One promising start-up taking part in the Oxford Academic Health Science Network Pioneer Group Accelerator Programme has been announced as the winner amidst an impressive cohort of pioneering life science business founders. The winning start-up, Oxomics will receive £50k of business support, including virtual or physical lab or office space for up to 12 months and is eligible to apply for a further £50,000 funding from Pioneer Group.
Oxomics is developing a minimally invasive, single-shot platform technology for disease diagnosis and prognosis. The technology combines analysis of metabolites present in blood samples with machine learning to identify patterns of change that indicate disease. Oxomics’ initial product to market will be a test for the detection of cancer in patients with non-specific symptoms such as fatigue or weight loss. This is an area of critical unmet need in current cancer diagnostic pathways.
“At the beginning of the programme I had preconceived ideas about how Oxomics’ diagnostic technology would fit into the healthcare sector,” said James R. Larkin, Oxomics CEO and Co-founder. “However, as a result of some of my early conversations, I realised that some of my assumptions needed challenging and that I should be engaging a wider variety of stakeholders. The accelerator process over the last 8 weeks has been really helpful in shaping and refining my ideas and I’m very grateful to Oxford AHSN and Pioneer Group for their input and support.”
Dr Glenn Crocker, Pioneer Group Exec. Director of Ventures and Investments, said, “The quality of the businesses and the enthusiasm and commitment of the entrepreneurs was especially high on this cohort, making selecting a winner very challenging. Oxomics was chosen because of the way the team used the process to really advance the business and address some fundamental questions. We are looking forward to continuing to work with James and the team to build another business that can have a dramatic impact on healthcare.”
Matthew Lawrence, from Oxford AHSN, commented, “We’ve had a fantastic group of innovators in this year’s programme. The quality of the presentations on 6 December was a testament to all of their hard work over the final accelerator programme. We’d like to congratulate all of the finalists on their work and on their promising next stage of development. Special thanks to our Oxford AHSN mentors who assisted finalists over the last eight weeks and to our delivery partner Health Science Network Accelerator Programme, which is delivered by acceleration and scale-up specialists Pioneer Group, ran throughout the Autumn of 2021, working with a cohort of promising founders seeking to commercialise pioneering innovations.
The Accelerator Programme is an intensive eight-week programme, specifically designed to help scientific entrepreneurs launch, grow and scale businesses from their science. Founders learn how to ‘Lean Start-up’, using a set of highly effective tools to evaluate risks and create a business model that stands up to the scrutiny of potential investors, partners and customers. Start-ups work one-to-one with Pioneer Group coaches, attend workshops and complete activities weekly. Founders also receive guidance on growth and scaling challenges from members of the Pioneer Group Expert Network and gain crucial pitching practice during pitch events to Pioneer Group investor expert panels.
Find out more about the Pioneer Group Accelerator Programme and apply for 2022 >>>
