UK Medtech Accelerator Finance Plan Introduced

The launch of the Medtech Accelerator has been announced—a new proof of concept financial awards plan to progress medical technology and software innovations developed primarily from within the NHS. With awards on offer between £15K and £125K, this new joint venture brings together the NHS, local authority, and local business. The Medtech Accelerator will support and finance development projects at an early stage in order to maximize the potential for success in bringing new life enhancing technologies to patients.
 
Awards are available to NHS organizations with a total of £1.5 million on offer for innovations that show the greatest promise, with the potential to create future spin-out companies. Awards are aimed at supporting proof of concept work, which typically includes market research, product and market validation, prototype development and testing, and IP protection.
 
Led by Health Enterprise East (HEE), a leading NHS innovation hub, the initiative includes New Anglia Capital Ltd, a subsidiary of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), Greater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough (GCGP) LEP, and the Eastern AHSN. LEPs and Eastern AHSN have each invested £500K and will have access to HEE’s expertise in proof of concept and technology transfer and to its existing pipeline of NHS technologies through its membership base, including internationally renowned centres of healthcare research and innovation.
 
Dr. Anne Blackwood, chief executive at HEE, said, “The Medtech Accelerator is the first [plan] of its kind that brings together local authority, business and the NHS across a specific geography to invest in Medtech. There is a current lack of funding for early stage proof of principle work and together we have the opportunity to not only help patients but also bring economic growth to the region in the form of jobs, revenues and the scope to leverage additional investment.”
 
Dr. Steve Feast, managing director of Eastern AHSN, commented, “The recent Accelerated Access Review set out ambitious plans to drive innovations into the NHS. It proposes a set of processes to speed up patient access to new healthcare technologies. The NHS has huge potential to be more creative, working with patients to help design better services. Yet with services under increasing pressure, accessing funding for experimentation and innovation can be challenging. The Medtech Accelerator addresses this gap. It provides direct funding for those working at the service delivery coalface to shape ideas into real and tangible solutions that can translate into better care solutions.”
 
Chris Dashper, head of programmes at New Anglia LEP, added, “We’re delighted to be involved in this project which links technology and software innovations from the NHS to the private sector. Making funding available at an early stage through projects like the Medtech Accelerator is very important as it sets up projects well to be able to benefit from additional private sector support in the future.”
 
Neil Darwin, chief executive of the GCGP LEP, said, “Cambridge ideas define the future of Medtech, and we know that some of these projects can be held back by a lack of early stage funding. By investing in the new Medtech Accelerator we can help to support the development of these technology and software solutions to fast track their success and application.”