Over £30 million committed across UK for cutting-edge medical advances

Life-saving measures for patients have moved a step closer following the announcement of investments totalling over £30 million in emerging new treatments and technologies.

Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed today (Thursday) that Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC) would deliver the new money through rounds five and six of the BioMedical Catalyst (BMC), part of the Government’s Life Sciences Strategy.

29 companies and universities from London to Edinburgh now have the funding they need to further develop new medicines, diagnostics or devices to tackle healthcare challenges ranging from cancer to childbirth complications.  Projects supported include:

• ‘pH paper’ to prevent fatality through incorrect placement of feeding tubes (Edinburgh)
• Ozone-based device to decontaminate medical equipment (Glasgow)
• Dressings with embedded clotting agents which can be left in the body (Leeds)
• A bio-engineered ‘scaffold’ to repair injured tendons (Manchester)
• Novel drugs to reduce swelling and pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis (London)
• Headband-mounted heart rate sensor to help resuscitate newborn babies (Derby)
• New gene therapy to tackle nerve and muscle degeneration of the fatal Huntington’s Disease (Oxford)
• A revolutionary ‘Gamma Camera’ to  help diagnose and treat more cancers (Camberley, Surrey)
• Cell therapy to repair liver damage (Edinburgh)
• A drug that protects vital organs from damage following a heart attack (Cambridge)

Total investment in medical advances tops £200 milion

This announcement builds on the 23 separate feasibility awards totalling over £3 million, made earlier in 2014, and brings the BMC’s total investment since opening in 2012 to over £200 million.  In that time it has supported innovation from some 250 small and medium companies and universities, and attracted an additional £100 million in private investment.

Minister for Life Sciences George Freeman said:  “These investments demonstrate just how many businesses and universities across the country are developing life-saving treatments while adding real value and vitality to their regional economies.  With Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council, we are helping ensure this industry has a global reach built on solid local success.”

The Biomedical Catalyst was set up jointly by Innovate UK and the MRC to offer funding for development of innovative ideas that could save lives, improve treatment for patients and also provide significant UK economic impact.

Any UK small or medium-sized business or academic undertaking research and development may apply to the BMC on a rolling basis, with applications assessed by independent experts.

Iain Gray, Chief Executive of Innovate UK said:  “The Biomedical Catalyst has been successful not just in supporting individual healthcare innovations but also attracting additional investment from the private sector”

“These companies we’re supporting via the BMC are all developing innovations with the potential to transform healthcare and achieve commercial success.  We’re proud to be supporting them on that journey from healthcare concept through to availability in the marketplace.”

Dr Jim Smith, Deputy Chief Executive of the MRC added: “The Biomedical Catalyst is a unique funding stream that is intended to maximise the impact of our great British research base.

“Supporting productive relationships between academics and industry will help discoveries to progress seamlessly from the lab to the clinic, meaning new treatments and innovations can reach patients as soon as possible.”