Innovations awarded SBRI Healthcare competitions in February 2025 in England

SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) Healthcare is funded by the NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative and supported by the Health Innovation Network (HIN). SBRI Healthcare is committed to supporting the NHS in delivering the objectives of the NHS Long Term Plan.

In February 2025, SBRI Healthcare announced the results of three funding competitions. 

Competition 23 - Child Health, Phase 2

Funding of £3 million was allocated to support four innovations that improve the health and well-being of children and young people who have asthma, epilepsy, and/or diabetes. In March 2024, nine projects were awarded in Phase 1 for six months to demonstrate technical and commercial viability. Current funding in Phase 2 enables 12 months of development and prototype evaluation prior to real-world implementation. Innovations were awarded in the areas of e-health, pulmonology, neurology, and endocrinology. For example, BioEP (by Neuronostics) is a cloud-based decision support tool for the diagnosis of epilepsy.

Competition 25 - Antimicrobial Resistance, Phase 1 

A total of £1m was allocated for the development of 11 innovations that improve infection prevention and control to mitigate the spread of antimicrobial resistance. The competition runs in two phases. 

Phase 1 is intended to show the technical and commercial feasibility of the proposed concept. The development contracts will be for a maximum of 6 months and up to £100,000 per project. Some examples of awarded projects are provided below:

• iFAST Diagnostics - Direct from Blood Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test;
• Mackwell Health - Infection Prevention using Next Generation UV-C LED Technology;
• Presymptom Health - Development of the InfectiClear test onto Near Patient and Point-of-Care NHS.

Only those projects that have successfully completed Phase 1 will be eligible for Phase 2, which is intended to develop and evaluate prototypes or demonstration units over a maximum of 12 months with up to £800,000. 

Competition 25 - Women’s Health, Phase 1 

A total of £1.3m was allocated for the development of 14 innovations that support women’s health. The competition runs in two phases. 

Phase 1 invited early-stage innovations in the following three priority areas: Gynecological conditions and hormonal health, mental health, chronic conditions, and long-term health. Phase 1 is intended to show the technical and commercial feasibility of the proposed concept. The development contracts will be for a maximum of 6 months and up to £100,000 per project.

Awarded innovations concern different areas besides obstetrics and gynecology, such as e-health, diagnostic imaging, in-vitro diagnostics, and neuromodulation. Some examples of awarded projects are provided below:

• BirthGlide - feasibility study of the device to prevent difficult birth in the pushing stage of labor and reduce the use of traumatic procedures such as forceps, vacuum, or emergency C-sections;
• Queen Mary University / Samphire Neuroscience – validation of a non-invasive brain stimulation device (Nettle) to manage symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder;
• Signal Enhancement Diagnostics - SEREN: Strategic Endometriosis Research for miRNA-Enabled Nano-diagnostics and therapeutics. 

Only those projects that have successfully completed Phase 1 will be eligible for Phase 2, which is intended to develop and evaluate prototypes or demonstration units over a maximum of 12 months with up to £800,000. 

See the full details here (Competition 23), here (Competition 25 Antimicrobial Resistance), and here (Competition 25 Women’s Health).

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