Cancer Research Horizons brings together oncology investors and innovators at Investor Networking Breakfast

On 27 November, the Cancer Research Horizons Ventures team hosted our second Investor Networking Breakfast at Cancer Research UK’s headquarters in Stratford, to connect our portfolio companies to the life sciences investment community. The event brought together over 70 investors, industry leaders, and innovators, all sharing a common goal: accelerating cutting-edge cancer science towards patient impact.

We heard inspiring presentations from Robin Carr, CEO of Myricx Bio, Ken Macnamara, CEO, and Steve Pollard, Founder and CSO of Trogenix, and Dario Bressan, Co-founder of Suil Vision – some of the most exciting start-ups in the cancer space, all of which have hit impressive milestones this year:

• Myricx, a biotech pioneering the next generation of ADCs with a novel class of payload, recently closed one of Europe’s largest Series A funding rounds of 2024, securing £90m.
• At the cutting edge of creating precision gene therapies for significant unmet needs, with an initial focus on glioblastoma, Trogenix emerged from stealth in November following the close of its seed funding round.
• Launched in September, Suil Vision is the first start-up to emerge from the Cancer Grand Challenges programme – a global initiative co-founded by CRUK and the National Cancer Institute. The Company is developing virtual reality software that enables immersive, multi-dimensional data analysis.

One of the key takeaways from the morning was the recognition of how challenging it can be for start-ups to attract early-stage risk capital. Too many potential breakthroughs still stall due to a funding gap between cutting-edge academic cancer research and a start-up becoming ready for scale-up investment.

The Cancer Research Horizons Seed Fund was launched in June 2022 to tackle this challenge and bring better cancer treatment to patients. Since launch, we have deployed £8m across 26 investments, which has in turn attracted £32.9m of co-investment through a network of local, European and international investors.

As part of the panel discussion, we had the opportunity to explore “what value does CRUK and Cancer Research Horizons bring?”

“It was fantastic to delve into the transformative impact that CRUK and Cancer Research Horizons have had on the journeys of our portfolio companies, as well as across the broader research and investment ecosystem,” said Phil Masterson, Associate Director of Ventures, Cancer Research Horizons. ”The panel highlighted how CRUK’s funding of fundamental biology lays the foundation for innovation and, thanks to the high standards we uphold in these decisions, adds integrity to academic work. The speakers also recognised the speed and agility Cancer Research Horizons brings in supporting early-stage ideas and start-ups on their path to seed funding, along with the pivotal role our reputation plays in catalysing further investment.”

Learn more about Myricx Bio, Trogenix, Suil Vision, and Cancer Research Horizons’ wider Seed Fund portfolio here.