Peptide News Digest

Bicycle Duravelo-2 Urothelial Data, Mayo TPIV200 Vaccine Phase 2, Avacta Faridoxorubicin, Pfizer Sigvotatug ADC, Lilly ADA Retatrutide Slate, Syneron $150M Peptide Raise

ASCO's biggest peptide-oncology day: Bicycle, Mayo TPIV200, Avacta and Pfizer sigvotatug, plus Syneron's $150M peptide raise and Lilly's ADA slate.

7 stories · Covering clinical-trials, industry

Editor's Note

Monday concentrated the year's heaviest run of peptide-oncology data into a single day at McCormick Place. The targeting toolkit was on full display: Bicycle's bicyclic peptide-drug conjugate and Avacta's FAP-activated conjugate both leaned on a cleaner safety profile rather than raw response rate, while Mayo's folate-receptor vaccine showed a one-third dose works as well as the full one. Pfizer extended the conjugate theme from peptides to antibodies sharing the same payload. Money kept moving too, with Syneron's $150 million round signaling that macrocyclic and oral peptide platforms still draw large checks. The throughline is precision: deliver the payload, spare the patient. Attention now turns to ADA 2026 in New Orleans, where retatrutide's first diabetes Phase 3 and orforglipron's win over oral semaglutide anchor the metabolic slate four days out.

Clinical Trials

Bicycle Therapeutics Duravelo-2 ASCO 2026 Oral: Optimal-Dose Zelenectide Pevedotin Plus Pembrolizumab Matches Standard-of-Care Response in First-Line Urothelial Cancer With Far Less Skin and Nerve Toxicity

In the June 1 rapid oral session (Abstract 4516, Yohann Loriot), the dose-optimization stage of the randomized Phase 2 Duravelo-2 trial showed the optimal dose of the bicyclic peptide-drug conjugate zelenectide pevedotin (BT8009) plus pembrolizumab produced response rates comparable to published standard-of-care data in previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, with roughly four-fold lower skin reactions and about half the peripheral neuropathy. The separate Duravelo-1 Phase 1 trial showed median progression-free survival comparable to standard of care in cisplatin-ineligible patients.

#bicycle-therapeutics #zelenectide-pevedotin #bt8009 #duravelo-2 #urothelial-cancer #asco-2026 #nectin-4
Clinical Trials

Mayo Clinic TPIV200 Folate-Receptor-Alpha Peptide Vaccine Randomized Phase 2 (ASCO Abstract 536): One-Third Dose Matches Full Dose, Cyclophosphamide Adds Nothing

Mayo's randomized Phase 2 trial across 11 sites tested low-dose (825 μg) against high-dose (2.5 mg) TPIV200, a multi-epitope folate-receptor-alpha peptide vaccine adjuvanted with GM-CSF, with or without cyclophosphamide pretreatment in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. The low dose matched the full dose on immunogenicity, cyclophosphamide pretreatment had no impact, and vaccination induced persistent polyepitope immunity. Kathryn Ruddy, Keith Knutson, and Saranya Chumsri presented the data June 1.

#mayo-clinic #tpiv200 #folate-receptor-alpha #peptide-vaccine #triple-negative-breast-cancer #asco-2026 #gm-csf
Clinical Trials

Avacta AVA6000 (Faridoxorubicin) ASCO 2026 Update: FAP-Activated Doxorubicin Conjugate Holds Salivary-Gland Responses at a Dose Three Times Conventional Doxorubicin's Ceiling

On June 1 Avacta reported updated Phase 1a/1b data for faridoxorubicin (AVA6000), a pre|CISION-enabled, FAP-activated doxorubicin peptide-drug conjugate that releases its payload inside the tumor microenvironment. At the recommended expansion dose of 310 mg/m², nearly three times conventional doxorubicin's 75 mg/m² maximum tolerated dose, toxicity stayed below historical doxorubicin rates, and the salivary gland cancer cohort held multiple confirmed responses: four partial and nine minor responses among 38 evaluable patients.

#avacta #ava6000 #faridoxorubicin #fap-activated #peptide-drug-conjugate #salivary-gland-cancer #asco-2026
Clinical Trials

BriaCell Bria-ABC Phase 3 First Blinded Readouts at ASCO 2026: Sustained Quality of Life and Time Without Symptoms in Heavily Pretreated Metastatic Breast Cancer

BriaCell's three June 1 poster presentations moved past the previously reported 16.6-month Phase 2 median overall survival to the first blinded data from the pivotal Phase 3 Bria-ABC study: sustained quality of life despite advanced disease and a meaningful TWiST (time without symptoms or toxicity) result. Biomarker tracking continued, with stable or decreasing CAML counts correlating with better progression-free survival in 60% of evaluable patients. The Phase 3 regimen starts the checkpoint inhibitor in Cycle 1 and uses a Bria-IMT formulation without interferon-gamma.

#briacell #bria-abc #bria-imt #metastatic-breast-cancer #phase-3 #twist #asco-2026
Clinical Trials

Pfizer Sigvotatug Vedotin ASCO 2026: Integrin-β6 Antibody-Drug Conjugate Plus Pembrolizumab Posts Early NSCLC Efficacy Feeding the SigVie-003 Phase 3

Pfizer presented updated Phase 1 data for sigvotatug vedotin (PF-08046047), an integrin β6-directed antibody-drug conjugate that carries the microtubule inhibitor MMAE through a cleavable linker, combined with pembrolizumab in non-small cell lung cancer. The early efficacy supports the ongoing first-line SigVie-003 Phase 3 trial, while SigVie-002 tests the conjugate as monotherapy in previously treated advanced NSCLC. The readout extends ASCO's targeted-conjugate theme from peptide scaffolds to antibody carriers sharing the same MMAE payload.

#pfizer #sigvotatug-vedotin #integrin-beta-6 #antibody-drug-conjugate #nsclc #mmae #asco-2026
Industry

Lilly Sets ADA 2026 Slate (June 5-8, New Orleans): Retatrutide TRANSCEND-T2D-1 Diabetes Data and Foundayo Head-to-Head Versus Oral Semaglutide

Eli Lilly will present full data on retatrutide, Foundayo (orforglipron), and Mounjaro at the American Diabetes Association's 86th Scientific Sessions. The triple agonist retatrutide lowered A1C by up to 2.0% and drove 16.8% weight loss, about 36.6 lbs at the 12 mg dose, over 40 weeks in its first Phase 3 diabetes trial, TRANSCEND-T2D-1. Oral Foundayo beat oral semaglutide head-to-head with 73.6% greater relative weight loss and an A1C reduction of up to 1.7% against 0.8% for dapagliflozin.

#eli-lilly #retatrutide #transcend-t2d-1 #foundayo #orforglipron #ada-2026 #type-2-diabetes
Industry

Syneron Bio Closes $150M Series B for Macrocyclic Peptide Discovery Platform, Backed by AstraZeneca and Abu Dhabi's ADIA

Syneron Bio, a Beijing-based macrocyclic peptide drug discovery company, closed a $150 million Series B led by an international life-science fund with co-leads Decheng Capital and CDH VGC, roughly four months after a $100 million Series A. Investors include a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Qiming Venture Partners, and existing shareholder AstraZeneca, whose 2025 platform partnership carried $75 million upfront and near-term payments plus up to $3.4 billion in milestones. The raise reflects continued investor appetite for macrocyclic and oral peptide platforms, alongside Pinnacle Medicines' $89 million round.

#syneron-bio #macrocyclic-peptide #series-b #astrazeneca #peptide-financing #oral-peptides