NHS innovations to be commercialised through new company

Medical technologies developed within the NHS will be sold around the world in a new initiative to help inject funding into the NHS.

The company, Medovate, is backed by £9 million in investment capital and is intended to help medtech innovators within the NHS get financial and technical support.

Medovate will provide funding to medical technology developers and support innovations within the NHS through both the clinical trial and regulatory approval phases. This will help products become ready for UK and international markets as quickly as possible.

The company’s business model is intended to give commercial returns to NHS Organisations and the inventors that created the technologies. Investment back into the NHS will be used to stimulate NHS innovation across all of HEE’s NHS members.

The company was launched by Health Enterprise East (HEE) and raised its funding through the investment company NVM Private Equity.

Commenting on the launch, Dr Anne Blackwood, CEO of HEE, said: “Medovate is truly a market first. No other company exists that supports NHS innovation at the same time as delivering direct commercial benefits to the NHS. It is fitting that such an innovative business structure should itself act as the incubator and launchpad of ground-breaking medical technologies. We are excited about helping Medovate grow its portfolio of pioneering medtech projects, and look forward to supporting the company with HEE’s own expertise.”

Stuart Thomson, incoming managing director of Medovate commented: “The substantial launch capital of £9m is a signal of Medovate’s intent. Medovate will offer significant financial, technical and commercial support to many innovators within the NHS so that their ideas can be fast-tracked to market for the benefit of patients and practitioners alike.”