£3.2m funding awarded to advance early-stage healthcare innovation
Thirty-three companies, which took part in Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst pilot accelerators, have been awarded funding to further develop their innovative projects.
The successful organisations will receive a share of over £3m to complete feasibility studies to develop new innovations to address enduring challenges in the key themes of children’s health, femtech, microbials and neurotech.
The Biomedical Catalyst is Innovate UK’s flagship grant funding mechanism for UK health and life sciences, enabling small and medium sized businesses to test and develop innovative health and care solutions, including therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health.
The companies participated in the pilot accelerators run by the Biomedical Catalyst, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, in 2023. Through a closed feasibility competition, they received financial support to assess the technical and commercial viability of their early-stage projects.
Children’s health projects
Seven projects from the Children’s Health Impact Accelerator, run by Founders Factory, will receive funding, including Tutti Toot’s project to test their Trumpet device. The device delivers a musically gamified dysfunctional breathing retraining course for asthmatic children.
Femtech projects
One of the ten projects that will receive feasibility funding following their participation in the Accelerating FemTech Accelerator, delivered by Health Innovation Network, is being run by Bloomful.
The company has developed an online gynaecological condition triage tool called Lana, which combines data insights, conditional reasoning and medical best practice into a unique algorithm. The user-friendly tool helps women understand symptoms and make the right decisions for their health.
Microbials projects
Bugbiome is one of the nine projects to receive funding through the feasibility competition following the Microbials (Microbiome, Biofilms & Phage) Accelerator, delivered by LYVA Labs and Bionow. The company is developing a microbial mosquito repellent. By using microbial actives from bacterially derived compounds, the Bugbiome’s repellents offer a natural alternative to synthetic chemicals.
Neurotech projects
The seven projects to receive funding which were part of the Neurotech Accelerator, delivered by Pioneer Group and The Helix Way, include Samphire Neuroscience’s pilot of its Nettle headband in clinical settings. The headband uses non-invasive neuromodulation to directly target brain regions responsible for menstrual symptoms.
Dr Stella Peace, Executive Director for Healthy Living and Agriculture Domain at Innovate UK, said:
Supporting early-stage projects and feasibility studies, demonstrates our commitment to driving business growth by inspiring and unlocking innovations that make life better. We empower innovators to transform groundbreaking ideas into viable solutions, accelerating the development of the next generation of health and care solutions that will improve outcomes for patients.
Dr Samana Brannigan, Head of Health Technologies at Innovate UK, commented:
The innovation shown by the organisations that took part in all four accelerators was incredible. The feasibility studies being funded will help improve the lives of so many people and create commercially viable businesses.
The next round of Biomedical Catalyst accelerators, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, will be launching in September. They are AI in Health, delivered by Pioneer Group, and Accelerating FemTech, delivered by Health Innovation Network South London.
View the full list of funded projects below, and sign up for updates from Innovate UK Business Connect on this and other health news.
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Clinical Neuropsychology Services Ltd
Development of a patient access portal for children undertaking rehabilitation: A design and feasibility studyConsoneAI Ltd
Toxicity predictions of novel drugs in development across different age groups in children healthcareHappy Marlo Ltd
Developing a new content series aimed at young children, with the aim of empowering little humans with big feelingsHibi Health Ltd
A study evaluating the company’s digital care support for families raising children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)Moti Me Ltd
Assessment of the feasibility of Moti Me’s conceptual prototype to ensure that it is viable from a technical, marketable and regulatory point of viewPlant Powered Babies Ltd
Infant formula: Alternative protein study and regulatory roadmapTutti Toot Ltd
A feasibility study to test the novel Tutti Toot Trumpet’s musically gamified dysfunctional breathing retraining course for asthmatic children -
Adora Digital Health Ltd
Developing a user-friendly digital health and well-being app that provides personalised, evidence-based content to help increase a woman’s knowledge of menopause and its symptomsBirthglide Ltd
Developing a novel device to facilitate safer vaginal births and reduce the need for instrumental deliveries or Caesarean sectionsBloomful Ltd
Lana: a new triage tool for women’s gynaecological healthBrightcure Ltd
Assessing Efficacy and Commercial Feasibility of an Innovative Non-Antibiotic Serum with Novel Bacterium B.Y.M. 1405 for urinary tract infection ManagementEllescope Ltd
Validating a novel maternal health risk screening system within two NHS hospitals to proactively detect and reduce pregnancy complicationsBloume Health Ltd (formerly Femspace)
Bloume with me: the first personalised, AI-powered digital care solution for chronic pelvic painIBEX Innovations Ltd
IBEX BH on Mammography Clinical Feasibility StudyJoii Ltd
Transforming patient management of heavy menstrual bleeding using artificial intelligenceLBN Innovations Ltd
Exploring the commercial and technical feasibility of the design for a new medical device to replace the speculum for cervical screeningPLEXaa Ltd
The development of an app to support the pre-operative preparation of breast cancer patients and improve outcomes -
Amply Discovery Ltd
Preclinical validation of evolution-designed, AI-discovered, synthetically printed biologic molecules for chronic and MDR lower respiratory tract InfectionsBoobyBiome Ltd
Elucidating the mechanism of action of breast milk-derived synbiotic consortia in establishing a healthy infant gutBugBiome Ltd
Leveraging the company’s core microbial platform to mine the human skin microbiome for microbes with mosquito-repelling abilityFerryx Ltd
Refining the company’s latest probiotic in a model of the human gut before clinical trialsLightOx Ltd
Developing new drug-based gels activated using light exposure, causing the death of bacteria in wounds, reducing infection and risk of antimicrobial resistanceMatrix Bio
Data-Driven Design of Synthetic Niches for Precision Control of Microbiome DynamicsOxford Silk Phage Technologies Ltd
Preventing cardiovascular implant infectionsOxford SimCell Ltd
Developing SimCell vaccines based on genome-free bacteria to combat multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, addressing the critical need for new antimicrobial solutionsVitec Microgenix Ltd
Novel antimicrobial technology to reduce hospital acquired infections -
ESP Diagnostics Ltd
Advancing development of the company’s extracellular vesicles-based blood test for early and accurate diagnosis of Parkinson’s and Dementia with Lewy Body disordersMind Health AI Ltd
Revolutionising smoking cessation: integrating digital therapeutics with advanced inhaler technology for effective addiction recoveryMindspire Ltd
MindSpire: pioneering bioelectronic precision medicineMint Neurotechnologies Ltd
The company’s tiny neural implant chips allow more precise therapies and safer surgery. This project enables medical device developers to integrate these chips into their designsNEUROBITE Technologies Ltd
Developing disruptive biodegradable neurotechnology devices for healthcare applications, to enhance treatment experiences, reduce surgical interventions, and make a positive environmental impactNeuroVirt Ltd
Using artificial intelligence with immersive virtual reality to deliver high quality independent movement rehabilitation for stroke survivorsSamphire Neuroscience Ltd
Piloting the Samphire Nettle in clinical settings
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