Ulster University spinout StimOxyGen has raised £1.5m to accelerate the development of its innovative therapy designed to overcome treatment resistance in solid tumours.
The funding will also allow StimOxyGen to advance key preclinical studies, scale-up manufacturing, and expand its team as it moves towards clinical translation.
By delivering oxygen directly to tumours, the MedTech’s lead candidate is said to enhance the effectiveness of treatments such as radiotherapy and immunotherapy, offering a potential lifeline for patients with aggressive cancers.
The firm will initially focus on pancreatic cancer, a disease with a five-year survival rate of just 13% and limited treatment options.
Hypoxia – low oxygen levels within tumours – is a major contributor to treatment failure, making cancers resistant to many first line treatment options, including radiotherapy.
StimOxyGen’s technology directly addresses this issue by increasing tumour oxygenation, making resistant cancers more responsive to standard treatments.
The £1.5m investment was led by DSW Ventures, with co-investment from QUBIS and Co-Fund NI managed by Clarendon, leveraging additional funding from Innovate UK’s Future Economy Investor Partnership grant programme.
“Hypoxia is one of the biggest barriers to effective cancer treatment,” said Sian Farrell, CEO of StimOxyGen.
“Our technology has the potential to transform how solid tumours are treated by making them more vulnerable to standard therapies. This funding allows us to accelerate preclinical development and take key steps towards clinical trials.”
StimOxyGen was founded following years of research at Ulster University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science and was spun out through the ICURe programme.
The company initially secured £500,000 in non-dilutive funding from Innovate UK and Innovation Ulster before raising this latest investment round led by DSW Ventures.
Emma Cassidy, investment manager at DSW Ventures, added: “The technology developed by StimOxyGen has the potential to be transformative in cancer treatment, particularly those that are difficult to treat, and make a huge impact on patient outcomes.
“We’ve been very impressed by the team and their ability to engage stakeholders and key opinion leaders across the world with the data they’ve generated to date and the opportunities that lie ahead.
“This is the seventh spin-out in our portfolio and the second from Ulster University. Having launched our second SEIS fund, we look forward to discovering new opportunities in the UK regions.”
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