StimOxyGen, a spin-out from Ulster University, has raised £1.5m, led by DSW Ventures, to accelerate the development of its innovative therapy designed to overcome treatment resistance in solid tumours.
By delivering oxygen directly to tumours, the company’s lead candidate enhances the effectiveness of treatments such as radiotherapy and immunotherapy, offering a potential lifeline for patients with aggressive cancers. StimOxyGen 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. It is estimated that 80-90% of cancer-related deaths are due to treatment resistance, highlighting the urgent need for new approaches.
StimOxyGen’s technology directly addresses this issue by increasing tumour oxygenation, making resistant cancers more responsive to standard treatments. Preclinical studies have already demonstrated significant tumour reduction when used in combination with radiotherapy, with promising results across multiple cancer types. The company aims to develop its lead asset as an adjunct therapy to radiotherapy, improving outcomes for patients who currently have few options.
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. The funding will allow StimOxyGen to advance key preclinical studies, scale up manufacturing, and expand its team as it moves towards clinical translation.
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.
CEO Sian Farrell leads the company, supported by an experienced leadership team including Chair Sam Rothstein, an accomplished entrepreneur with more than 15 years of oncology drug development experience; CSO Professor Anthony McHale, co-inventor of the technology and a leading expert in oncology drug delivery; and Dr Les Russell, Non-Executive Director and former CEO of OrganOx Ltd, who brings extensive expertise in scaling medical innovations.
