New innovation fund aims to transform health and care system
A new health innovation fund is investing in health and care technologies and innovations to transform the current health and social care system, including improving access to and quality of care.
The Special Opportunities Fund is starting with Braingaze, a new tool that uses eye tracking to help diagnose ADHD in a matter of minutes. The tool enables drug-free cognitive disorders treatment.
This solution comes at a time when diagnoses take years to identify correctly as average waits for an NHS assessment are between 15-24 months, with some people waiting for up to five years. There is also a shortage of medication currently according to the main manufacturer in the UK, with supplies affected until April of this year at the earliest.
Braingaze is the first of many to be supported by the Special Opportunities Fund, anchored by charity Future Care Capital (FCC) and run by investment fund manager RYSE Asset Management. The Fund is a collaboration to raise venture capital for innovations that transform and enhance care. The Fund will engage institutional and qualified investors to provide a financial lifeline for early-stage companies whose innovations can solve the challenges facing the NHS and other health and care delivery systems.
Andrew Whelan, chair at FCC, said: "As an independent charity, FCC is constantly exploring new ways to create social impact. We are delighted to announce the launch of the Special Opportunities Fund with RYSE which allows us to 'put our money where our mouth is' and support investments aligned with our charitable mission of improving health and care. By investing in innovation and technology, the Fund will deliver tangible benefits for our beneficiaries, exactly the impact we are set up to make. We are excited to be working with RYSE who share our commitment to improving care and have a strong track record as an investment manager. Our investment in the Fund is itself an innovation – a so-called social or mixed-motive investment for charitable impact and financial return. For FCC, this is optimal for sustainability compared with pure grant making without financial return or investing for pure financial return. We can enhance our charitable impact in the short and long term with such an approach. With the Fund’s first investment in Braingaze, we are delighted with its impact on people’s lives right now.”
Shabir Chowdhary, managing partner at RYSE Asset Management, added: “The demand for innovative healthcare solutions has never been greater, and RYSE’s Special Opportunities Fund addresses this need. We are delighted to be working with Future Care Capital; as a cornerstone investor and highly active innovator within health and social care, they support our vision of accelerating development and adoption of digital solutions that will improve patient outcomes, enhance efficiency, and drive positive change across the healthcare ecosystem.”
Laszlo Bax, co-founder and CEO at Braingaze, commented: “The UK alone is home to an estimated 2.6 million people living with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. Only about 15-20% of those are diagnosed; waiting lists for getting a formal diagnosis have skyrocketed since the pandemic and persist even though the Government mobilised substantial additional resources to deal with this challenge. The potential of innovative digital biomarkers to increase efficiency and improve the patient and clinician’s journey can and should be exploited – we are delighted to work with Future Care Capital and the entire UK cognitive care innovation ecosystem to contribute to that in any way we can.”