£150k fund to develop SME medical technologies
Posted: 18th August 2020
Up to £150k is on offer for SMEs innovators who have a promising medical technology and need backing to take it to the next stage.
The development funding is on offer from 19 August from the NIHR’s Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme. This aims to de-risk projects that are at an early stage, and have a strong potential for commercialisation and to be accepted for use in the NHS, making them attractive to follow-on funders and investors.
The NIHR – National Institute for Health Research – is the nation’s largest funder of health and care research and works in partnership with the NHS, universities, local government, other research funders, patients and the public.
The £150,000 is offered over a maximum of a year through the i4i Connect awards and helps SMEs get to the point where they can apply for further funding, in particular for a full i4i Product Development Award (PDA). It can also support projects at any stage of the research and development pathway to further de-risk them for investment.
Funding opportunities for SMEs are also available from SBRI Healthcare, UKRI and Wellcome Trust. See their websites for details and/or to register for future updates.