University-led WMHTIA grant scheme to drive health technologies forward

A significant grant scheme valued at £1.54 million is propelling companies in the West Midlands towards the commercialisation of their health technologies. The West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA), led by the University of Birmingham, announced the conclusion of its application and grant-awarding process. This initiative supports the development of health technologies by local companies.

The WMHTIA collaborates with 20 partners from academia, industry, and the NHS, offering critical services and expertise essential for advancing technologies to market readiness. Since the programme’s inception in October 2023, the accelerator has provided development support and a competitive grants scheme to registered companies.

A total of £1.54 million in grants was distributed among 24 companies. This funding is part of a larger £16 million allocation from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Innovation Accelerator, under a programme funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Innovate UK.

The grants, which reached up to £150,000 each, are designed to help innovators address specific challenges in their development processes, complementing the direct support from the accelerator’s partners. This initial phase has notably advanced WMHTIA’s objective of aiding companies in navigating the challenges associated with bringing innovations to market. Notably, a third of the applicants succeeded, with nine of the awarded companies being female-founded, reflecting a rise in women leading innovation in this sector.

“The WMHTIA Grant Funding for Health Technologies has been an excellent addition to our programme. It allows businesses to extend their reach beyond the support provided by our consortium partners,” stated Dr Luan Linden-Phillips, WMHTIA Programme Manager. The diversity of the health tech companies that have benefited from this funding mirrors the varied landscape of the industry in the region. Professor Mike Lewis, Chair of the WMHTIA Secondary Grants Committee, also remarked on the popularity of this funding stream, emphasising the ongoing demand for more initiatives like this.

Among the beneficiaries of the WMHTIA Grant Funding for Health Technology are: Ademen Ltd, Aston Vision Sciences Ltd, and several others, each contributing uniquely to the health tech landscape. For more detailed information about the grant decision-making process, interested parties can visit the Governance page on the WMHTIA website.

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