On December 16, 2025 Bicycle Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: BCYC), a pharmaceutical company pioneering a new and differentiated class of therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycle) technology, reported it has entered into a 15-year contract including an option to renew with the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for access to up to 400 tonnes of reprocessed uranium (RepU). RepU continually regenerates providing a potentially sustainable supply of 212Pb. Bicycle intends to utilize the RepU provided by this agreement in its development of potential lifesaving therapies.
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In addition, Bicycle announced a collaboration with United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL), pursuant to which it plans to extract 228Th from the RepU obtained from NDA. The extracted 228Th will then be further processed into 224Ra and loaded into a bespoke 212Pb generator being developed exclusively for Bicycle by SpectronRx. 212Pb is a radioisotope and one of the more potent therapeutic payloads against cancer cells known as Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT).
Collectively, this bespoke set of arrangements is designed to support the potential discovery, development, and commercial supply of a portfolio of Bicycle Radioconjugates (BRC) containing 212Pb.
"Cancer is a disease that affects millions worldwide, and tears too many families apart. Breakthroughs in medical science are giving more cancer patients and their loved ones hope, and this unique partnership could help take that work even further. Turning nuclear material into cutting-edge cancer treatments sounds like science fiction – but thanks to the brilliance of scientists, researchers and doctors, it could be a life-saving reality. Work like this shows exactly why we’re determined to support our life sciences innovators to make groundbreaking new treatments possible," said Liz Kendall, Secretary of State.
"These new collaborations are testaments to the potential of Bicycle to advance a differentiated and exciting isotope agnostic radiopharmaceuticals portfolio. We believe we now have the resources and infrastructure we need to create the world’s first end-to-end 212Pb radiopharmaceutical ecosystem from discovery through development to commercial supply. We believe the potential of BRCs and our ability to incorporate the appropriate isotopes for specific patient needs is unique and creates significant value-creating capabilities," said Mike Hannay, D.Sc., FRPharmS, chief product and supply chain officer of Bicycle Therapeutics. "We are incredibly grateful to the UK government for their recognition of Bicycle’s potential to develop BRCs with a 15-year access agreement for reprocessed uranium, and to our partners SpectronRx with whom we are developing a bespoke 212Pb generator. We look forward to advancing these dynamic collaborations and developing our pipeline of radiopharmaceuticals with the potential of improving lives for cancer patients around the globe."
"I am delighted with the progress we are making in establishing ourselves as a potential leader in radiopharmaceutical R&D. Today’s announcement builds on our previous announcements concerning our agreement with Eckert & Ziegler to supply a range of radioisotopes for the manufacture of BRC products as well as the formation of our Research and Innovation Advisory Board (RAB) comprising some of the worlds most esteemed experts in radiopharmaceuticals," said Bicycle Therapeutics CEO Kevin Lee, Ph.D. "As we continue to advance our emerging BRC pipeline, currently with novel targets EphA2 and MT1-MMP, we look forward to presenting initial EphA2 human imaging data in the first half of 2026 and initiating our own Bicycle study in 2026."