£4.4 Million Awarded in Latest SBRI Healthcare Competition

SBRI Healthcare, an NHS England funded initiative to develop innovative products that address unmet health needs, has announced the companies that will share £4.4 million having successfully reached the next phase (Phase 2) of the clinically-led competition. Six companies will receive a second round of funding to further develop their products which in this competition are focused on addressing challenges in a key area of healthcare including Brain Injury, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Medical Imaging and Outpatient Services.

From 14 companies awarded Phase 1 funding in May 2015, six have demonstrated best value and greatest technical feasibility to a panel of experts looking for innovative technologies with the highest potential value to patients and the health service. The successful companies will now be supported and fully funded to continue with prototype development and product testing. 

With awards of up to £1 million each, the successful companies (and supporting Academic Health Science Network) are:

• Brain Injury - GSPK Design (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN),  Obex Technologies (Eastern AHSN) 

•  Child and Adolescent Mental Health - Advanced Digital Innovations (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN)

• Diabetic Foot Ulcer – CaDScan (North West Coast AHSN)

• Medical Imaging - Gold Standard Phantoms (UCLPartners AHSN)

• Outpatient Services - Message Dynamics (Kent, Surrey & Sussex AHSN)

"It's great to see so many innovations that show sufficient promise to warrant second stage funding," said Richard Stubbs, Commercial Director of Yorkshire and Humber AHSN and management board member of SBRI Healthcare. "The products being developed are going to make care better for patients in really critical areas such as brain injury and children's mental healthcare. As AHSNs across the country we are driving for development and uptake of innovation to improve healthcare and these SBRI-funded ideas are at the heart of that purpose."

Xavier Golay, Director at Gold Standard Phantoms, commented on their award: “As a small, medical technology start-up it is extremely difficult to bridge the gap between an idea and real innovation. SBRI Healthcare's original Phase 1 award gave us the opportunity to do just that by providing funding, resources and access to key stakeholders that have helped to drive our vision forwards into what we hope will enable a step change in medical imaging. Our recent Phase 2 award will further allow us to set this vision into action, fuelling our product development and improving our stakeholder advocacy. Above all, it will support a ‘real world’ test of our technology.”

In 2015, SBRI Healthcare awarded £15 million to 26 companies to support the development of products focused on specific NHS unmet need.