follow certain limited EU regulatory rules, including in relation to medical devices, but not in relation to medicinal products. As part of the TCA, the EU and the U.K. recognize GMP inspections carried out by the other party and the acceptance of official GMP documents issued by the other party. The TCA also encourages, although it does not oblige, the parties to consult one another on proposals to introduce significant changes to technical regulations or inspection procedures. Among the areas of absence of mutual recognition are batch testing and batch release. The U.K. has unilaterally agreed to accept EU batch testing and batch release. However, the EU continues to apply EU laws that require batch testing and batch release to take place in the EU territory. This means that medicinal products that are tested and released in the U.K. must be retested and re-released when entering the EU market for commercial use.

On February 27, 2023, the U.K. government and the European Commission reached a political agreement on the so-called “Windsor Framework.” The Windsor Framework is intended to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol to address some of the perceived shortcomings in its operation. The agreement was adopted at the Withdrawal Agreement

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Joint Committee on March 24, 2023, and the arrangements under the Windsor Framework relating to medicinal products took effect on January 1, 2025. As it relates to marketing authorizations, the U.K. has a separate regulatory submission process, approval process and a separate national marketing authorization. Northern Ireland continued, until January 1, 2025, to be covered by the marketing authorizations granted by the European Commission but the Windsor Framework provides that the MHRA is the sole regulatory body responsible for granting marketing authorizations for Northern Ireland as of January 1, 2025.

A significant proportion of the regulatory framework in the U.K. applicable to medicinal products is currently derived from EU Directives and Regulations. The potential for U.K. legislation to diverge from EU legislation following Brexit could materially impact the regulatory regime with respect to the development, manufacture, import, approval, and commercialization of our product candidates in the U.K. or the EU. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies governing clinical trials, our development plans may be impacted.

All of these changes could increase our costs and otherwise adversely affect our business. Any delay in obtaining, or an inability to obtain, any regulatory approvals, as a result of Brexit or otherwise, would prevent us from commercializing our product candidates in the U.K. or the EU and restrict our ability to generate revenue and achieve and sustain profitability. In addition, we may be required to pay taxes or duties or be subjected to other hurdles in connection with the importation of our product candidates into the EU. If any of these outcomes occur, we may be forced to restrict or delay efforts to seek regulatory approval in the U.K. or the EU for our product candidates, or incur significant additional expenses to operate our business, which could significantly and materially harm or delay our ability to generate revenues or achieve profitability of our business. Any further changes in international trade, tariff and import/export regulations as a result of Brexit or otherwise may impose unexpected duty costs or other non-tariff barriers on us. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may significantly reduce global trade and, in particular, trade between the impacted nations and the U.K. It is also possible that Brexit may negatively affect our ability to attract and retain employees, particularly those from the EU.

Risks Related to Commercialization of Our Product Candidates and Other Regulatory Compliance Matters

Even if we complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials, the marketing approval process is expensive, time consuming and uncertain and may prevent us or any collaborators from obtaining approvals for the commercialization of some or all of our product candidates. As a result, we cannot predict when or if, and in which territories, we, or any collaborators, will obtain marketing approval to commercialize a product candidate.

The process of obtaining marketing approvals, both in the United States and abroad, is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. It may take many years, if approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved. Securing marketing approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing marketing approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the regulatory authorities. The FDA or other regulatory authorities may determine that our product candidates are not safe and effective, only moderately effective or have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use. Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable.

In addition, changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment or promulgation of additional statutes, regulations or guidance or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. Regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical, clinical or other studies. Varying interpretations of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing could delay, limit or prevent marketing approval of a product candidate. We cannot commercialize a product until the appropriate regulatory authorities have reviewed and approved the product candidate. Even if our product candidates demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical trials, the regulatory authorities may not complete their review processes in a timely manner, or we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval. It is

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possible that we could experience delays in the timing of our interactions with regulatory authorities due to absenteeism by governmental employees, inability to conduct planned physical inspections related to regulatory approval, or the diversion of regulatory authority efforts, which could delay anticipated approval decisions and otherwise delay or limit our ability to make planned regulatory submissions or obtain new product approvals. Additional delays may result if an FDA Advisory Committee or other regulatory authority recommends non-approval or restrictions on approval. In addition, we may experience delays or rejections based upon additional government regulation from future legislation or administrative action, or changes in regulatory authority policy during the period of product development, clinical trials and the review process. Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain, if any, may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable.

Moreover, principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive compensation in connection with such services. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to the FDA or other regulatory authority. The FDA or other regulatory authority may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected interpretation of the trial. The FDA or other regulatory authority may therefore question the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized. This could result in a delay in approval, or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA or other regulatory authority, as the case may be, and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of one or more of our product candidates.

In addition, regulatory authorities may not approve the labeling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our product candidates. For example, regulatory authorities may approve a product candidate for fewer or more limited indications than requested or may grant approval subject to the performance of post-marketing studies. Regulators may approve a product candidate for a smaller patient population, a different drug formulation or a different manufacturing process, than we are seeking. If we are unable to obtain necessary regulatory approvals, or more limited regulatory approvals than we expect, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may suffer.

Any delay in obtaining or failure to obtain required approvals could negatively impact our ability to generate revenue from the particular product candidate, which likely would result in significant harm to our financial position and adversely impact the price of our ADSs.

We currently have limited marketing, sales or distribution infrastructure with respect to our product candidates. If we are unable to develop our sales, marketing and distribution capability on our own or through collaborations with marketing partners, we will not be successful in commercializing our product candidates.

We currently have limited marketing, sales or distribution capabilities and have limited sales or marketing experience within our organization. If one or more of our product candidates is approved, we intend either to build our sales and marketing organization with technical expertise and supporting distribution capabilities to commercialize that product candidate, or to outsource this function to a third party. There are risks involved with either building our own sales and marketing capabilities and entering into arrangements with third parties to perform these services.

Recruiting and training an internal commercial organization is expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch. Some or all of these costs may be incurred in advance of any approval of any of our product candidates. If the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. This may be costly and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel. In addition, we may not be able to hire a sales force in the United States or other target market that is sufficient in size or has adequate expertise in the medical markets that we intend to target.

Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our product candidates on our own include:

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the inability to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;

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the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or our failure to educate physicians on the benefits of prescribing our products;

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the lack of complementary treatments to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and

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unforeseen costs and expenses associated with expanding an independent sales and marketing organization.

If we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing and distribution services, our product revenue or the profitability to us from these revenue streams is likely to be lower than if we were to market and sell any product candidates that we develop ourselves. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into arrangements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates or may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. We likely will have little control over such third parties and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our product candidates effectively. If we do not establish sales and marketing capabilities successfully, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates.

The market opportunities for any current or future product candidate we develop, if and when approved, may be limited to those patients who are ineligible for established therapies or for whom prior therapies have failed, and may be small.

Cancer therapies are sometimes characterized as first-line, second-line, third-line or later-line therapies, and the FDA often approves new therapies initially only for third-line use. When cancer is detected early enough, first-line therapy, usually chemotherapy, hormone therapy, surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy or a combination of these, is sometimes adequate to cure the cancer or prolong life without a cure. Second- and third-line therapies are administered to patients when prior therapy is not effective. We may initially seek approval of zelenectide pevedotin, BT5528, BT7480, and any other product candidates we develop as a therapy for patients who have received one or more prior treatments. Subsequently, for those products that prove to be sufficiently beneficial, if any, we would expect to seek approval potentially as a first-line therapy, but there is no guarantee that product candidates we develop, even if approved, would be approved for first-line therapy, and, prior to any such approvals, we may have to conduct additional clinical trials.

The number of patients who have the cancers we are targeting may turn out to be lower than expected. Additionally, the potentially addressable patient population for our current programs or future product candidates may be limited, if and when approved. Even if we obtain significant market share for any product candidate, if and when approved, if the potential target populations are small, we may never achieve profitability without obtaining marketing approval for additional indications, including use as first- or second-line therapy.

Even if we receive marketing approval of a product candidate, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our products, if approved.

Any marketing approvals that we receive for any current or future product candidate may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-market testing and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may also require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, or a comparable foreign strategy, as a condition of approval of any product candidate, which could include requirements for a medication guide, physician communication plans or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority approves a product candidate, the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, import and export and record keeping for the product candidate will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include, among others, submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued

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compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, and Good Clinical Practice, or GCP, for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval, and prohibitions on the promotion of an approved product for uses not included in the product’s approved labeling. The FDA and other or comparable foreign regulatory authorities actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label may be subject to significant liability. However, physicians may, in their independent medical judgment, prescribe legally available products for off-label uses. The FDA does not regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments, but the FDA does restrict manufacturer’s communications on the subject of off-label use of their products. Similar considerations apply outside of the United States.

Later discovery of previously unknown problems with any approved candidate, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in, among other things:

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restrictions on the labeling, distribution, marketing or manufacturing of the product, withdrawal of the product from the market, or product recalls;

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untitled and warning letters, or holds on clinical trials;

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refusal by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications we filed or suspension or revocation of license approvals;

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requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials;

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restrictions on coverage by third-party payors;

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fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenues;

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suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;

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product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of the product; and

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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

The FDA’s and other regulatory authorities’ policies may change, and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay marketing approval of a product. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.

We face significant competition and if our competitors develop and market products that are more effective, safer or less expensive than the product candidates we develop, our commercial opportunities will be negatively impacted.

The life sciences industry is highly competitive. We are currently developing therapeutics that will compete, if approved, with other products and therapies that currently exist, are being developed or will in the future be developed, some of which we may not currently be aware.

We have competitors both in the United States and internationally, including major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, universities and other research institutions. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, manufacturing, marketing, product development, technical and human resources than we do. Large pharmaceutical companies, in particular, have extensive experience in clinical testing, obtaining marketing approvals, recruiting patients and manufacturing pharmaceutical products. These companies also have significantly greater research and marketing capabilities than we do and may also have products that have been approved or are in late stages of development, and collaborative

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arrangements in our target markets with leading companies and research institutions. Established pharmaceutical companies may also invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to in-license novel compounds that could make the product candidates that we develop obsolete. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. As a result of all of these factors, our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection and/or marketing approval or discovering, developing and commercializing products in our field before we do.

There are a large number of companies developing or marketing treatments for cancer, including many major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. These treatments consist both of small molecule drug products, such as traditional chemotherapy, as well as novel immunotherapies. For example, a number of multinational companies as well as biotechnology companies are developing programs for the targets that we are exploring for our BDC programs, including, but not limited to, Pfizer Inc. (formerly Seagen, acquired by Pfizer Inc. in December 2023) which has a marketed Nectin-4 antibody-drug conjugate, Eli Lilly and Company, Corbus Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc., Innate Pharma SA and Mabwell Therapeutics, Inc. Furthermore, many companies are developing programs for CD137 or CD137 bi-specific antibodies or antibody fragments.

Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe effects, are more convenient, have a broader label, are marketed more effectively, are reimbursed or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA, EU or other marketing approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. Even if the product candidates we develop achieve marketing approval, they may be priced at a significant premium over competitive products if any have been approved by then, resulting in reduced competitiveness.

Smaller and other early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapid technological change. If we fail to stay at the forefront of technological change, we may be unable to compete effectively. Technological advances or products developed by our competitors may render our product candidates obsolete, less competitive or not economical.

The commercial success of any current or future product candidate will depend upon the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, payors and others in the medical community.

We have never commercialized a product, and even if we obtain any regulatory approval for our product candidates, the commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on the medical community, patients, and payors accepting products based on our Bicycle peptides in general, and our product candidates in particular, as effective, safe and cost-effective. Any product that we bring to the market may not gain market acceptance by physicians, patients, payors and others in the medical community. Physicians are often reluctant to switch their patients from existing therapies even when new and potentially more effective or convenient treatments enter the market. Further, patients often acclimate to the therapy that they are currently taking and do not want to switch unless their physicians recommend switching products or they are required to switch therapies due to lack of reimbursement for existing therapies.

The degree of market acceptance of these product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:

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the potential efficacy and potential advantages over alternative treatments;

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the frequency and severity of any side effects, including any limitations or warnings contained in a product’s approved labeling;

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the frequency and severity of any side effects resulting from follow-up requirements for the administration of our product candidates;

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the relative convenience and ease of administration;

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the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies;

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the strength of marketing and distribution support and timing of market introduction of competitive products;

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publicity concerning our products or competing products and treatments; and

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sufficient third-party insurance coverage and adequate reimbursement.

Even if a product candidate displays a favorable efficacy and safety profile in preclinical studies and clinical trials, market acceptance of the product, if approved for commercial sale, will not be known until after it is launched. Our efforts to educate the medical community and payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources and may never be successful. Such efforts to educate the marketplace may require more resources than are required by the conventional technologies marketed by our competitors, particularly due to the novelty of our Bicycle approach. If these products do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenue and may not become profitable.

If the market opportunities for our product candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our product revenues may be adversely affected and our business may suffer.

We currently focus our research and product development on treatments for oncology indications and our product candidates are designed to target specific tumor antigens. Our understanding of both the number of people who have these diseases, as well as the subset of people with these diseases who have the potential to benefit from treatment with our product candidates, is based on estimates. These estimates may prove to be incorrect and new studies may reduce the estimated incidence or prevalence of these diseases. Patient identification efforts also influence the ability to address a patient population. If efforts in patient identification are unsuccessful or less impactful than anticipated, we may not address the entirety of the opportunity we are seeking.

In addition, the tumor antigens that our product candidates target may not be expressed as broadly as we anticipate. Further, if companion diagnostics are not developed alongside our product candidates, testing patients for the tumor antigens may not be possible, which would hamper our ability to identify patients who could benefit from treatment with our product candidates.

As a result, the number of patients we are able to identify in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere may turn out to be lower than expected, may not be otherwise amenable to treatment with our products or patients may become increasingly difficult to access, all of which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The insurance coverage and reimbursement status of newly approved products is uncertain. Failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for any of our product candidates, if approved, could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.

We expect the cost of our product candidates to be substantial, when and if they achieve market approval. The availability and extent of reimbursement by governmental and private payors is essential for most patients to be able to afford expensive treatments. Sales of our product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be paid by private payors, such as private health coverage insurers, health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. We may not be able to provide data sufficient to gain acceptance with respect to coverage and reimbursement. If reimbursement is not available, or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates, even if

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approved. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our investment.

There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, the principal decisions about coverage and reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, as the CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare. Private payors tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree. It is difficult to predict what CMS will decide with respect to coverage and reimbursement for novel products such as ours, as there is no body of established practices and precedents for these new products. Coverage and reimbursement by a third-party payor may depend upon a number of factors, including the third-party payor’s determination that use of a product is: (1) a covered benefit under its health plan; (2) safe, effective and medically necessary; (3) appropriate for the specific patient; (4) cost-effective; and (5) neither experimental nor investigational. In the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. Even if we obtain coverage for a given product, the resulting reimbursement payment rates might not be adequate for us to achieve or sustain profitability or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific drug products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the approved drugs for a particular indication.

Additionally, third-party payors may not cover, or provide adequate reimbursement for, long-term follow-up evaluations required following the use of product candidates. Patients are unlikely to use our product candidates unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our product candidates. Because our product candidates may have a higher cost of goods than conventional therapies, and may require long-term follow-up evaluations, the risk that coverage and reimbursement rates may be inadequate for us to achieve profitability may be greater. There is significant uncertainty related to insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. It is difficult to predict at this time what third-party payors will decide with respect to the coverage and reimbursement for our product candidates.

We or our collaborators will be required to obtain coverage and reimbursement for companion diagnostic tests separate and apart from the coverage and reimbursement we seek for our product candidates, once approved. There is significant uncertainty regarding our and our collaborators’ ability to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement for any companion diagnostic test for the same reasons applicable to our product candidates.

Outside the United States, certain countries, including a number of member states of the European Union, set prices and reimbursement for pharmaceutical products, or medicinal products, as they are commonly referred to in the European Union. These countries have broad discretion in setting prices and we cannot be sure that such prices and reimbursement will be acceptable to us or our collaborators. If the regulatory authorities in these jurisdictions set prices or reimbursement levels that are not commercially attractive for us or our collaborators, our revenues from sales by us or our collaborators, and the potential profitability of our drug products, in those countries would be negatively affected. An increasing number of countries are taking initiatives to attempt to reduce large budget deficits by focusing cost-cutting efforts on pharmaceuticals for their state-run health care systems. These international price control efforts have impacted all regions of the world but have been most drastic in the European Union. Additionally, some countries require approval of the sale price of a product before it can be lawfully marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we, or any collaborators, may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of our product to other available therapies. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a product in a particular country, but then may experience delays in the reimbursement approval of our product or be subject to price regulations that would delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which could negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that particular country.

Moreover, efforts by governments and payors, in the United States and abroad, to cap or reduce healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and level of reimbursement for new products approved and, as a

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result, they may not cover or provide adequate reimbursement for our product candidates. There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. Our results of operations could be adversely affected by the Patent Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively, the ACA, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or the IRA, and by other healthcare legislative reforms that may be enacted or adopted in the future, particularly in light of the recent U.S. Presidential and Congressional elections. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of any of our product candidates, due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative changes. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription drugs and other treatments, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products.

In December 2021, Regulation No 2021/2282 on HTA amending Directive 2011/24/EU, was adopted in the European Union. This Regulation, which entered into force in January 2022 and applies as of January 12, 2025, is intended to boost cooperation among EU Member States in assessing health technologies, including new medicinal products, and providing the basis for cooperation at the level of the European Union for joint clinical assessments in these areas. The Regulation permits Member States to use common HTA tools, methodologies, and procedures across the European Union, working together in four main areas, including joint clinical assessment of the innovative health technologies with the most potential impact for patients, joint scientific consultations whereby developers can seek advice from HTA authorities, identification of emerging health technologies to identify promising technologies early, and continuing voluntary cooperation in other areas. Individual Member States continue to be responsible for assessing non-clinical (e.g., economic, social, ethical) aspects of health technologies, and making decisions on pricing and reimbursement. If we are unable to maintain favorable pricing and reimbursement status in Member States for product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval, any anticipated revenue from and growth prospects for those products in the EU could be negatively affected. In light of the fact that the U.K. has left the EU, Regulation No 2021/2282 on HTA does not apply in the U.K. However, the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency, or MHRA is working with U.K. HTA bodies and other national organizations, such as the Scottish Medicines Consortium, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the All-Wales Medicines Strategy Group, to introduce new pathways supporting innovative approaches to the safe, timely and efficient development of medicinal products, including, effective as of March 31, 2025, relaunching the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway with more predicable timelines and closer involvement of the National Health Service.

If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business could be harmed.

If the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities approve generic versions of any of our product candidates that receive marketing approval, or such authorities do not grant such products appropriate periods of data exclusivity before approving generic versions of such products, the sales of such products could be adversely affected.

Once an NDA is approved, the product covered thereby becomes a “reference-listed drug” in the FDA’s publication, “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” or the Orange Book. Manufacturers may seek approval of generic versions of reference-listed drugs through submission of abbreviated new drug applications, or ANDAs, in the United States. In support of an ANDA, a generic manufacturer generally must show that its product has the same active ingredient(s), dosage form, strength, route of administration and conditions of use or labeling as the reference-listed drug and that the generic version is bioequivalent to the reference-listed drug, meaning, in part, that it is absorbed in the body at the same rate and to the same extent. Generic products may be significantly less costly to bring to market than the reference-listed drug and companies that produce generic products are generally able to offer them at lower prices. Thus, following the introduction of a generic drug, a significant percentage of the sales of any branded product or reference-listed drug may be typically lost to the generic product, and the price of the branded product may be lowered.

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The FDA may not accept for review or approve an ANDA for a generic product until any applicable period of non-patent exclusivity for the reference-listed drug has expired. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, provides a period of five years of non-patent exclusivity for a new drug containing a new chemical entity, or NCE. Specifically, in cases where such exclusivity has been granted, an ANDA may not be filed with the FDA until the expiration of five years unless the submission is accompanied by a Paragraph IV certification that a patent covering the reference-listed drug is either invalid or will not be infringed by the generic product, in which case the applicant may submit its application four years following approval of the reference-listed drug. It is unclear whether the FDA will treat the active ingredients in our product candidates as NCEs and, therefore, afford them five years of NCE data exclusivity if they are approved. If any product we develop does not receive five years of NCE exclusivity, the FDA may approve generic versions of such product three years after its date of approval, subject to the requirement that the ANDA applicant certifies to any patents listed for our products in the Orange Book. Three-year exclusivity is given to a non-NCE drug if the NDA includes reports of one or more new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability or bioequivalence studies, that were conducted by or for the applicant and are essential to the approval of the NDA. Manufacturers may seek to launch these generic products following the expiration of the applicable marketing exclusivity period, even if we still have patent protection for our product.

Competition that our products may face from generic versions of our products could negatively impact our future revenue, profitability and cash flows and substantially limit our ability to obtain a return on our investments in those product candidates.

We may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws health information privacy and security laws, and other health care laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.

If we obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates and begin commercializing those products in the United States, our operations will be directly, or indirectly through our prescribers, customers and purchasers, subject to various U.S. federal and state fraud and abuse laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the federal Health Care Program Anti-Kickback Statute, or Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal civil and criminal False Claims Act and Physician Payments Sunshine Act and regulations. These laws will impact, among other things, our clinical research, proposed sales, marketing and educational programs and other interactions with healthcare professionals. In addition, we may be subject to patient privacy laws by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The laws that will affect our operations include, but are not limited to:

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the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual, or the purchase, lease, order, arrangement, or recommendation of any good, facility, item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. “Remuneration” has been interpreted broadly to include anything of value. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the Anti-Kickback Statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal False Claims Act, or FCA, or federal civil money penalties. The Anti-Kickback Statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers, and formulary managers on the other. There are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution;

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the U.S. federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the FCA, and civil monetary penalty law, which impose criminal and civil penalties against individuals or entities for, among other things: knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent; knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used, a false statement of record material to a false or fraudulent claim or obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the federal government. Manufacturers can be held liable under the FCA even when they do not submit claims directly

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to government payors if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims. The FCA also permits a private individual acting as a “whistleblower” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the FCA and to share in any monetary recovery;

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the beneficiary inducement provisions of the civil monetary penalty law, which prohibits, among other things, the offering or giving of remuneration, which includes, without limitation, any transfer of items or services for free or for less than fair market value (with limited exceptions), to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary that the person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular supplier of items or services reimbursable by a federal or state governmental program;

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the U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit a person from knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private) and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by any trick or device a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services relating to healthcare matters; similar to the Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;

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HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, which impose requirements on certain healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, known as covered entities, as well as their respective business associates, individuals and entities that perform services on their behalf that involve the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information and their subcontractors that use disclose or otherwise process individually identifiable health information, relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information;

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the U.S. federal transparency requirements under the ACA, including the provision commonly referred to as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires applicable manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to CMS information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by the physicians described above and their immediate family members;

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U.S. federal government price reporting laws, which require us to calculate and report complex pricing metrics in an accurate and timely manner to government programs; and

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U.S. federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers.

Additionally, we are subject to U.S. state and foreign equivalents of each of the healthcare laws and regulations described above, among others, some of which may be broader in scope and may apply regardless of the payor. Many U.S. states have adopted laws similar to the Anti-Kickback Statute and FCA, and may apply to our business practices, including, but not limited to, research, distribution, sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental payors, including private insurers. In addition, some states have passed laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the April 2003 Office of Inspector General Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and/or the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals. Several states also impose other marketing restrictions or require pharmaceutical companies to make marketing or price disclosures to the state. Certain states and local jurisdictions also require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives. There are ambiguities

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as to what is required to comply with these state requirements, and if we fail to comply with an applicable state law requirement we could be subject to significant penalties. Finally, there are state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts. For further information concerning the data privacy and security laws we may be subject to and our processing of personal data, see the risk factor titled “We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, rules, contractual obligations, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our (and the third parties with whom we work) actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation, fines and penalties, disruptions of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenues or profits, and other adverse business consequences.”

Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. Law enforcement authorities are increasingly focused on enforcing fraud and abuse laws, and it is possible that some of our practices may be challenged under these laws. Efforts to ensure that our current and future business arrangements with third parties, and our business generally, will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. If our operations, including our arrangements with physicians and other healthcare providers are found to be in violation of any of such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, significant administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs (such as Medicare and Medicaid), additional reporting requirements and/or oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and imprisonment, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Any action for violation of these laws, even if successfully defended, could cause a pharmaceutical manufacturer to incur significant legal expenses and divert management’s attention from the operation of the business. Prohibitions or restrictions on sales or withdrawal of future marketed products could materially affect business in an adverse way.

Healthcare legislative reform measures may have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.

In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and continue to be, several legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities, and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Changes in regulations, statutes or the interpretation of existing regulations could impact our business in the future by requiring, for example: (i) changes to our manufacturing arrangements, (ii) additions or modifications to product labeling, (iii) the recall or discontinuation of our products, (iv) restriction on coverage, reimbursement, and pricing for our products, (v) transparency reporting obligations regarding transfers of value to health care professionals or (vi) additional record-keeping requirements. If any such changes were to be imposed, they could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Among policy makers in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality and/or expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives. For example, the ACA, which was signed into law in 2010, is a sweeping law intended to broaden access to health insurance, reduce or constrain the growth of health care spending, enhance remedies against fraud and abuse, add new transparency requirements for the health care and health insurance industries, impose new taxes and fees on the health industry and impose additional health policy reforms.

There have been executive, judicial and Congressional challenges and amendments to certain aspects of ACA. For example, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the IRA into law, which among other things, extends enhanced subsidies for individuals purchasing health insurance coverage in ACA marketplaces through plan year 2025. The IRA also eliminates the “donut hole” under the Medicare Part D program beginning in 2025 by significantly lowering the beneficiary maximum out-of-pocket costs and creating a newly established manufacturer discount program. It is possible that the ACA will be subject to judicial or Congressional challenges in the future. It is unclear how any

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such challenges and the healthcare reform measures of the new Trump administration will impact the ACA and our business.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011, which began in 2013, and due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, including the BBA and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, will remain in effect through 2032 unless additional Congressional action is taken. Additionally, on March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law, which eliminates the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, currently set at 100% of a drug’s average manufacturer price, for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, effective January 1, 2024.

There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. The IRA, among other things, (i) allows HHS to negotiate the price of certain high-expenditure drugs and biologics that have been on the market for at least seven years and covered under Medicare, and subjects drug manufacturers to civil monetary penalties and a potential excise tax by offering a price that is not equal to or less than the negotiated “maximum fair price” under the law, and (ii) imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation. The IRA permits HHS to implement many of these provisions through guidance, as opposed to regulation, for the initial years. HHS has and will continue to issue and update guidance as these programs are implemented. These provisions began to take effect progressively starting in 2023. On August 15, 2024, HHS announced the agreed-upon prices of the first 10 drugs that were subject to price negotiations, which take effect in January 2026. HHS will select up to 15 additional products covered under Part D for negotiation in 2025. Each year thereafter more Part B and Part D products will become subject to the Medicare drug price negotiation program. Further, on December 7, 2023, the Biden administration announced an initiative to control the price of prescription drugs through the use of march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act. On December 8, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology published for comment a Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights which for the first time includes the price of a product as one factor an agency can use when deciding to exercise march-in rights. While march-in rights have not previously been exercised, it is uncertain if that will continue under the new framework.

We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation, administrative or executive action. We expect that these and other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved drug, which could have an adverse effect on customers for our product candidates. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors.

There have been, and likely will continue to be, legislative and regulatory proposals at the foreign, federal and state levels directed at broadening the availability of healthcare and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our products. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenue from product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop product candidates.

We are subject to the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or the Bribery Act, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the FCPA, and other anti-corruption laws, as well as export control laws, import and customs laws, trade and economic sanctions laws and other laws governing our operations.

Our operations are subject to anti-corruption laws, including the Bribery Act, the FCPA, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. §201, the U.S. Travel Act, and other anti-corruption laws that apply in countries where we do business. The Bribery Act, the FCPA and these other laws generally prohibit us, our employees and our intermediaries from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper or prohibited payments, or anything else of value, to government officials or other persons to obtain or retain business or gain some other business advantage. Under the Bribery Act, we may also be liable for failing to prevent a person associated with us from committing a bribery offense. We and our commercial partners operate in a number of jurisdictions that pose a high

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risk of potential Bribery Act or FCPA violations, and we participate in collaborations and relationships with third parties whose corrupt or illegal activities could potentially subject us to liability under the Bribery Act, FCPA or local anti-corruption laws, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. In addition, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our international operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.

We are also subject to other laws and regulations governing our international operations, including regulations administered by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States, and authorities in the European Union, including applicable export control regulations, economic sanctions and embargoes on certain countries and persons, anti-money laundering laws, import and customs requirements and currency exchange regulations, collectively referred to as the Trade Control laws.

There is no assurance that we will be completely effective in ensuring our compliance with all applicable anti-corruption laws, including the Bribery Act, the FCPA or other legal requirements, including Trade Control laws. If we are not in compliance with the Bribery Act, the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws or Trade Control laws, we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement and other sanctions and remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Likewise, any investigation of any potential violations of the Bribery Act, the FCPA, other anti-corruption laws or Trade Control laws by the United Kingdom, United States or other authorities could also have an adverse impact on our reputation, our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, rules, contractual obligations, industry standards, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our (and third parties with whom we work) actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation (including class claims), fines and penalties, disruptions of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profits, and other adverse business consequences.

In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, process) personal data and other sensitive or confidential information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we collect about trial participants in connection with clinical trials, and sensitive third-party data. Our data processing activities may subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements, and other obligations relating to data privacy and security.

In the United States, federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including data breach notification laws, personal data privacy laws, consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), and other similar laws (e.g., wiretapping laws). For example, HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, imposes specific requirements relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Numerous U.S. states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws that impose certain obligations on covered businesses, including providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording residents with certain rights concerning their personal data. As applicable, such rights may include the right to access, correct, or delete certain personal data, and to opt-out of certain data processing activities, such as targeted advertising, profiling, and automated decision-making. To the extent applicable, the exercise of these rights may impact our business and ability to provide our products and services. Certain states also impose stricter requirements for processing certain personal data, including sensitive information, such as conducting data privacy impact assessments. These state laws allow for statutory fines for noncompliance. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, referred to collectively as CCPA, applies to personal data of consumers, business representatives, and employees who are California residents, and requires businesses to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of such individuals to exercise certain privacy rights. The CCPA allows for fines for noncompliance and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. Although the CCPA exempts some data processed in the context of clinical trials, the CCPA increases compliance costs and potential liability with respect to other personal data maintained by covered entities about California residents. Similar laws are being considered in several other states, as well as at the federal and local levels, and we expect more states to pass

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similar laws in the future, and these developments may further complicate compliance efforts and may increase legal risk and compliance costs for us and the third parties with whom we work.

Outside of the United States, an increasing number of laws, regulations, and industry standards may govern data privacy and security. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or EU GDPR, and the United Kingdom’s GDPR, or U.K. GDPR, impose strict requirements for processing personal data. For example, under the EU GDPR, companies may face temporary or definitive bans on data processing and other corrective actions; fines of up to 20 million Euros or 4% of annual global revenue, whichever is greater; or private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by classes of data subjects or consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests.

We may be subject to new laws governing the privacy of consumer health data, including reproductive, sexual orientation, and gender identity privacy rights. For example, Washington’s My Health My Data Act, or MHMD, broadly defines consumer health data, places restrictions on processing consumer health data (including imposing stringent requirements for consents), provides consumers certain rights with respect to their health data, and creates a private right of action to allow individuals to sue for violations of the law. Other states are considering and may adopt similar laws.

Our employees and personnel may use generative artificial intelligence technologies to perform their work, and the disclosure and use of personal data in generative artificial intelligence technologies is subject to various privacy laws and other privacy obligations. Governments have passed and are likely to pass additional laws regulating generative artificial intelligence. Our use of this technology could result in additional compliance costs, regulatory investigations and actions, and lawsuits. If we are unable to use generative artificial intelligence, it could make our business less efficient and result in competitive disadvantages.

In the ordinary course of business, we transfer personal data from Europe and other jurisdictions to the United States or other countries. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. In particular, the European Economic Area, or the EEA, and the U.K., have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it generally believes are inadequate. Other jurisdictions may adopt similarly stringent interpretations of their data localization and cross-border transfer laws. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal data from the EEA and U.K. to the United States in compliance with law, such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses, the U.K. International Data Transfer Agreement and the U.K. Transfer Addendum, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the U.K.’s Extension to that Framework (which allows for transfers for relevant U.S.-based organizations who self-certify compliance and participate in the relevant Framework and/or Extension), these mechanisms are subject to potential legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal data to the United States. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the EEA, U.K. or other jurisdictions to the United States, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors, and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal data necessary to operate our business. Additionally, companies that transfer personal data out of the EEA and U.K. to other jurisdictions, particularly to the United States, are subject to increased scrutiny from regulators, individual litigants, and activist groups. Some European regulators have ordered certain companies to suspend or permanently cease certain transfers out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations.

In addition to data privacy and security laws, we are also bound by other contractual and industry obligations related to data privacy and security, and our efforts to comply with such obligations may not be successful.

We publish privacy policies, marketing materials, whitepapers, and other statements concerning data privacy and security. Regulators in the United States are increasingly scrutinizing these statements, and if these policies, materials, or statements are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, misleading or

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misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators, or other adverse consequences.

Obligations related to data privacy and security are quickly changing, becoming increasingly stringent, and creating regulatory uncertainty. Additionally, these obligations may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or conflicting among jurisdictions. Preparing for and complying with these obligations requires us to devote significant resources and may necessitate changes to our services, information technologies, systems, and practices and to those of any third parties with whom we work.

We may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed) in our efforts to comply with our data privacy and security obligations. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties with whom we work may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations. Such failures can subject us to potential foreign, local, state and federal action if they are found to be deceptive, unfair, misleading or misrepresentative of our actual practices, which could negatively impact our business operations and compliance posture. If we or the third parties with whom we work fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable data privacy or security obligations, we could face significant consequences, including but not limited to: government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-action claims); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; bans on processing personal data; and orders to destroy or not use personal data. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, including but not limited to: loss of customers; interruptions or stoppages in our business operations (including, as relevant, clinical trials); inability to process personal data or operate in certain jurisdictions; limited ability to develop or commercialize our products; expenditure of time and resources to defend any claim or inquiry; adverse publicity; or substantial changes to our business model or operations.

Our activities subject us to various laws relating to foreign investment and the export of certain technologies, and our failure to comply with these laws or adequately monitor the compliance of our suppliers and others we do business with could subject us to substantial fines, penalties and even injunctions, the imposition of which on us could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

We are subject to laws that regulate certain transactions and access to technology. In the United States, these laws include section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, and the regulations at 31 C.F.R. Parts 800 and 801, as amended, administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, which is being implemented in part through Commerce Department rulemakings to impose new export control restrictions on “emerging and foundational technologies” yet to be fully identified. Application of these laws, including as they are implemented through regulations being developed, may negatively impact our business in various ways, including by restricting our access to capital and markets; limiting the collaborations we may pursue; regulating the export of our products, services, and technology from the United States and abroad; increasing our costs and the time necessary to obtain required authorizations and to ensure compliance; and threatening monetary fines and other penalties if we do not.

If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production

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workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States;

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litigation or administrative actions resulting from claims against us by current or former employees or consultants individually or as part of class actions, including claims of wrongful terminations, discrimination, misclassification or other violations of labor law or other alleged conduct;

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difficulties associated with staffing and managing international operations, including differing labor relations;

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production shortages resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad; and

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business interruptions resulting from geo-political actions, including war and terrorism, natural disasters, including earthquakes, typhoons, floods and fires, or public health crises.

Any or all of these factors could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, global instability continues as a result of the Russia-Ukraine and the Hamas-Israel wars as well as the conflicts in the Middle East, including between Israel and Hezbollah. These wars could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies, any or all of which could disrupt our supply chain and increase the costs associated with or otherwise adversely affect our ability to conduct ongoing and future clinical trials of our product candidates. In addition, continued instability may adversely impact our ability to raise capital in the future on favorable terms or at all.

Cyber-attacks, failures in or interruptions of, or other compromise to our information technology systems, or those of third parties with whom we work, or our data could result in adverse consequences that materially affect our business, including without limitation, regulatory investigations or actions, litigation, fines and penalties, information theft, data corruption, harm to our reputation and brand, significant disruption of our business operations, and other adverse consequences.

In the ordinary course of business, we and the third parties with whom we work and may process proprietary, confidential, and sensitive data, including personal data (such as health-related data), intellectual property, and trade secrets (collectively, sensitive information). Cyber-attacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive information and information technology systems, and those of the third parties with whom we work. Such threats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, “hacktivists,” organized criminal threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation states, and nation-state-supported actors.

Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyber-attacks, including without limitation nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we and the third parties with whom we work may be vulnerable to a heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory cyber-attacks, that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability conduct our research and development programs and our clinical trials. We and the third parties with whom we work may be subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks and deep fakes, which may be increasingly more difficult to identify as fake), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks, credential stuffing attacks, credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, telecommunications failures, and other similar threats. In particular, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and severe and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, disruption of clinical trials, loss of sensitive data (including data related to clinical trials), loss of income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. Remote work has increased risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our employees utilize network connections, computers, and devices outside of our premises or network, including

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working at home, while in transit and in public locations. Future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies. Furthermore, we may discover security issues that were not found during due diligence of such acquired or integrated entities, and it may be difficult to integrate companies into our information technology environment and security program.

In addition, our reliance on third-party service providers could introduce new cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, including supply-chain attacks, and other threats to our business operations. We may rely on third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive information in a variety of contexts, including, without limitation, third-party providers of information technology infrastructure, cloud-based infrastructure, encryption and authentication technology, employee email, content delivery to customers, CROs for managing clinical trial data, and other functions. We may also rely on third-party service providers to provide other products, services, parts, or otherwise operate our business. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. While we may be entitled to damages if our third-party service providers fail to satisfy their privacy or security-related obligations to us, the liability of such third party may be limited such that any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover any such award. In addition, supply-chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties’ infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners’ supply chains have not been compromised.

We may expend significant resources or modify certain of our business activities (which could include our clinical trial activities) to try to protect against security incidents. Certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures, industry-standard or reasonable security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive information.

While we have established physical, electronic and organizational security measures designed to safeguard and secure our systems against security incidents, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. We take steps designed to detect, mitigate and remediate vulnerabilities in our information technology systems (such as our hardware and/or software, including that of third parties with whom we work). We may not, however, detect and remediate all such vulnerabilities including on a timely basis. Further, we may experience delays in developing and deploying remedial measures and patches designed to address identified vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities could be exploited and result in a security incident.

Any of the previously identified or similar threats could cause a security incident or other interruption that could result in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive information or our information technology systems, or those of the third parties with whom we work. For example, we have been the target of phishing attempts in the past and we expect such attempts will continue in the future. A security incident or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties with whom we work) to provide our products or services. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or ongoing or planned clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data.

Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us, or we may voluntarily choose, to notify relevant stakeholders, including affected individuals, customers, regulators and investors, of security incidents, or to take other actions, such as providing credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Such disclosures and related actions can be costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such applicable requirements could lead to adverse consequences. If we (or a third party with whom we work) experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience material adverse consequences. These consequences may include: government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive information (including personal data); litigation (including class-action claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms. Security incidents and attendant material consequences may cause customers to stop using our services, deter new

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customers from using our services, and negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business. Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims.

Additionally, our sensitive information, including personal data, could be leaked, disclosed or revealed as a result of, or in connection with, our employees’, personnel’s, or vendors’ use of generative artificial intelligence technologies.

Social media platforms and artificial intelligence-based platforms present new risks and challenges to our business.

Social media is increasingly being used to communicate information about us, our programs and the diseases our therapeutics are being developed to treat. Social media practices in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are evolving, which creates uncertainty and risk of noncompliance with regulations applicable to our business. For example, patients may use social media platforms to comment on the effectiveness of, or adverse experiences with, a product or a product candidate, which could result in reporting obligations or other consequences. Further, the accidental or intentional disclosure of non-public information by our workforce or others through media channels could lead to information loss. In addition, there is a risk of inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information or negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us, our products, or our product candidates on any social media platform. The nature of social media prevents us from having real-time control over postings about us on social media. We may not be able to reverse damage to our reputation from negative publicity or adverse information posted on social media platforms or similar mediums. If any of these events were to occur or we otherwise fail to comply with application regulations, we could incur liability, face restrictive regulatory actions or incur other harm to our business including quick and irreversible damage to our reputation, brand image and goodwill. Additionally, artificial intelligence, or AI, based platforms are increasingly being used in the pharmaceutical industry. While we have introduced measures to restrict the internal use of public AI platforms, they may be used by our vendors, suppliers and contractors with access to our proprietary and confidential information, including trade secrets. Such use may lead to the release of our proprietary and confidential information, which may negatively impact our company, including our ability to realize the benefit of our intellectual property.

Exchange rate fluctuations may materially affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Owing to the international scope of our operations, fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly between the pound sterling and the U.S. dollar, may adversely affect us. Although we are based in the U.K., we source research and development, manufacturing, consulting and other services from the United States, European Union and Asia that are billed in U.S. dollars. Further, potential future revenue may be derived from abroad, particularly from the United States. As a result, our business and the price of our ADSs may be affected by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates not only between the pound sterling and the U.S. dollar, but also the euro, which may have a significant impact on our results of operations and cash flows from period to period. Currently, we do not have any exchange rate hedging arrangements in place. Any fluctuation in the exchange rate of these foreign currencies may negatively impact our business, financial condition and operating results. Global economic events have and may continue to significantly impact local economies and the foreign exchange markets, which may increase the risks associated with sales denominated in foreign currencies.

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Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties

For certain product candidates, we depend, or will depend, on development and commercialization collaborators to develop and conduct clinical trials with, obtain regulatory approvals for, and if approved, market and sell product candidates. If such collaborators fail to perform as expected, the potential for us to generate future revenue from such product candidates would be significantly reduced and our business would be harmed.

For certain products candidates, we depend, or will depend, on our development and commercial collaborators to develop, conduct clinical trials of, and, if approved, commercialize product candidates.

Under our collaborations with Genentech, Ionis, Novartis, and Bayer, we are responsible for identifying and optimizing Bicycle peptides related to collaboration targets and our collaborators are responsible for further development and product commercialization after we complete the defined research screening and compound optimization. We depend on these collaborators to develop and, where applicable, commercialize products based on Bicycle peptides, and the success of their efforts directly impacts the milestones and royalties we will receive. We cannot provide assurance that our collaborators will be successful in or that they will devote sufficient resources to the development or commercialization of their products. If our current or future collaboration and commercialization partners do not perform in the manner we expect or fail to fulfill their responsibilities in a timely manner, or at all, if our agreements with them terminate or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised, the clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization efforts related to their and our product candidates and products could be delayed or terminated and it could become necessary for us to assume the responsibility at our own expense for the clinical development of such product candidates.

Our current collaborations and any future collaborations that we enter into are subject to numerous risks, including:

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collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to the collaborations;

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collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected or fail to fulfill their responsibilities in a timely manner, or at all;

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collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of any product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on preclinical studies or clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities;

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collaborators may delay preclinical studies or clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for clinical trials, stop a preclinical study or clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;

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we may not have access to, or may be restricted from disclosing, certain information regarding product candidates being developed or commercialized under a collaboration and, consequently, may have limited ability to inform our shareholders about the status of such product candidates;

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collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours;

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the collaborations may not result in product candidates to develop and/or preclinical studies or clinical trials conducted as part of the collaborations may not be successful;

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product candidates developed with collaborators may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to stop commercialization of our product candidates;

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a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of any such product candidate;

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public health crises and other adverse global economic events could materially affect our operations as well as causing significant disruption in the operations and business of our collaborators and the third-party manufacturers, CROs and other service providers that we and/or our collaborators conduct business with; and

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collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation.

In addition, certain collaboration and commercialization agreements provide our collaborators with rights to terminate such agreements, which rights may or may not be subject to conditions, and which rights, if exercised, would adversely affect our product development efforts and could make it difficult for us to attract new collaborators. In that event, we would likely be required to limit the size and scope of efforts for the development and commercialization of such product candidates or products; we would likely be required to seek additional financing to fund further development or identify alternative strategic collaborations; our potential to generate future revenue from royalties and milestone payments from such product candidates or products would be significantly reduced, delayed or eliminated; and it could have an adverse effect on our business and future growth prospects. Our rights to recover tangible and intangible assets and intellectual property rights needed to advance a product candidate or product after termination of a collaboration may be limited by contract, and we may not be able to advance a program post-termination.

If conflicts arise with our development and commercialization collaborators or licensors, they may act in their own self-interest, which may be adverse to the interests of our company.

We may in the future experience disagreements with our development and commercialization collaborators or licensors. Conflicts may arise in our collaboration and license arrangements with third parties due to one or more of the following:

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disputes with respect to milestone, royalty and other payments that are believed due under the applicable agreements;

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disagreements with respect to the ownership of intellectual property rights or scope of licenses;

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disagreements with respect to the scope of any reporting obligations;

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unwillingness on the part of a collaborator to keep us informed regarding the progress of its development and commercialization activities, or to permit public disclosure of these activities; and

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disputes with respect to a collaborator’s or our development or commercialization efforts with respect to our products and product candidates.

For example, we were previously involved in litigation with Pepscan Systems B.V., and its affiliates, or Pepscan, related to a non-exclusive patent license agreement that our subsidiary, BicycleRD Limited, or BicycleRD, entered into with Pepscan in 2009.

Conflicts with our development and commercialization collaborators or licensors could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations and future growth prospects. If we are unable to prevail

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against these challenges, our intellectual property estate may be materially harmed, which would impair our ability to establish competitive barriers to entry in the form of intellectual property protections.

We rely on third parties, including independent clinical investigators and CROs, to conduct and sponsor some of the clinical trials of our product candidates. Any failure by a third party to meet its obligations with respect to the clinical development of our product candidates may delay or impair our ability to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates.

We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third parties, including independent clinical investigators, academic partners, regulatory affairs consultants and third-party CROs, to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials, including in some instances sponsoring such clinical trials, and to engage with regulatory authorities and monitor and manage data for our ongoing preclinical and clinical programs. We also utilize CROs to perform toxicology studies related to our preclinical activities. While we will have agreements governing the activities of such third parties, we will control only certain aspects of their activities and have limited influence over their actual performance. Given the breadth of clinical therapeutic areas for which we believe Bicycle molecules may have utility, we intend to continue to rely on external service providers.

Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us under certain circumstances. We may not be able to enter into alternative arrangements or do so on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new contract research organization begins work. As a result, delays would likely occur, which could negatively impact our ability to meet our expected clinical development timelines and harm our business, financial condition and prospects.

We remain responsible for ensuring that each of our preclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol and legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on these third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our third-party contractors and CROs are required to comply with GCP requirements, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of EEA countries and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our products in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these GCP requirements through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we fail to exercise adequate oversight over any of our academic partners or CROs or if we or any of our academic partners or CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements, or for any other reasons, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that upon a regulatory inspection of us, our academic partners or our CROs or other third parties performing services in connection with our clinical trials, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials complies with GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product produced under applicable CGMP regulations. Our failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

Furthermore, the third parties conducting clinical trials on our behalf are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such contractors, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time, skill and resources to our ongoing development programs. These contractors may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other drug development activities, which could impede their ability to devote appropriate time to our clinical programs. If any of the third parties conducting clinical trials on our behalf, including clinical investigators, do not successfully carry out their contractual duties for any reason, meet expected deadlines or conduct our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, we may not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, marketing approvals for our product candidates. If that occurs, we will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize our product candidates.

In addition, with respect to investigator-sponsored trials that are being or may be conducted, we do not control the design or conduct of these trials, and it is possible that the FDA or EMA will not view these investigator-sponsored

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trials as providing adequate support for future clinical trials or market approval, whether controlled by us or third parties, for any one or more reasons, including elements of the design or execution of the trials, manufacturing issues, safety concerns or other trial results. We expect that such arrangements will provide us certain information rights with respect to the investigator-sponsored trials, including the ability to obtain a license to obtain access to use and reference the data, including for our own regulatory submissions, resulting from the investigator-sponsored trials. However, we do not have control over the timing and reporting of the data from investigator-sponsored trials, nor do we own the data from the investigator-sponsored trials. If we are unable to confirm or replicate the results from the investigator-sponsored trials or if negative results are obtained, we would likely be further delayed or prevented from advancing further clinical development. Further, if investigators or institutions breach their obligations with respect to the clinical development of our product candidates, or if the data proves to be inadequate compared to the firsthand knowledge we might have gained had the investigator-sponsored trials been sponsored and conducted by us, then our ability to design and conduct any future clinical trials ourselves may be adversely affected. Additionally, the FDA or EMA may disagree with the sufficiency of our right of reference to the preclinical, manufacturing or clinical data generated by these investigator-sponsored trials, or our interpretation of preclinical, manufacturing or clinical data from these investigator-sponsored trials. If so, the FDA or EMA may require us to obtain and submit additional preclinical, manufacturing, or clinical data.

We intend to rely on third parties to manufacture product candidates, which increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of such product candidates or products or such quantities at an acceptable cost, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.

We do not own or operate manufacturing facilities for the production of clinical or commercial supplies of the product candidates that we are developing or evaluating in our development programs. We have limited personnel with experience in drug manufacturing and lack the resources and the capabilities to manufacture any of our product candidates on a clinical or commercial scale. We rely on third parties, including those located in China, for supply of our product candidates, and our strategy is to outsource all manufacturing of our product candidates and products to third parties. For any activities conducted in China, we are exposed to the increased possibility of supply disruptions and higher costs in the event of changes in the policies of the U.S. or Chinese governments, political unrest or unstable economic conditions including sanctions on China or any of our China-based suppliers. Our manufacturing costs could also increase as a result of future appreciation of the local currency in China or increased labor costs if the demand for skilled laborers increases and/or the availability of skilled labor declines in China. In addition, certain Chinese biotechnology companies may become subject to trade restrictions, sanctions, other regulatory requirements, or proposed legislation by the U.S. government, which could restrict or even prohibit our ability to work with such entities, thereby potentially disrupting the supply of material to us. Such disruption could have adverse effects on the development of our product candidates and our business operations.

In order to conduct clinical trials of product candidates, we will need to have them manufactured in potentially large quantities. Our third-party manufacturers may be unable to successfully increase the manufacturing capacity for any of our product candidates in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all. In addition, quality issues may arise during scale-up activities and at any other time. For example, ongoing data on the stability of our product candidates may shorten the expiry of our product candidates and lead to clinical trial material supply shortages, and potentially clinical trial delays. Additionally, our manufacturers may experience delays as a result of impacts due to the ongoing wars involving Ukraine and Israel. Supply chain disruptions and delays may also occur as a result of any new tariff policies or trade restrictions, which could also negatively impact third-party manufacturing. For example, on April 2, 2025, the United States government announced a baseline 10% tariff on all foreign goods, with goods imported from specified nations, including China and those in the European Union, taxed at higher rates. If our third-party manufacturers are unable to successfully scale up the manufacture of our product candidates in sufficient quality and quantity, the development, testing and clinical trials of that product candidate may be delayed or infeasible, and regulatory approval or commercial launch of that product candidate may be delayed or not obtained, which could significantly harm our business.

Our use of new third-party manufacturers increases the risk of delays in production or insufficient supplies of our product candidates as we transfer our manufacturing technology to these manufacturers and as they gain experience manufacturing our product candidates. Even after a third-party manufacturer has gained significant experience in manufacturing our product candidates or even if we believe we have succeeded in optimizing the manufacturing process,

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there can be no assurance that such manufacturer will produce sufficient quantities of our product candidates in a timely manner or continuously over time, or at all.

We may be delayed if we need to change the manufacturing process used by a third party. Further, if we change an approved manufacturing process, then we may be delayed if the FDA or a comparable foreign authority needs to review the new manufacturing process before it may be used.

We operate an outsourced model for the manufacture of our product candidates, and contract with cGMP licensed pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations. While we have engaged several third-party vendors to provide clinical and non-clinical supplies and fill-finish services, we do not currently have any agreements with third-party manufacturers for long-term commercial supplies. In the future, we may be unable to enter into agreements with third-party manufacturers for commercial supplies of any product candidate that we develop, or may be unable to do so on acceptable terms. Even if we are able to establish and maintain arrangements with third-party manufacturers, reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks, including:

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reliance on third parties for manufacturing process development, regulatory compliance and quality assurance;

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limitations on supply availability resulting from capacity and scheduling constraints of third parties;

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the possible breach of manufacturing agreements by third parties because of factors beyond our control; and

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the possible termination or non-renewal of the manufacturing agreements by the third party, at a time that is costly or inconvenient to us.

Third-party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMP requirements or similar regulatory requirements outside the United States. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with applicable requirements could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of product candidates or products, operating restrictions and/or criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our product candidates. In addition, some of the product candidates we intend to develop, including zelenectide pevedotin and BT5528 use toxins or other substances that can be produced only in specialized facilities with specific authorizations and permits, and there can be no guarantee that we or our manufacturers can maintain such authorizations and permits. These specialized requirements may also limit the number of potential manufacturers that we can engage to produce our product candidates and impair any efforts to transition to replacement manufacturers.

Our future product candidates and any products that we may develop may compete with other product candidates and products for access to manufacturing facilities. There are a limited number of manufacturers that operate under cGMP requirements that might be capable of manufacturing for us.

If the third parties that we engage to supply any materials or manufacture product for our preclinical tests and clinical trials should cease to continue to do so for any reason, including as a result of the impacts of public health crises on the global workforce and manufacturing operations, we likely would experience delays in advancing these tests and trials while we identify and qualify replacement suppliers or manufacturers and we may be unable to obtain replacement supplies on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, if we are not able to obtain adequate supplies of our product candidates or the substances used to manufacture them, it will be more difficult for us to develop our product candidates and compete effectively.

Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of our product candidates may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to develop product candidates and commercialize any products that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.

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Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed.

Because we rely on third parties to manufacture our product candidates, and because we collaborate with various organizations and academic institutions on the development of our product candidates, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with our collaborators, advisors, employees and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, such as trade secrets.

Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business.

In addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability of our collaborators, advisors, employees and consultants to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets. Our academic collaborators typically have rights to publish data, provided that we are notified in advance and may delay publication for a specified time in order to secure our intellectual property rights arising from the collaboration. In other cases, publication rights are controlled exclusively by us, although in some cases we may share these rights with other parties. Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of these agreements, independent development or publication of information including our trade secrets in cases where we do not have proprietary or otherwise protected rights at the time of publication. A competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection for our products and product candidates, or if the scope of the patent and other intellectual property protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our products and product candidates may be adversely affected.

Our ability to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to maintain the proprietary nature of our technology and manufacturing processes. We rely on research, manufacturing and other know-how, patents, trade secrets, license agreements and contractual provisions to establish our intellectual property rights and protect our products and product candidates. These legal means, however, afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights.

In certain situations and as considered appropriate, we have sought, and we intend to continue to seek to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and, in at least some cases, one or more countries outside the United States relating to current and future products and product candidates that are important to our business. However, we cannot predict whether the patent applications currently being pursued will issue as patents, or whether the claims of any resulting patents will provide us with a competitive advantage or whether we will be able to successfully pursue patent applications in the future relating to our current or future products and product candidates. Moreover, the patent application and approval process is expensive and time-consuming. We may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. Furthermore, we, or any future partners, collaborators, or licensees, may fail to identify patentable aspects of inventions made in the course of development and commercialization activities before it is too late to obtain patent protection on them. Therefore, we may miss potential opportunities to seek additional patent protection. It is possible that defects of form in the preparation or filing of patent applications may exist, or may arise in the future, for example with respect to proper priority claims, inventorship, claim scope, or requests for patent term adjustments. If we fail to establish, maintain or protect such

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patents and other intellectual property rights, such rights may be reduced or eliminated. If there are material defects in the form, preparation, prosecution or enforcement of our patents or patent applications, such patents may be invalid and/or unenforceable, and such applications may never result in valid, enforceable patents.

Even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications, if issued, may not provide us with any meaningful protection or prevent competitors from designing around our patent claims by developing similar or alternative technologies or therapeutics in a non-infringing manner. For example, a third party may develop a competitive therapy that provides benefits similar to one or more of our product candidates but that falls outside the scope of our patent protection. If the patent protection provided by the patents and patent applications we hold or pursue with respect to our product candidates is not sufficiently broad to impede such competition, our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates could be negatively affected.

Other parties, many of whom have substantially greater resources and have made significant investments in competing technologies, have developed or may develop technologies that may be related or competitive with our approach, and may have filed or may file patent applications and may have been issued or may be issued patents with claims that overlap or conflict with our patent applications, either by claiming the same compositions, formulations or methods or by claiming subject matter that could dominate our patent position. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. As a result, any patents we may obtain in the future may not provide us with adequate and continuing patent protection sufficient to exclude others from commercializing products similar to our products and product candidates.

The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents has emerged to date in the United States or in many foreign jurisdictions. In addition, the determination of patent rights with respect to pharmaceutical compounds commonly involves complex legal and factual questions, which has in recent years been the subject of much litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain. Our competitors may also seek approval to market their own products similar to or otherwise competitive with our products. Alternatively, our competitors may seek to market generic versions of any approved products by submitting ANDAs to the FDA in which they claim that our patents are invalid, unenforceable or not infringed. In these circumstances, we may need to defend or assert our patents, or both, including by filing lawsuits alleging patent infringement. In any of these types of proceedings, a court or other agency with jurisdiction may find our patents invalid or unenforceable, or that our competitors are competing in a non-infringing manner. Thus, even if we have valid and enforceable patents, these patents still may not provide protection against competing products or processes sufficient to achieve our business objectives.

In the future, one or more of our products and product candidates may be in-licensed from third parties. Accordingly, in some cases, the availability and scope of potential patent protection is limited based on prior decisions by our licensors or the inventors, such as decisions on when to file patent applications or whether to file patent applications at all. Our failure to obtain, maintain, enforce or defend such intellectual property rights, for any reason, could allow third parties, in particular, other established and better financed competitors having established development, manufacturing and distribution capabilities, to make competing products or impact our ability to develop, manufacture and market our products and product candidates, even if approved, on a commercially viable basis, if at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

In addition to patent protection, we expect to rely heavily on trade secrets, know-how and other unpatented technology, which are difficult to protect. Although we seek such protection in part by entering into confidentiality agreements with our vendors, employees, consultants and others who may have access to proprietary information, we cannot be certain that these agreements will not be breached, adequate remedies for any breach would be available, or our trade secrets, know-how and other unpatented proprietary technology will not otherwise become known to or be independently developed by our competitors. If we are unsuccessful in protecting our intellectual property rights, sales of our products may suffer and our ability to generate revenue could be severely impacted.

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Issued patents covering our products and product candidates could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or in administrative proceedings. We may not be able to protect our trade secrets in court.

If we initiate legal proceedings against a third-party to enforce a patent covering one of our products or product candidates, should such a patent issue, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product or product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, written description or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld information material to patentability from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. Third parties also may raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post grant review, inter partes review and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. An adverse determination in any of the foregoing proceedings could result in the revocation or cancellation of, or amendment to, our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our products or product candidates. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which the patent examiner and we were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant or third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we could lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on one or more of our products and product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection may materially harm our intellectual property estate, which would impair our ability to establish competitive barriers to entry in the form of intellectual property protections.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable or that we elect not to patent, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our product candidate discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect and some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, and contractors. We cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach.

In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. Competitors and other third parties could purchase our products and product candidates and attempt to replicate some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate our intellectual property rights, design around our protected technology or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they communicate it, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If our trade secrets are not adequately protected or sufficient to provide an advantage over our competitors, our competitive position could be adversely affected, as could our business. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating our trade secrets.

We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of the patents and other intellectual property.

We may be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an ownership interest in the patents and intellectual property that we own or that we may own or license in the future. While it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual property that we regard as our own or such assignments may not be self-executing or may be breached. We could be subject to ownership disputes arising, for example, from conflicting

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obligations of employees, consultants or others who are involved in developing our products or product candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against any claims challenging inventorship or ownership. If we fail in defending any such claims, we may have to pay monetary damages and may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, intellectual property, which could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Obtaining and maintaining patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other governmental fees on patents and applications are required to be paid to the USPTO and various governmental patent agencies outside of the United States in several stages over the lifetime of the patents and applications. The USPTO and various non-U.S. governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process and after a patent has issued. There are situations in which non-compliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. The terms of one or more licenses that we enter into the future may not provide us with the ability to maintain or prosecute patents in the portfolio, and must therefore rely on third parties to do so.

If we do not obtain patent term extension and data exclusivity for our products and product candidates, our business may be materially harmed.

Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, if all maintenance fees are timely paid, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years from its earliest U.S. non-provisional filing date. Various extensions may be available, but the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product candidate, we may be open to competition from competitive products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.

In the future, if we obtain an issued patent covering one of our present or future product candidates, depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of any FDA marketing approval of such product candidates, such patent may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or Hatch-Waxman Amendments. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent extension term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. A patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent may be extended and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. A patent may only be extended once and only based on a single approved product. However, we may not be granted an extension because of, for example, failure to obtain a granted patent before approval of a product candidate, failure to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, failure to apply within applicable deadlines, failure to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise our failure to satisfy applicable requirements. A patent licensed to us by a third party may not be available for patent term extension. Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or the term of any such extension is less than we request, our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our revenue could be reduced, possibly materially.

Changes in patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products and product candidates.

Changes in either the patent laws or the interpretation of the patent laws in the United States or other jurisdictions could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of issued patents. On September 16, 2011, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, was signed into law. When implemented, the Leahy-Smith Act included several significant changes to U.S.

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patent law that impacted how patent rights could be prosecuted, enforced and defended. In particular, the Leahy-Smith Act also included provisions that switched the United States from a “first-to-invent” system to a “first-to-file” system, allowed third-party submission of prior art to the USPTO during patent prosecution and set forth additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent by the USPTO administered post grant proceedings. Under a first-to-file system, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application generally will be entitled to the patent on an invention regardless of whether another inventor had made the invention earlier. The USPTO developed new regulations and procedures governing the administration of the Leahy-Smith Act, and many of the substantive changes to patent law associated with the Leahy-Smith Act, and in particular, the first to file provisions, only became effective on March 16, 2013. It remains unclear what, if any, impact the Leahy-Smith Act will have on the operation of our business. However, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

In addition, the patent positions of companies in the development and commercialization of biologics and pharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain. Recent rulings from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. This combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the validity and enforceability of patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could have a material adverse effect on our existing patent portfolio and our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property in the future.

We cannot provide assurance that our efforts to seek patent protection for one or more of our products and product candidates will not be negatively impacted by the decisions described above, rulings in other cases or changes in guidance or procedures issued by the USPTO. We cannot fully predict what impact courts’ decisions in historical and future cases may have on the ability of life science companies to obtain or enforce patents relating to their products in the future. These decisions, the guidance issued by the USPTO and rulings in other cases or changes in USPTO guidance or procedures could have a material adverse effect on our existing patent rights and our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property in the future.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing patents on products and product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States could be less extensive than those in the United States. The requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly in developing countries; thus, even in countries where we do pursue patent protection, there can be no assurance that any patents will issue with claims that cover our products. There can be no assurance that we will obtain or maintain patent rights in or outside the United States under any future license agreements. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, even in jurisdictions where we pursue patent protection, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not pursued and obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products and product candidates and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology and pharmaceutical products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. For example, many foreign countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner must grant licenses to third parties. Proceedings to enforce

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our patent rights, even if obtained, in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. While we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in major markets for our products, we cannot ensure that we will be able to initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market our products. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop.

If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, such litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent or delay us from developing or commercializing our product candidates.

Our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates without infringing the intellectual property and other proprietary rights of third parties. Third parties may have U.S. and non-U.S. issued patents and pending patent applications relating to compounds, methods of manufacturing compounds and/or methods of use for the treatment of the disease indications for which we are developing our product candidates. If any third-party patents or patent applications are found to cover our product candidates or their methods of use or manufacture, we and our collaborators or sublicensees may not be free to manufacture or market our product candidates as planned without obtaining a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We may also be required to indemnify our collaborators or sublicensees in such an event.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and we were previously party to protracted litigation with Pepscan, which we settled in 2020. We may become party to, or be threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products candidates, including interference and post-grant proceedings before the USPTO. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the composition, use or manufacture of our product candidates. We cannot guarantee that any of our patent searches or analyses including, but not limited to, the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims or the expiration of relevant patents are complete or thorough, nor can we be certain that we have identified each and every patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of our product candidates in any jurisdiction. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may be accused of infringing. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. Accordingly, third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on intellectual property rights that exist now or arise in the future. The outcome of intellectual property litigation is subject to uncertainties that cannot be adequately quantified in advance. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have produced a significant number of patents, and it may not always be clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use or manufacture. The scope of protection afforded by a patent is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we were sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates, products or methods either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that the patent claims are invalid or unenforceable, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity is difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in pursuing these proceedings, which could significantly harm our business and operating results. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion.

If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing or commercializing the infringing product candidate or product. Alternatively, we may be required to obtain a license from such third party in order to use the infringing technology and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing product candidate or product. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us; alternatively or additionally, it could include terms that impede or destroy our ability to compete successfully in the commercial

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marketplace. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.

We may be subject to claims by third parties asserting that our employees or we have misappropriated their intellectual property, or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

Many of our current and former employees, including our senior management, were previously employed at universities or at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including some which may be competitors or potential competitors. Some of these employees may be subject to proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements, or similar agreements, in connection with such previous employment. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we have been in the past and may be subject in the future to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such third party. Litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel or sustain damages. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to commercialize our technology or products. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

In addition, while we typically require our employees, consultants and contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual property that we regard as our own, which may result in claims by or against us related to the ownership of such intellectual property. If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. Even if we are successful in prosecuting or defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our senior management and scientific personnel.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe our patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. In addition, our patents may become, involved in inventorship, priority, or validity disputes. To counter or defend against such claims can be expensive and time-consuming, and our adversaries may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to prosecuting these legal actions than we can. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents, in addition to counterclaims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable, or both.

In an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating intellectual property rights we own or control. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our owned or in-licensed patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. Further, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.

Even if resolved in our favor, the court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our

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personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our ADSs. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing, or distribution activities.

We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct such litigation or proceedings adequately. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under any future intellectual property licenses with third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

In connection with our efforts to build our product candidate pipeline, we may enter into license agreements in the future. We expect that such license agreements will impose various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our obligations under these licenses, our licensors may have the right to terminate these license agreements, in which event we might not be able to market any product that is covered by these agreements, or our licensors may convert the license to a non-exclusive license, which could negatively impact the value of the product candidate being developed under the license agreement. Termination of these license agreements or reduction or elimination of our licensed rights may also result in our having to negotiate new or reinstated licenses with less favorable terms.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our marks of interest and our business may be adversely affected.

Our trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented or declared invalid, generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. We rely on both registration and common law protection for our trademarks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names or may be forced to stop using these names, which we need for name recognition by potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. During trademark registration proceedings, we may receive objections. Although we would be given an opportunity to respond to those objections, we may be unable to overcome such objections. In addition, in the USPTO and in comparable Intellectual Property Offices in many foreign jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings have been and may in the future be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings. For example, our U.K. trademark application for “TICA” was successfully opposed in the U.K., Japan and the EU for the majority of goods and services for which we originally applied, and we have abandoned our trademark application for “TICA” in the United States as a result. If we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Employee Matters and Managing Growth

Our future success depends on our ability to retain key employees, consultants and advisors and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.

We are highly dependent on principal members of our executive team and key employees, the loss of whose services may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives. While we have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers, any of them could leave our employment at any time. We do not maintain “key person” insurance policies on the lives of these individuals or the lives of any of our other employees. The loss of the services of one or more of our current key employees might impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives. Furthermore, replacing executive officers or other key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to develop, gain marketing approval of and commercialize products successfully.

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Recruiting and retaining other qualified employees, consultants and advisors for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will also be critical to our success. There is currently a shortage of skilled executives and personnel in our industry, which is likely to continue. As a result, competition for skilled personnel is intense and the turnover rate can be high. We may not be able to attract and retain personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for individuals with similar skill sets. In addition, failure to succeed in preclinical or clinical trials may make it more challenging to recruit and retain qualified personnel.

In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by other entities and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with those entities that may limit their availability to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates will be limited.

The inability to recruit or the loss of the services of any executive, key employee, consultant or advisor may impede the progress of our research, development and commercialization objectives.

Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, collaborators and CROs may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could cause significant liability for us and harm our reputation.

We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors, consultants, collaborators and contract research organizations may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by those parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates: (1) FDA regulations or similar regulations of comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities, including those laws requiring the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities; (2) manufacturing standards; (3) federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations and similar laws and regulations established and enforced by comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities; and (4) laws that require the reporting of financial information or data accurately. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing, bribery and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Employee or collaborator misconduct could also involve the improper use of, including trading on, information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. Further, because of our hybrid work environment, information that is normally protected, including company confidential information, may be less secure. We have adopted a code of conduct and business ethics to which all of our employees must adhere, but it is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws, standards or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

We have recently expanded our organization significantly and we expect to continue to expand our organization, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.

We have recently experienced significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations and expect to continue to expand, particularly in the areas of drug manufacturing, supply chain, clinical development, sales, marketing, as well as to support our public company operations. To manage these growth activities,

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failure by us to meet or exceed financial projections we may provide to the public;

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failure by us to meet or exceed the financial projections of the investment community;

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the perception of the pharmaceutical industry by the public, legislatures, regulators and the investment community;

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announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us, our strategic partners or our competitors;

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disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;

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additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;

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significant lawsuits, including patent or shareholder litigation;

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changes in the market valuations of similar companies;

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sales of our ADSs or ordinary shares by us or our shareholders in the future; and

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the trading volume of our ADSs.

The global economy, including credit and financial markets, has experienced extreme volatility and disruptions, including, among other things, severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates, supply chain shortages, increases in inflation rates, higher interest rates and uncertainty about economic stability. Similarly, the ongoing wars involving Ukraine and Israel and recent U.S. trade restrictions have created extreme volatility in the global capital markets and may have further global economic consequences, including further disruptions of the global supply chain and energy markets. Any such volatility and disruptions may have adverse consequences on us or the third parties on whom we rely. If the equity and credit markets continue to deteriorate, it may make any necessary debt or equity financings more difficult to obtain in a timely manner or on favorable terms, more costly or more dilutive. Increased inflation rates and macroeconomic turmoil can adversely affect us by increasing our costs and the costs of our CMOs and other suppliers. These factors may negatively affect the market price of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance.

The dual class structure of our shares may limit your ability to influence corporate matters and may limit your visibility with respect to certain transactions.

As of April 28, 2025, we had 47,761,845 ordinary shares, nominal value £0.01 per share, and 21,492,099 non-voting ordinary shares, nominal value £0.01 per share, outstanding. The dual class structure of our shares may limit your ability to influence corporate matters. Holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share, while holders of our non-voting ordinary shares are not entitled to any votes. Nevertheless, non-voting ordinary shares may be re-designated at any time as ordinary shares at the option of the holder by providing written notice to us, subject to certain restrictions. Such restrictions include prohibitions on a holder from re-designating the non-voting ordinary shares as ordinary shares if such re-designation would result in such holder beneficially owning (when aggregated with “affiliates” and “group” members) in excess of 9.99% of any class of our securities registered under the Exchange Act, or upon at least 61 days’ notice, not in excess of 19.9%. Any re-designation of non-voting ordinary shares as ordinary shares will have the effect of increasing the relative voting power of those prior holders of our non-voting ordinary shares, and correspondingly decreasing the voting power of the holders of our ordinary shares, which may limit your ability to influence corporate matters. The ordinary shares currently have 100% of the voting power, but if the holders of non-voting ordinary shares were to re-designate all of their non-voting ordinary shares as ordinary shares (assuming, for these purposes, that they were able to do so in compliance with the beneficial ownership limitation), based on the number of ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares outstanding on March 31, 2025, the ordinary shares

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outstanding prior to the re-designation would have approximately 69% of the voting power and the former non-voting ordinary shares would represent approximately 31% of the voting power.

Substantial future sales or issuances of shares of our ordinary shares or ADSs or other equity-related securities could adversely affect the price of our ADSs and dilute shareholders.

Sales of a substantial number of ordinary shares or ADSs, and sales by our management, our directors, their affiliates, or significant shareholders, could occur at any time. In June 2024, we registered for resale 37,656,764 ordinary shares, representing 37,656,764 ADSs that were or may become beneficially owned by selling securityholders, including certain entities affiliated with Baker Bros. Advisors LP, or the Baker Entities. The selling securityholders will determine whether and when these securities are resold in the public market. These shares represent a large number of our ordinary shares, and if sold in the market in transactions that occur at about the same time, such transactions could depress the market of our ADSs and could also affect our ability to raise equity capital through the sale of additional equity or equity-related securities, including non-voting ordinary shares, to meet our capital needs, including in connection with funding potential future acquisition or licensing opportunities, capital expenditures or product development costs. Our registration obligations pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement with the Baker Entities also cover all shares thereafter acquired by the Baker Entities, for up to 10 years, and include our obligation to facilitate certain underwritten public offerings of our ordinary shares or ADSs by the Baker Entities in the future. In addition, ordinary shares subject to outstanding options under our equity incentive plans and the ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans will become eligible for sale in the public market in the future, subject to certain legal and contractual limitations, which will dilute current holders.

Our existing shareholders may consult with our management and have various impacts on our business affairs.

Based on information available to us, the Baker Entities beneficially own approximately 22.8% of our ordinary shares. While our shareholder base and relative holdings may change over time, the Baker Entities hold the largest ownership position in our outstanding ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares. In addition, Felix J. Baker, a member of our board of directors, is a managing member of Baker Bros. Advisors (GP) LLC, which is the sole general partner of Baker Bros. Advisors LP. The interests of the Baker Entities and its affiliates may not always coincide with the interests of other shareholders, and any influence exerted over our business and affairs by these entities may not coincide with the wishes of other shareholders.

In addition, our executive officers and directors and holders of greater than five percent of our outstanding ordinary shares beneficially owned approximately 59% of our voting power as of April 28, 2025. As a result, these shareholders in aggregate are able to exert substantial influence over our management and affairs and matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, such as mergers, consolidations or the sale of substantially all of our assets. Consequently, this concentration of ownership may result in our taking corporate actions that our other shareholders may not consider to be in their best interest. For example, it may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control, including a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving us or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control, which might affect the market price of our ADSs.

Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our ADSs in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be the sole source of gains for holders of our ADSs, and they may never receive a return on their investment.

Under current English law, a company’s accumulated realized profits must exceed its accumulated realized losses (on a non-consolidated basis) before dividends can be declared and paid. Therefore, we must have distributable profits before declaring and paying a dividend. We have not paid dividends in the past on our ordinary shares. We intend to retain earnings, if any, for use in our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, on our ADSs will be a holder’s sole source of gains for the foreseeable future, and holders will suffer a loss on their investment if they are unable to sell their ADSs at or above the original purchase price.

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Risks Related to Our Incorporation Under the Laws of England and Wales

Claims of U.S. civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.

We are incorporated under English law. Certain members of our board of directors and senior management are non-residents of the United States, and all or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible to serve process on such persons or us in the United States or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts against them or us based on civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States.

The United States and the United Kingdom do not currently have a treaty providing for recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and commercial matters. Consequently, a final judgment for payment given by a court in the United States, whether or not predicated solely upon U.S. securities laws, would not automatically be recognized or enforceable in the United Kingdom. In addition, uncertainty exists as to whether U.K. courts would entertain original actions brought in the United Kingdom against us or our directors or senior management predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. Any final and conclusive monetary judgment for a definite sum obtained against us in U.S. courts would be treated by the courts of the United Kingdom as a cause of action in itself and sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary, provided that certain requirements are met. Whether these requirements are met in respect of a judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws, including whether the award of monetary damages under such laws would constitute a penalty, is an issue for the court making such decision. If an English court gives judgment for the sum payable under a U.S. judgment, the English judgment will be enforceable by methods generally available for this purpose. These methods generally permit the English court discretion to prescribe the manner of enforcement.

As a result, U.S. investors may not be able to enforce against us or our senior management, board of directors or certain experts named herein who are residents of the United Kingdom or countries other than the United States any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities laws.

If we are a controlled foreign corporation, there could be adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to certain U.S. holders.

Each “Ten Percent Shareholder” (as defined below) in a non-U.S. corporation that is classified as a “controlled foreign corporation,” or a CFC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes generally is required to report annually and include in income for U.S. federal tax purposes such Ten Percent Shareholder’s pro rata share of the CFC’s “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income,” and investment of earnings in U.S. property, even if the CFC has made no distributions to its shareholders. In addition, a Ten Percent Shareholder that realizes gain from the sale or exchange of shares in a CFC may be required to classify a portion of such gain as dividend income rather than capital gain. An individual that is a Ten Percent Shareholder with respect to a CFC generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a U.S. corporation that is a Ten Percent Shareholder with respect to a CFC. Failure to comply with these reporting and tax paying obligations may subject a Ten Percent Shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations from starting with respect to such shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due. A non-U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if Ten Percent Shareholders own (directly, indirectly or constructively through the application of attribution rules) more than 50% of either the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of such corporation entitled to vote or of the total value of the stock of such corporation. A “Ten Percent Shareholder” is a United States person (as defined by the Code) who owns or is considered to own (directly, indirectly or constructively through the application of attribution rules) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or 10% or more of the total value of all classes of stock of such corporation.

Each Ten Percent Shareholder should also be aware that because our group includes a U.S. subsidiary, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries will be treated as CFCs (regardless of whether or not we are treated as a CFC). We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist shareholders in determining whether we are or any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is

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treated as a CFC or whether any shareholder is treated as a Ten Percent Shareholder with respect to any such CFC or furnish to any shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with reporting and tax paying obligations. The Internal Revenue Service has provided limited guidance on situations in which investors may rely on publicly available information to comply with their reporting and tax paying obligations with respect to foreign-controlled CFCs.

The determination of CFC status is complex and includes attribution rules, the application of which is not entirely certain. United States persons should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the potential adverse U.S. tax consequences of becoming a Ten Percent Shareholder in a CFC.

If we are a passive foreign investment company, there could be adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders.

Under the Code, we will be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for any taxable year in which (1) 75% or more of our gross income consists of passive income or (2) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of our assets consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income, including cash. For purposes of these tests, passive income includes dividends, interest, gains from the sale or exchange of investment property and certain rents and royalties. In addition, for purposes of the above calculations, a non-U.S. corporation that directly or indirectly owns at least 25% by value of the shares of another corporation is treated as holding and receiving directly its proportionate share of assets and income of such corporation. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a United States person holds our shares, such U.S. shareholder may be subject to adverse tax consequences regardless of whether we continue to qualify as a PFIC, including ineligibility for any preferred tax rates on capital gains or on actual or deemed dividends, interest charges on certain taxes treated as deferred and additional reporting requirements.

Based on our analysis of our income, assets, activities and market capitalization, we believe that we were a PFIC in the 2024 taxable year. In addition, no assurances can be provided that we will not be a PFIC for any future taxable year or that we have not been a PFIC in any prior taxable years. The determination of whether we are a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis applying principles and methodologies that in some circumstances are unclear and subject to varying interpretation. As a result, there can be no assurance regarding if we will be PFIC or will not be a PFIC in the future. In addition, the total value of our assets for PFIC testing purposes may be determined in part by reference to the market price of our ordinary shares or ADSs from time to time, which may fluctuate considerably. Under the income test, our status as a PFIC depends on the composition of our income which will depend on the transactions we enter into and our corporate structure. In the event we are a PFIC, we intend to provide the information necessary for U.S. holders to make a qualified electing fund, or QEF, election.

We may be unable to use net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses to reduce future tax payments or benefit from favorable U.K. tax legislation.

As an entity incorporated and tax resident in the United Kingdom, we are subject to U.K. corporate taxation. Due to the nature of our business, we have generated losses since inception and therefore have not paid any U.K. corporation tax. Subject to numerous utilization criteria and restrictions (including the Corporate Income Loss Restriction and the Corporate Capital Loss Restriction that, broadly, restrict the amount of carried forward losses that can be utilized to 50% of group profits or gains arising above £5.0 million per tax year, we expect losses to be eligible for carry forward and utilization against future operating profits. In addition, if we were to have a major change in the nature of the conduct or the conduct of our trade, loss carryforwards may be restricted or extinguished.

As a group that carries out extensive research and development, or R&D, activities, we seek to benefit from the U.K. R&D tax credit regime. In respect of accounting periods in which we qualify as a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise, or SME, and in which our relevant R&D expenditure represents 40% (or, from April 1, 2024, 30%) or more of the total relevant expenditure (meaning we also qualify as “R&D intensive” during such accounting period), we may, under this regime, surrender the trading losses that arise from our R&D activities for a cash rebate of up to 26.97% of qualifying R&D expenditure. Accordingly, if we cease to qualify as an R&D-intensive SME in the future, we will either cease to be able to claim cash rebates in respect of our R&D activities, or only be able to receive cash payments or other tax relief (under other provisions of the U.K. R&D tax credit regime) at a significantly lower rate than at present. Further, the regime’s rules are complex, and if a tax authority were to challenge or seek to disallow our claims (in whole

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or in part), for example by asserting that we do not (or the relevant expenditure does not) meet the technical conditions to be granted tax credits (or cash rebates), then such challenge or disallowance, if successful, could have a material impact on our cash-flow and financial performance. In addition, future changes to the U.K. R&D tax credit regime may mean that we no longer qualify for it or have a material impact on the extent to which we can make claims (or benefit from them).

We may benefit in the future from the United Kingdom’s “patent box” regime, which allows certain profits attributable to revenues from patented products (and other qualifying income) to be taxed at an effective rate of 10% by giving an additional tax deduction. We are the exclusive licensee or owner of several patent applications which, if issued, would cover our product candidates, and accordingly, future upfront fees, milestone fees, product revenues and royalties could be eligible for this tax deduction. When taken in combination with the enhanced relief available on our R&D expenditures, we expect a long-term rate of corporation tax lower than the statutory rate to apply to us. If, however, there are unexpected adverse changes to the U.K. R&D tax relief programs or the “patent box” regime, or for any reason we are unable to qualify for such advantageous tax legislation, or we are unable to use net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses to reduce future tax payments then our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. This may impact our ongoing requirement for investment and the timeframes within which additional investment is required.

Future changes to tax laws could materially adversely affect our company and reduce net returns to our shareholders.

The tax treatment of the company is, and our ADSs and ordinary shares are, subject to changes in tax laws, regulations and treaties, or the interpretation thereof, tax policy initiatives and reforms under consideration or being implemented by tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate, including in connection with tax policy initiatives and reforms led by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s, or OECD, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, or BEPS, Project (including “BEPS 2.0”) and the European Commission. Such changes may include (but are not limited to) the taxation of operating income, investment income, dividends received or (in the specific context of withholding tax) dividends paid, or the stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax treatment of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

In the United States on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the IRA, which includes a minimum tax equal to 15% of the adjusted financial statement income of certain corporations, as well as a 1% excise tax on share buybacks. In addition, beginning in 2022, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the option to deduct research and development expenditures and requires taxpayers to capitalize and subsequently amortize such expenses over five years for research activities conducted in the United States and over 15 years for research activities conducted outside the United States. Although Congress is considering legislation that would defer the amortization requirement to later years, we have no assurance that the provision will be repealed or otherwise modified. If the requirement is not modified or deferred, it may materially reduce our cash flows. We are unable to predict what tax reform may be proposed or enacted in the future or what effect such changes would have on our business, but such changes, to the extent they are brought into tax legislation, regulations, policies or practices, could affect our financial position and overall or effective tax rates in the future in countries where we have operations, reduce post-tax returns to our shareholders, and increase the complexity, burden and cost of tax compliance.

Tax authorities may disagree with our positions and conclusions regarding certain tax positions, or may apply existing rules in an unforeseen manner, resulting in unanticipated costs, taxes or non-realization of expected benefits.

A tax authority may disagree with tax positions that we have taken, which could result in increased tax liabilities. For example, while we believe that we operate in compliance with applicable transfer pricing laws and intend to continue to do so, our transfer pricing procedures are not binding on applicable tax authorities. HMRC, the Internal Revenue Service or another tax authority could challenge our allocation of income by tax jurisdiction and the amounts paid between our affiliated companies pursuant to our intercompany arrangements and transfer pricing policies, including amounts paid with respect to our intellectual property development. Similarly, a tax authority could assert that we are subject to tax in a jurisdiction where we believe we have not established a taxable connection, often referred to as a “permanent establishment” under international tax treaties and, such an assertion, if successful, could increase our expected tax liability in one or more jurisdictions. A tax authority may take the position that material income tax

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liabilities, interest and penalties are payable by us, in which case, we expect that we might contest such assessment. Contesting such an assessment may be lengthy and costly and if we were unsuccessful in disputing the assessment, the implications could increase our anticipated effective tax rate, where applicable.

Provisions in the U.K. City Code on Takeovers and Mergers that may have anti-takeover effects do not apply to us.

The U.K. City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, or the Takeover Code, applies to an offer for, among other things, a public company whose registered office is in the United Kingdom if the company is considered by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, or the Takeover Panel, to have its place of central management and control in the United Kingdom (or the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man). This is known as the “residency test.” The test for central management and control under the Takeover Code is different from that used by the U.K. tax authorities. Under the Takeover Code, the Takeover Panel will determine whether we have our place of central management and control in the United Kingdom by looking at various factors, primarily where the directors are resident.

In September 2019, the Takeover Panel Executive confirmed that, based on our current circumstances, we are not subject to the Takeover Code. As a result, our shareholders are not entitled to the benefit of certain takeover offer protections provided under the Takeover Code. We believe that this position is unlikely to change at any time in the near future but, in accordance with good practice, we will review the situation on a regular basis and consult with the Takeover Panel if there is any change in our circumstances which may have a bearing on whether the Takeover Panel would determine our place of central management and control to be in the United Kingdom.

The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights typically offered to shareholders of a U.S. corporation.

We are incorporated under English law. The rights of holders of ordinary shares and, therefore, certain of the rights of holders of ADSs, are governed by English law, including the provisions of the U.K. Companies Act 2006, or the Companies Act, and by our Articles of Association. These rights differ in certain respects from the rights of shareholders in typical U.S. corporations. The principal differences include the following:

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under English law and our articles of association, each shareholder present at a meeting has only one vote unless demand is made for a vote on a poll, in which case each holder gets one vote per share owned. Under U.S. law, each shareholder typically is entitled to one vote per share at all meetings;

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under English law, the number of shares determines the number of votes a holder may cast only on a poll. However, that the voting rights of ADSs are also governed by the provisions of a deposit agreement with our depositary bank;

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under English law, subject to certain exceptions and disapplications, each shareholder generally has preemptive rights to subscribe on a proportionate basis to any issuance of ordinary shares or rights to subscribe for, or to convert securities into, ordinary shares for cash. Under U.S. law, shareholders generally do not have preemptive rights unless specifically granted in the certificate of incorporation or otherwise;

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under English law and our articles of association, certain matters require the approval of 75% of the shareholders who vote (in person or by proxy) on the relevant resolution (or on a poll of shareholders representing 75% of the ordinary shares voting (in person or by proxy)), including amendments to the articles of association. This may make it more difficult for us to complete corporate transactions deemed advisable by our board of directors. Under U.S. law, generally only majority shareholder approval is required to amend the certificate of incorporation or to approve other significant transactions;

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in the United Kingdom, takeovers may be structured as takeover offers or as schemes of arrangement. Under English law, if we were to be subject to the Takeover Code, a bidder seeking to acquire us by means of a takeover offer would need to make an offer for all of our outstanding ordinary shares/ADSs. If acceptances are not received for 90% or more of the ordinary shares/ADSs under the offer, under English law, the bidder cannot complete a “squeeze out” to obtain 100% control of us. Accordingly, acceptances of 90% of our outstanding ordinary shares/ADSs will likely be a condition in any takeover offer to acquire us, not 50% as is more common in tender offers for corporations organized under Delaware law. By contrast, a scheme of arrangement, the successful completion of which would result in a bidder obtaining 100%

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control of us, requires the approval of a majority of shareholders voting at the meeting and representing 75% of the ordinary shares voting, as well as the sanction of the U.K. court; and

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under English law and our articles of association, shareholders and other persons whom we know or have reasonable cause to believe are, or have been, interested in our shares may be required to disclose information regarding their interests in our shares upon our request, and the failure to provide the required information could result in the loss or restriction of rights attaching to the shares, including prohibitions on certain transfers of the shares, withholding of dividends and loss of voting rights. Comparable provisions generally do not exist under U.S. law.

General Risks

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, shareholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our ADSs.

Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Our management is required to assess the effectiveness of our controls over financial reporting annually. Pursuant to Section 404, we are also required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting, including an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. Any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404, or any subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our consolidated financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our ADSs.

Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.

We are subject to certain reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements or insufficient disclosures due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

We could be subject to securities class action litigation.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because pharmaceutical companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our ADS price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ADSs depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. Although we have obtained research

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Exhibit Number		Description

3.1		Articles of Association, dated May 16, 2024 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-38916) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024).

10.1*		Consulting Agreement, dated March 24, 2025, between the Company and Santiago Arroyo.

10.2*		Separation Agreement, dated March 24, 2025, between the Company and Santiago Arroyo.

10.3*		Consulting Agreement, dated March 15, 2019, between the Company and Stone Sunny Isles Inc., as amended by the Amendment to Consulting Agreement, executed March 26, 2025 and effective as of June 17, 2025, between the Company and Stone Atlanta Estates LLC (successor-in-interest to Stone Sunny Isles Inc.).

10.4*		Consulting Agreement, executed March 26, 2025 and effective as of June 17, 2025, between the Company and Richard Kender.

31.1*		Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.2*		Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

32.1#		Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

101.INS		XBRL Instance Document – the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document


Exhibit Number		Description
101.SCH		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema with Embedded Linkbase Documents

104		Cover Page Interactive Data File – the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document (included in Exhibit 101)


	BICYCLE THERAPEUTICS PLC

Date: May 1, 2025	By:	/s/ Kevin Lee
		Kevin Lee, Ph.D., MBA
		Chief Executive Officer
		(Principal Executive Officer)

Date: May 1, 2025	By:	/s/ Alethia Young
		Alethia Young
		Chief Financial Officer
		(Principal Financial Officer)


		Page
PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION		1

Item 1.	Financial Statements (unaudited)	1
	Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets	1
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss	2
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity	3
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows	4
	Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements	5

Item 2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	34

Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk	47

Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	47

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION		48

Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	48

Item 1A.	Risk Factors	48

Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	106

Item 3.	Defaults Upon Senior Securities	106

Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	106

Item 5.	Other Information	106

Item 6.	Exhibits	106

SIGNATURES