Six technologies awarded “Innovation open call” at NHS Cancer Programme in England

On April 28, 2023, the NHS Cancer Programme awarded £12.1 million to six innovations that improve the early detection and diagnosis of cancer. Awarded medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics, and digital health solutions are used to diagnose bowel, skin, liver, breast, ovarian, and esophageal cancer.

NHS Cancer Programme, in partnership with SBRI Healthcare and Accelerated Access Collaborative, introduced an annual “Innovation open call” in 2021 to identify and support the most promising technologies to deliver NHS Long Term Plan ambitions for cancer. Funding is provided to fast-track innovations that have proven their efficacy and clinical effectiveness and are ready for real-world testing and rollout. The first innovation call winners were announced in February 2022.

The second call, launched in 2022, invited applications from single organizations based in the UK or EU from the private, public, and third sectors, including companies, charities, universities, and NHS providers. The eligible technologies included medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics, digital health solutions, behavior interventions, software, artificial intelligence, and new models of care.

The awarded technologies will be funded over the next 18 months to support the rollout and real-world testing. Some examples are provided below:

• Non-endoscopic test (by Cyted) for the earlier detection of esophageal cancer is transforming the care pathway for people with chronic gastroesophageal reflux. Project CYTOPRIME2 will test patients at risk of cancer in primary and community care across the East of England, North West Coast, and Wessex Cancer Alliance regions;
• Elecsys GAAD algorithm (by Roche Diagnostics) for early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) detection in routine practice combines blood tests with gender and age.

Other awarded innovations are used to diagnose bowel, skin, breast, and ovarian cancer.

See the full details here.

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