£6 million awarded to support innovations in respiratory and cardiovascular care
£6 million has been awarded to a range of innovations intended to support people suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
The AHSN Network, in partnership with SBRI Healthcare, has supported 14 projects including digital inhalers for children, allowing families to monitor usage via a smartphone, and the world’s first and only non-invasive screening test for coronary and structural heart diseases.
The funding has been awarded by SBRI Healthcare, an initiative by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) – a partnership between patient groups, government bodies, industry and the NHS, hosted by NHS England – and is delivered in partnership with the AHSN Network.
There were two competitions in June 2022. One sought late-stage innovations relating to early diagnosis of respiratory diseases, and the second was for innovations focused on early detection of high-risk individuals, improving prevention strategies, patient empowerment and self-management of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
£2.7 million awarded to respiratory disease innovations
Asthma affects 8 million people in the UK, with 1 in 5 people diagnosed with a respiratory disease. It is the third biggest cause of death in England (after cancer and cardiovascular disease). Patients are commonly diagnosed when a respiratory disease has progressed, leading to poor prognoses and patient outcomes.
Funding for research and innovation in this field is needed to help diagnose, treat and manage respiratory disease more effectively. The aim is to transform and save millions of lives in the UK and worldwide. Innovations selected include a home monitoring system for the early identification of complications of chronic respiratory conditions, and a hybrid digital and in-person programme for pulmonary rehabilitation.
£3.3 million to accelerate cardiovascular disease innovations
Cardiovascular disease is the single biggest condition where lives can be saved by the NHS over the next decade. There are 7.6 million people living with CVD in the UK, which is a leading cause of premature disability, mortality, and health inequalities. It is responsible for one in four deaths each year and the Health Security Agency estimates that the annual healthcare costs in England relating to CVD are around £7.4 billion, with a cost to the wider economy of £15.8 billion.
All CVD, including, but not limited to, heart diseases, vascular dementia, stroke, and peripheral artery disease were considered for this competition. Phase 3 competitions aim to accelerate the delivery of late-stage innovations into real-world healthcare settings by supporting innovations to gain the evidence needed for NHS commissioners and regulators to make purchasing recommendations, with the aim to benefit patients and the community. Such innovations include a digital platform that allows anyone with a smartphone or tablet to test themselves for a range of major diseases and conditions via fingerprick, and an AI powered patient management system.
Awards in the respiratory disease competition
The six companies that were awarded funding in the respiratory disease competition are:
Adherium Europe Ltd – Smart digital inhaler enabled asthma management in high-risk children aged 5 to 16 years managed in primary care to prevent asthma attacks
my mhealth Limited – Improving COPD outcomes through digitally enhanced care pathways
Aseptika Ltd – Pulmonary rehabilitation via in-person classes and at-home delivery
Tiny Medical Apps – Making Young People’s Asthma Self-management Smarter (MYPASS)
Lenus Health Ltd – Implementing and evaluating the Lenus COPD Support Service
patientMpower – A digital healthcare solution for chronic respiratory conditions
Awards in the cardiovascular disease competition
The eight organisations that received funding in the cardiovascular disease competition are:
Huma – A programme for people who are undiagnosed and/or high-risk of developing modifiable CVD
Discover Momenta Ltd – Scaling a promising Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Programme (CPP)
PocDoc – Improving primary and secondary prevention of CVD
Abtrace – Clinical Process Automation of Identification, Prioritisation and Recall of Patients at risk of CVD
Southwest London Integrated Care System – The CVD Prevention Decathlon – a change programme that rewards people for becoming healthier
Healum Ltd – a patient management system to support patients at risk of cardiovascular disease
Cardisio GmbH – Assessing the impact of using community-based heart testing to detect early signs of cardiovascular disease
Inavya Ventures Ltd – PoP-60 –Post-Operative 60 Days
Matt Whitty, CEO of the AAC, said of both competitions:
“The SBRI Healthcare awards help the NHS to develop new technologies and solutions to address some of the biggest healthcare challenges facing society. We have selected these innovations because they have the potential to make a big difference to patients. By supporting the most promising innovations the NHS will continue to evolve, helping meet more patients’ needs and encouraging more innovators to come forward with ideas that make a difference.”
More information can be found on the SBRI website.
