UK biotech Bicycle Therapeutics has raised £40 million from a Series B financing round to advance the development of multiple candidate drugs to treat cancers with a high unmet need.

Lead candidate BT1718 is the first example of the company’s Bicycle Drug Conjugate (BDC) technology in which toxic chemical payloads are specifically targeted at malignant tumors. BT1718 targets Membrane Type 1 Matrix Metalloproteinase (MT1-MTP), which is highly expressed in many solid tumors, including triple negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. The drug is expected to enter the clinic this year in partnership with Cancer Research UK.

The money will also fund additional pipeline programs through early clinical development, the first of which will be selected in the second half of 2017, Bicycle Therapeutics said.

“This financing represents an important validation of our approach, while providing Bicycle with the resources to continue to advance our pipeline and translate our bicyclic peptide technology into important new treatment options for patients,” said Kevin Lee, Bicycle’s CEO.

Last December, the biotech firm signed a deal potentially worth $1 billion with AstraZeneca to develop bicyclic peptides - or bicycles - for treating respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Bicycle will identify candidates for an undisclosed number of targets specified by AstraZeneca, which will undertake further development and commercialization.