SBRI Healthcare Invests £1.1M in Finding Innovative Healthcare Technologies

SBRI Healthcare, an NHS England-funded initiative to develop products and services that address unmet health needs, has launched a competition to award up to 12 small business £100,000 (British pounds) in Phase 1 product development funding.
 
In this latest round, SBRI Healthcare will award a total of £1.1 million for healthcare innovations that address challenges in the areas of “managing patient flow in acute care” and “self-care and independence for children with long-term conditions.”  
 
“We know that disability in children can have a permanent effect on their life skills in adulthood. With 6 percent of children in the U.K. living with disability, there is a high need for innovations that address their health and care needs, so they can live life to the full,” said Philippa Hedley-Takhar, head of investment and partnerships for Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network. “This will enhance their wellbeing and confidence but, over the longer term, will enable them to take advantage of greater opportunities as they move towards and through adulthood.”
 
“When a person’s health needs are complex they often need to interact with different departments and different care processes which can feel like they are bouncing around the system. This isn’t good for patients and it isn’t efficient for the NHS, as it often results in duplication, waste and other inefficiencies,” noted Anna King, commercial director of the Health Innovation Network. “So we are looking for companies with innovations that can help us to improve efficiencies through better use of resources, reduced wastage and delays, and improved processes. This will save money for the NHS but, crucially, will improve the experience and outcomes for patients.”
 
The Small Business Research Initiative for Healthcare (SBRI Healthcare) works with Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) to identify priority areas where technology can be applied to address major clinical challenges. The program focuses on clearly identified NHS needs, bringing clinicians and business together at an early stage to harness the expertise of small and medium-sized enterprises to develop effective solutions. Companies successful in the six month feasibility stage (Phase 1) will be eligible to apply for a further award of up to £1 million (Phase 2) to fund more detailed product development. In the last year, SBRI Healthcare has launched 11 new clinically-led competitions and awarded £19.5 million to 67 companies to develop products focused on specific NHS unmet need.
 
The competition theme areas have been chosen in partnership with AHSNs across England and specifically for this program.
 
The competition closes at noon on July 28, with winners announced in October. Briefing events for businesses to learn about the competition will take place on June 21 in London and June 22 in Leeds.