Medical technology businesses in the South East Midlands can apply to cover 50% of their clinical evaluation costs, thanks to a project delivered by Medilink East Midlands and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN).
Grants are available to qualifying companies who need to test and evaluate their products and services in a clinical setting. This ensures that they are working as intended, are effective and are safe for use. The gathering of this evidence is vital for companies wanting to sell their products and services to the healthcare market – including the NHS.
These grants are delivered as part of the ACTIS project, which is a £2.1 million scheme, part-funded by ERDF. ACTIS provides free and impartial support and advice to eligible businesses in the South East Midlands which are working in, or looking to work in, life sciences; to innovate and create new products and services. EMAHSN is part funding the project and is one of the project delivery partners for ACTIS, alongside the Open University and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Darren Clark, chief executive of Medilink East Midlands, said: “For medical technology businesses who want to sell to the healthcare market, the gathering of an evidence base is paramount. By making this support available, we’re helping companies to overcome obstacles on the road to getting their products and services out to as wide a market as possible. We are extremely pleased to be working with the EMAHSN and our other project partners to offer companies and entrepreneurs the sector-specific knowledge and support they need through this programme.”
In addition to the innovation support offered through ACTIS, businesses who access this programme can receive support from the EMAHSN to help bring their products and services to market. This includes one-to-one support during the trials, access to specialist events, support with product development, opportunities to meet with clinical experts, regular opportunities to showcase their products with NHS decision-makers and influencers and one-to-one discussions on completion of their evaluation.
Medilink East Midlands – the industry support organisation for the East Midlands which supports new and existing life science businesses - is delivering the ACTIS project and will help companies to access the grants in partnership with EMAHSN across the South East Midlands.
ACTIS is set to run until June 2022. Eligible businesses who sign up to the programme will receive support including help and advice from life science sector specialists, life science businesses, the NHS and universities, as well as grants for clinical evaluations, innovation development and specialist networking events.
Mike Hannay, managing director of EMAHSN, said: “Through providing these grants, we want to work with life science companies in the South East Midlands to help them undertake the necessary research needed to produce clinical data. With this information, they can take their products and services to all corners of the healthcare market.”
