University-led WMHTIA grant scheme to drive health technologies forward
A £1.54m grant scheme is helping West Midlands companies accelerate their technologies towards commercialisation.
The West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA), is pleased to announce the successful completion of the application and grant-awarding phase of the WMHTIA Grant Funding for Health Technologies. An initiative aiming to assist companies in the development of their technologies.
The WMHTIA is focused on helping companies tackle the challenges of bringing new technologies to the market. Led by the University of Birmingham, the accelerator unites 20 key partners across academia, industry and NHS to provide innovators essential services and expertise that are pivotal in critically developing technologies and driving them towards market access.
Alongside the directly funded development support provided by our 20 partners, a grants scheme competition was made available to companies who registered with the WMHTIA after the programme launched in October 2023.
A total of £1.54m grant money was awarded to 24 companies, funded through a dedicated share of the £16m awarded to the WMHTIA by the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Innovation Accelerator, which is part of a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Innovate UK funded programme.
With awards of up to £150k, the WMHTIA Grant Funding for Health Technologies is empowering innovators to overcome specific challenges in their development journey beyond the support of the accelerator.
The completion of the grant scheme’s initial phase has significantly contributed to the WMHTIA’s goal of helping companies tackle the challenges of driving their innovations towards market success. A third of the total applicants have been successful, of which 9 companies are female-founded – highlighting the growth in the number of female leaders innovating in this sector.
The WMHTIA Grant Funding for Health Technologies has been a fantastic addition to the programme. It has provided a further opportunity for businesses to benefit by enabling them to access support beyond that offered directly by the consortium delivery partners. The funded projects reflect the diversity of health tech businesses operating in the region and I look forward to seeing the impact these contribute to the overall delivery aims of the WMHTIA.
The West Midlands is a stronghold for innovation in medical technologies and often has more potential novel ideas than can be funded through normal channels. This funding stream was highly popular and validates the need for even more activities like this in the future.
The WMHTIA Grant Funding for Health Technology awardees are:
Ademen Ltd, Aston Vision Sciences Ltd, Black Space Technology Ltd, Care4Futures Ltd, Championsys Ltd, Cytecom Ltd, Dexter AI Ltd, Dynamis MedTech Ltd, Earswitch Ltd, Enable Design Ltd, EnrichMyCare Ltd, Eureka Inventions Ltd, Fallouh Healthcare Ltd, Garland Surgical Ltd, Health Place Ltd, LBN Innovations Ltd, Linear Diagnostics Ltd, Medicaite Ltd, Mindsafe Digital Ltd, Napp Tech Ltd, PBS Innovations Ltd trading as The Social Architex , Saari Consulting Ltd, Newavx Ltd (Theraplate) & Vichag Ltd
For an overview of the grant decision-making process, you can visit the Governance page on the WMHTIA website.
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The West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA), is focused on helping companies drive their innovations towards market success.
Led by the University of Birmingham, the WMHTIA unites 20 partners across academia, industry and NHS under one cohesive programme – the WMHTIA provides companies access to essential services and expertise that are pivotal in critically developing technologies.
The WMHTIA has received £16 million in funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Innovation Accelerator. Led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, the pilot Innovation Accelerators programme invested £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters – Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.
This is a new model of R&D decision making that empowers local leaders to harness innovation to drive regional economic growth, help attract private investment, and develop future technologies.
For more information, visit www.wmhtia.com.