Starting in July, innovators participating in the 12-month MedTech Venture Builder programme at LIHE will be given guidance on how to navigate the complex path to clinical and commercial success by bringing together experts across academia, the NHS and the MedTech industry.
Situated next to St Thomas’ Hospital, the Institute has been built by Kings College London (KCL) to connect innovative medical technologies with business guidance and investment.
LIHE said that while the UK is a leader in the development of such technology and the third biggest contributor to Europe’s €160bn MedTech market, only a small number of innovations make it to the patients due to the challenges of scaling a business and regulatory complexities involved in commercialising a product.
LIHE hopes to unlock this process by giving companies access to KCL’s scientific, commercialisation, and regulatory and quality management services.
This includes the first Venture Builder, which has received £1.5m in funding from Research England's Connecting Capability Fund.
“Being an academic and spending years on your research doesn’t necessarily prepare you for entrepreneurship and fighting the battle out on the marketplace. We have created this year long investment programme for innovations from King’s and three more universities in London, plus uniquely for companies across the UK, to make a concerted contribution to the MedTech ecosystem,” said Dr Nicolas Huber, director of Commercial Operations and Partnerships at LIHE.
“By collocating key experts and entrepreneurs in one physical space so close to clinical practice, we will give innovations the best chance to reach patients, at scale.”
LIHE received 70 applicants for its Venture Capital programme and is currently in the process of selecting the first round of companies.
“We want to bring these life-saving innovations from bench, to bedside, to boardroom. LIHE will bring the infrastructure across the UK to make sure these innovations impact at scale, creating entrepreneurship in the sector and in our NHS,” said Professor Sebastien Ourselin FREng FMedSci, Director of LIHE.
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