UK medical innovation backed with £18m Biomedical Catalyst fund
pharmafile | August 10, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing |
Life Sciences Minister George Freeman has announced an £18 million fund for the next generation of UK medical advances.
Twelve new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies will receive government funding from the eighth round of the Biomedical Catalyst (BMC), a joint programme run by the Medical Research Council and the Government’s innovation experts, Innovate UK.
The BMC supports UK academics and small to medium-sized businesses seeking to take their research from discovery through to commercialisation. The fund is open to any UK small or medium-sized business or academic institution undertaking research and development.
Freeman says the financial support offered by the fund could potentially improve or save lives while helping businesses grow and boosting UK productivity.
Round-eight brings the total number of BMC awards to 318 since its establishment in 2011, with a total investment of more than £370 million split between the MRC, Innovate UK and leveraged funding from industry.
MRC-funded awards in this round ranged from development of a targeted therapy for inflammatory bowel disease to pre-clinical development of a universal flu vaccine. The full list can be found here.
Successful awards from previous rounds include £759,000 funding for Glasgow-based Ohmedics to develop a device that patients can use at home to monitor for lung infections caused by bacteria and fungi.
Professor Sir John Savill, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, says: “This round of awards is a further demonstration of the exceptional science coming out of the vibrant academic and industrial research base of the UK. The continued success of the Biomedical Catalyst illustrates the value of dedicated support to ensure that this country can rapidly exploit world-leading science for the benefit of patients and the UK economy.”
Chief executive of Innovate UK, Dr Ruth McKernan, comments: “Delivering efficient and effective healthcare has never been more important, and innovation is central to making that happen. Through the Biomedical Catalyst, Innovate UK have backed innovative companies that are taking on this challenge and developing the medical advances of the future that will potentially help to save lives and money.”
The BioIndustry Association (BIA) has published a report which it said “demonstrates that the Biomedical Catalyst is a successful government policy that is underpinning the ongoing growth of the UK life sciences sector.” The trade body is also calling for the scheme to continue in order to ensure the ongoing contribution of the life sciences sector to overall UK economic growth.
BIA chief executive Steve Bates says: “The Biomedical Catalyst fills a crucial structural gap in the UK investment pathway, early in company development where private sector investors will not venture alone. If this is removed or diluted, already invested SMEs will fall again into the funding valley of death and the whole life sciences ecosystem, and UK economic growth will suffer. As we head towards this year’s Spending Review our message is clear: the Biomedical Catalyst must be continued.”
Joel Levy
