Support available to develop innovative early-stage healthcare projects

The accelerators will be followed by a closed BMC feasibility competition. This will provide financial support to assess the technical and commercial viability of the early-stage projects. Academics who have not formed a company may wish to apply for the developmental pathway funding scheme.

The last round of BMC feasibility funding saw 33 companies share £3.2m to further advance their innovative projects. 

AI in Health Accelerator 

The AI in Health Accelerator, delivered by Pioneer Group, will help early-stage companies, university spinouts and academic entrepreneurs in this rapidly growing field. AI in health is the application of novel AI technology to – solve an unmet need in one of four broad categories of health: clinical healthcare, pre-clinical healthcare, health services management and public health. 

The 10-week programme, delivered in partnership with the Helix Way and supported by Mills & Reeve, will provide expert commercial support. Find out more and express your interest to take part here. 

Accelerating FemTech  

Accelerating FemTech will help those with innovative ideas focused on women’s health to gain the commercial and funding momentum they need for long-term success. The collaborative 10-week learning programme will include facilitated networking with key NHS and health sector stakeholders.

Accelerating FemTech will be delivered by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London and partners. The programme builds on their experience of running the previous femtech accelerator, the award-winning DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, Propel and other innovator support programmes from the health innovation networks. Register your interest now and find out more about Accelerating FemTech here. 

Dr Samana Brannigan, Head of Health Technologies at Innovate UK, commented: 

The vision for the Biomedical Catalyst is to support early stage businesses to grow by  translating their ideas into innovative products and services that can improve patients’ lives and boost UK economic growth. We are pleased to be able to build on the success of last year’s accelerators, – working in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, to inspire new spinouts and start-ups, and create a pathway to commercialisation from our excellent research base.

Laura Dickens, Associate Director – Industry Partnerships at Medical Research Council said: 

We are delighted to again partner with Innovate UK on the Biomedical Catalyst accelerators, building on the success of the first round of accelerators and continuing to expand our support for the translation of academic research. We look forward to seeing the innovative ideas which come forward in this round, how those are developed through the support available enabling them to progress towards societal and economic benefit.

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. 

By awarding grants to UK-based businesses of varying stages of development, Innovate UK enables them to develop solutions, secure investment and bring new products to market quicker. 

For companies further along in their innovation journeys, the next round of Biomedical Catalyst industry-led R&D funding will also be launching soon. Sign up to our newsletter for updates on this opportunity and other health news.