BiVictriX Therapeutics: Pioneering targeted cancer therapies at Alderley Park

Transforming a scientific concept into next-generation targeted cancer therapies

BiVictriX Therapeutics is developing a new generation of cancer treatments designed to target cancer cells more selectively. Its founder and CEO, Tiffany Thorn, began her career as a clinical scientist before taking an idea rooted in diagnostics and applying it to targeted cancer therapies.

The business began with a scientific concept, not a fully formed technology. Establishing its potential required evidence, specialist knowledge and investment. BiVictriX initially operated virtually and outsourced its early research, before recruiting its own scientists and establishing laboratory operations at Alderley Park.

That journey has given Tiffany first-hand experience of the decisions involved in building a science business in the UK. It has shown what science businesses need around them, particularly as they move beyond the start-up phase.

“When you’re building a science business, you have to think ahead about what you’re going to need as you grow. Where will your talent come from? Where will your investors come from? Having access to both becomes increasingly important as the science develops and you move into larger funding rounds.”

Tiffany Thorn, Founder and CEO, BiVictriX

Funding science through different stages of growth

Developing a new therapeutic takes substantial investment, often years before a product can generate revenue. The availability and timing of funding directly influence how quickly science can advance, which skills a company can bring in and when it can begin developing its own capabilities. 

BiVictriX has progressed through several stages of this funding journey. Early investment allowed the company to start building the scientific evidence behind its technology. It listed on the public markets in 2021, raising further capital to expand its team and capabilities, before returning to private ownership in 2024. 

The shape of the business has changed along the way. Today, BiVictriX has a core internal team supported by external and fractional specialists, with some highly specialised activities outsourced. This gives the company access to the right expertise while concentrating its resources on the areas most important to advancing its research. 

“Investment has allowed us to develop from an idea into a business with our own scientific team and capabilities. As a science company grows, what you need changes, so having access to capital at different stages and the flexibility to invest it in the right expertise is incredibly important.”

Tiffany Thorn, Founder and CEO, BiVictriX

The balance between internal capabilities and external support changes as the science matures and the business prepares for its next stage. Being based outside of the UK’s largest investment centres can mean securing that capital can be harder. Promising research should not be limited by where it originates. Developing stronger investment networks around regional science clusters would allow more companies to grow where they are founded and contribute to the expertise already taking shape around them. 

Developing deeper pools of specialist talent

Funding alone cannot build a life sciences business. BiVictriX depends on highly specialised scientists, particularly in fields such as biology and antibody development, where the number of experienced candidates is relatively small.

Much of the UK’s established life sciences talent is concentrated in Cambridge, Oxford and London. If clusters elsewhere are to grow, they need to offer companies a deeper and more sustainable pool of specialist skills.

This requires businesses to anticipate how their recruitment needs will change. The people who help establish a company and prove its initial science may not provide all the skills it will need to develop products, manage regulatory processes and prepare for commercialisation. The local talent base needs to develop alongside the businesses it supports. 

“We need to build stronger specialist talent pools around life sciences clusters outside Cambridge, Oxford and London. We require very specialist scientists, so developing more of that expertise in the regions would make it easier for businesses like ours to grow and build their teams there.”

Tiffany Thorn, Founder and CEO, BiVictriX

Universities are central to developing scientific skills and research expertise, but retaining that talent depends on the career opportunities available locally. As more science businesses establish and grow in a region, specialists gain more options without having to relocate. In turn, the presence of experienced people makes the region a more credible choice for companies and investors. 

Creating the conditions to scale

BiVictriX has grown from an initial idea into a business with its own scientific team and capabilities. From its base at Alderley Park, it has attracted investment and continued to develop a new approach to targeted cancer treatment.

Its experience also points to what is needed if more regional science businesses are to make the same transition. The UK has strong research taking place across the country, but the funding and specialist talent available to develop it remain unevenly distributed.

The answer is not to reproduce the Golden Triangle in every region. It is to recognise the scientific strengths that already exist in different places and build the support around them. That means giving ambitious businesses a clearer route to the investment, expertise and facilities they will need at each stage of their development.

“We need investors who are willing to back innovative businesses at the earlier stages and help them build towards those bigger rounds. If we can maintain that appetite for early-stage risk, we give more businesses the opportunity to prove their potential, grow and attract further investment.”

Tiffany Thorn, Founder and CEO, BiVictriX Therapeutics

Creating the conditions for more companies to grow in their regions would strengthen the UK’s life sciences clusters and increase the chances of promising science becoming new treatments, successful businesses and long-term economic value.

Read more scale up stories in our Built to Scale white paper