Sian Farrell #FollowStimOyxGen

StimOxyGen is a proprietary and world-leading innovative approach to address the global challenge of tumour hypoxia. Hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, is a common characteristic of solid tumours that contributes to the failure of many types of cancer treatment, particularly radiotherapy which relies on oxygen for maximum efficacy. We spoke to founder Sian Farrell ahead of our New York St Brigid’s Day event to speak find our more about her and her founder journey.

To get us started - how would you describe yourself in 6 words or less?

Approachable, driven, fun-loving, dependable, introverted extrovert!

Describe your business and what prompted you to start it?

StimOxyGen is a Northern Irish spin-out company pioneering a novel technology to improve outcomes for cancer patients worldwide. Although 60% of cancer patients receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment plan, it commonly fails to treat cancer due to tumour hypoxia i.e., lack of oxygen in solid tumours. Not only is tumour hypoxia a major driver for cancer progression and resistance to treatment, but the primary mechanism of radiotherapy relies on the presence of oxygen for maximum therapeutic efficacy. Although the problem of tumour hypoxia was discovered over a century ago, there is currently no appropriate solution in place to overcome the physical lack of oxygen within tumours… until now. We at StimOxyGen have created a simple and elegant solution to this challenge in the form of oxygen-generating nanoparticles. The formulation is administered to the patient intravenously and upon reaching the tumour site the nanoparticles are activated to produce oxygen on demand thus increasing the efficacy of radiotherapy by up to 300%! StimOxyGen was created to commercially exploit this ground-breaking work and accelerate progression to the clinic. The main driver for starting this new venture was in 2020 when COVID hit and our labs at Ulster University were temporarily closed. At this time I began writing up my PhD but was on the lookout for new opportunities and it was during this time I came across ICURe. ICURe stands for Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research and it is a pre-accelerator programme funded by Innovate UK to help early career researchers get out of the lab and commercially validate their academic-based technologies. I had over 100 conversations, made so many valuable connections and received overwhelmingly positive feedback which I presented to a panel of experts at the end of the programme. It was at this point we were advised to spin-out the company and were awarded an ICURe follow-on grant from Innovate UK to help fund the first 12 months of our now commercially-focused project.

Tell us a little bit more about you?

I spent most of my life in Coleraine where I went to primary school, secondary school and university. After graduating from Ulster University in 2015 with a 1st class MPharm honours degree in Pharmacy, I moved to Bristol for two years and worked as a hospital pharmacist. During my time in Bristol, I worked on oncology wards and also in aseptic services where chemotherapy is made and checked. I witnessed the cruel side effects that these patients experienced and also unfortunately witnessed the consequences of ineffective treatments. I always knew that I wanted to go into cancer research, so I moved back to my home town in 2017 to begin my PhD at Ulster University Coleraine. I have a real passion to increase the efficacy of various cancer treatments, reduce side effects and improve cancer outcomes on a global scale and will use both my scientific and clinical knowledge to achieve this. My interests include travelling, cooking, going out for anything food/drink related with my friends and family, playing Xbox and most importantly enjoying any form of music be it listening at home, attending concerts or performing with other musicians!

Fill us in on your female founder journey.  

My female founder journey has been an incredible one full of many ups and downs... but I would not have had it any other way. I entered into this role with no prior business training. Some people may view this as a bad thing but as I am a kinesthetic learner I have learnt everything I need to date through hands-on experience. This of course means that I have made some mistakes along the way, but it meant that I failed fast and didn't make the same mistake again! Since becoming a female founder I have continually sought out new opportunities to become a a better leader and further StimOxyGen as a business. The more I engaged with these opportunities the more people and organisations engaged with me leading to even more exposure and opportunities! In this time I have learned how to run a business in a legal manner and with good corporate governance. More importantly I have learned how to tell the story of StimOxyGen in a compelling way that makes sense to people from all walks of life. I have been challenged by many individuals and faced uncomfortable situations, however over time these experiences have taught me how to stand up for myself in a professional manner. I still have a lot to learn and I am so excited to see where this journey takes me. I hope my story is inspiring to other young female founders and in the future I hope I have enough experience to become a mentor for some of these people just like those from the AwakenHub community have been to me. To me, being a female founder means being a cheerleader for all female entrepreneurs across the globe, knowing your worth, and letting your voice be heard!

How has being part of the AwakenHub community helped your business?

Joining the AwakenHub community has truly transformed my female founder experience in the past year. It is just amazing to be part of a community of like-minded people who understand what you are going through on a daily basis. AwakenHub has provided me with so many connections and leads that have helped both StimOxyGen as a company and me as a leader. When I found times were tough and needed to reach out, I received genuine and strategic advice to overcome whatever challenge I was facing. This is particularly important for someone like me who has only recently started out on their founder journey. I feel constantly support by AwakenHub and it is comforting to know I have someone to turn to anytime I am struggling... or just want to vent! Before I was even a member of AwakenHub, I received last-minute and unexpected advice from Mary McKenna and Mary Ann Pierce the night just before a pitch. I took this advice on board, incorporated it into a new pitch and clearly it paid off as I ended up winning the competition and was awarded flights to America!

As a founder - what are your non-negotiables?

It's so important to start your venture with clear business objectives. This is what helps me to stay focused and helps me to differentiate the signal from the noise. Don't let anyone bully or walk over you... Stand up for yourself! Start as you mean to go on and stay true to yourself. If you're afraid of failure... you're doing it wrong. This is what I tell myself anyway! Although arguably not the right context Jennifer Saunders is an inspiration to me. She does comedy her way, doesn't care what anyone thinks and clearly has fun doing it!

What are your top three tips for other women founders?

1) Find your people: make sure you have a strong female founder network around you and ask for help

2) Fail fast - Treat failures as opportunities and learning curves

3) After a particularly challenging day I make sure to stick on something light-hearted when I get home such as Absolutely Fabulous or RuPaul's Drag Race to laugh the rest of the night away. It is important to be kind to yourself especially when things get you down.

What are you hoping to get out of your New York experience?

I am incredibly honoured to be invited to the inaugural AwakenHub & AwakenAngels flagship event. This will be a great opportunity for me to pitch for investment, look for collaborations and I am extremely excited to be the opportunity to network overseas.

Where do you see yourself in 12 months and 5 years time?

In 12 months time I would expect StimOxyGen to be entering into or at least getting very close to a Phase I Clinical Trial. In 5 years time I hope that we will be working alongside a key player in the radiation oncology space with the possibility of acquisition.

To finish up with what are six words to live by?

Live your life in the present