Great ideas delivered: making a difference for our health and our economy Dr Louise Jopling, Commercial Director at Health Innovation East and Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at the Babraham Institute, explains how we help innovators navigate the health and care system to realise the potential of their ideas Whether you are a pioneering start-up, trailblazing academic or first-time adventurer into the world of innovation, we are keenly aware of how We support regional, national and international companies at any stage of their development. Find out more about our Universal, Enhanced and Distinctive services here. important it is to create the conditions that you and your enterprise need to thrive. The challenge of finding the right support to turn an idea into reality and build commercial success can be daunting, but our team of experts can help accelerate your progress and reduce barriers to entry for healthcare and life sciences in the UK and beyond. A resident entrepreneur In January 2024, I was delighted and privileged to be awarded a prestigious Royal Society fellowship, which enabled me to take up the role of Entrepreneur in Residence at the Babraham Institute - a leading life sciences institute undertaking fundamental research to ensure lifelong health. I first set foot on the picturesque Babraham campus in summer 1994 as part of an eightweek studentship after graduation. My fellowship gives me the opportunity to use my experience to support and enhance the Babraham Institutes catalogue of commercial opportunities, encouraging cross-disciplinary learning and aiding researchers to translate and commercialise their important work. Im energised by the opportunity to give back to a campus that supported my early scientific career and to help create the conditions for a spin-out from the Institute to develop, thrive and go on to commercial success. Creating the conditions for innovations to thrive Throughout 2023/24 we delivered training, conferences and interactive webinars that leveraged our experience and the contributions of thought leaders to help entrepreneurs to build the skills that they need. Our Scale Up programme comprises Scale Up Academy and Scale Up Expansion. The programmes, run collaboratively with The Triple Chasm Company, help early and later stage companies to tackle their scale-up challenges. Scale Up brings together start-up leadership teams and specialist advisors for intensive, tailored training to develop growth strategies. The programme is practical, founded in the real world and seeks to challenge the assumptions that prevent organisations from unleashing growth. Across the year, ten Our popular Insight to Impact companies were accompanied by eight delivery partners (including NICE and NIHR), with training sessions webinars are 90-minute deep- facilitated by a faculty of 18 experts. dive sessions, open to all, covering topics as varied as 300 people attended the Bridging the Gap conferences we led this year, one of which was: Bridging the Gap: Unveiling, Advancing and Implementing Cancer Innovations, held at Anglia Ruskin market access, developing no- University, which explored innovative solutions to challenges faced by peoples experiences of cancer. code apps and grant funding Our varied speakers list incorporated perspectives from East of England Cancer Alliance, NHS England, and tax relief. 190 people Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support. We partnered with the Health Innovation Networks attended this year. in the South West, Wessex and Manchester to accelerate the events success. Innovator spotlight: Bridging a gap in Parkinsons care Caroline Cake and Neu Health Neu Health and its co-founder and chief have to take several a day and it is like having executive Caroline Cake, are set on someone carefully watch over my shoulder. revolutionising care for neurodegenerative When I met my nurse, having all the data Id conditions. This year we supported the put in was great a real time saver in our business as it moves toward transforming appointment[and] Ive since started singing care for Parkinsons. Developed using ten lessons to help with my voice (2). years of research, analysis and clinical Caroline has appreciated our teams belief validation, Neu Healths clinically validated in and willingness to champion Neu Health, software as a medical device uses sensors on including introductions to subject experts and smartphones, via an app, to help patients bid writing support. We also connected the measure a wide range of Parkinsons business with Suffolk and North East Essex symptoms. The data it captures are analysed meaning that they can spend more time ICB, resulting in a pilot at East Suffolk and by machine learning algorithms that estimate optimising medication and referrals to meet North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), clinical scores, which can otherwise be largely patients priorities (1). involving 90 people. subjective and take time to establish. By Neu Healths first adoption into a The pilot was a great success, with the capturing data via patients smartphones, Neu clinical setting and the feedback of users equivalent of over 500 hours of remote Health bridges a significant gap in Parkinsons like Jane, who was diagnosed with patient testing completed on the platform and care - the often 12 months or more between Parkinsons at the age of 63, have both up to 60% of patients receiving a change in neurologist appointments. At appointments, increased Carolines passion for the their clinical care as a result. To build on these clinicians can quickly and easily view data on innovation. Jane reflects: achievements an extended pilot involving the patients motor and non-motor symptoms over time via Neu Healths dashboard, I use the app all the time and its helped me control when I need to take my tablets I many more patients is planned for the first half of 2024/25. Unlocking economic growth for the East of England The East is to be one of the UKs fastest growing regions between 2024 and 2026, with a forecast average annual economic growth of 2.1%. Our region is home to highgrowth, high value knowledge-based sectors, including tech and life sciences and such forecasts will continue to attract new HealthTech investment from across the UK and overseas (3). We are proud of the major contribution that our efforts have made to the regions economy in 2023/24. Our ability to help build wealth, deliver value and help create jobs is brought to life by our economic growth outcomes. This year, our work helped leverage 51.3 million investment in the East of England. As a result of which, 31 jobs were created and a further 56.5 safeguarded. Innovator spotlight: Celebrating growth 52North Health Neutrophils in our blood help us to fight We first came to know the 52North team in accelerate NHS adoption of ground-breaking infection. When the number of neutrophils 2020. Highlights of their wave of success in medical technologies, so that patients can falls to low neutropenia arises and we are at 2023/24 include being accepted onto the access the most effective solutions faster. increased risk of infection. 52North, a Cedars Sinai Accelerator programme and This year, as the innovation arm of the Cambridge based start-up has grown being recognised in Holon IQs list of the most NHS in the region, we were enthused to impressively this year. Its pioneering promising start-ups across digital health, provide a letter of support to accompany innovation Neutrocheck helps check if biotech and MedTech across Europe. Perhaps 52Norths IDAP application. We also cancer patients are neutropenic and most significantly, the teams work has been facilitated their attendance and speaking therefore at risk of neutropenic sepsis, recognised in the UK governments 10 opportunities at national events. We celebrate which can occur as a side-effect of some million Innovative Devices Access Pathway 52Norths success alongside and in support chemotherapy drugs. (IDAP) programme. The IDAP seeks to of them. Growing a common thread with CamRARE I think the fact that people with rare conditions often arent prioritised for such innovations is because they are relatively unseen due to the small number of people with each condition. Rare disease patients often have multiple medical appointments at different healthcare settings so convenience is key. It is great to see Beyond Blood Diagnostics considering how to creatively group these diseases and consider co-morbidities - in line with our individually rare, collectively common mantra and improving convenience and experience for patients. Jo Balfour, Chief Executive, CamRARE Our work with Cambridge Rare Disease Network (CamRARE) is precious to us. We contribute regularly to their RAREsummit, an event shining a spotlight on those living with rare conditions, to illuminate a vision of swifter journeys to improved outcomes. In October, 270 people from around the world, including 50 opinion leaders, congregated at the Wellcome Genome Campus for RARESummit. At the summit we reprised our HealthTech innovation pitching competition. Listening to CamRAREs community we developed several innovation challenges, to which 13 companies submitted responses five were shortlisted and pitched their submission to the RAREsummit audience for feedback and to secure tailored support from Health Innovation East. Pitches were quizzed by an expert panel and the audience voted on the innovation best meeting the challenge(s) set. The winner on the day was Beyond Blood Diagnostics. Dr. Manfredi San Germano, its co-founder, explained that the companys medical device enables accurate at-home monitoring of blood cell counts, which is important for improving care for many conditions and for comorbidities in rare diseases. Since the RAREsummit we have supported the acceleration of Beyond Blood Diagnostics route to market, introduced the company to Macmillan Cancer Support to explore further use cases and connected the team to key NHS stakeholders. The innovation has also been evaluated by our Innovation Review Panel (IRP) expert voices we curate to assess the needs of select innovations. Drawing from our panels insights, we delivered a patient and public involvement workshop for the team to understand how to best align their device with patient needs and expectations. Finally, we were pleased to be co-applicant on an NIHR connect grant that has passed from the first to the second stage of the competition. How might we use digital technology or AI to improve equity of access to clear, reliable information about rare diseases or genomic testing for people living with rare diseases? Innovator spotlight: democratising digital health Cogniss and the Health Innovation East Digital Hub Cogniss, based at Cambridge Science Park, At the heart of the Cogniss ecosystem is innovations into and within the NHS, is a no-code ecosystem for developing an advanced no-code app editor with 80+ removing the barriers and supporting digital health solutions. This year we features that can be selected and combined, innovators to create the next generation of partnered with Cogniss to create the Health like building blocks, to create apps. Built technology at a fraction of the cost in a Innovation East Digital Hub. around the editor are further features that matter of weeks. A no-code ecosystem is an online collection of tools and resources that help simplify publishing, compliance and more. As the Digital Hub continues to develop, The Health Innovation East Digital Hub, we are creating a user community, offering people with no technical expertise to build which we developed with Cogniss, offers members comprehensive support to deliver apps - point-and-click style without entrepreneurs and SMEs an innovation digital health and care solutions to the needing coding skills. Cogniss makes it easy sandbox that enables building and testing people and places where they are needed and affordable for entrepreneurs and apps prior to launch and an innovators most. Access to the hub is available via our clinicians to build sophisticated, compliant forum that connects all users. Digital Health Innovation Programme, which apps for patients or customers. In the right Dr Lloyd Humphries, managing director, runs its next cohort, open nationally, in hands it drives the democratisation of Cogniss, says of the Digital Hub: This is a September 2024. Potential programme digital health. first-of-type partnership to accelerate applicants can click the link above. A catalyst for impact: supporting innovators During 2023/24, we received 204 requests for support via our company engagement form. 33 of these were reviewed in depth by our IRP. Of the innovations reviewed, we facilitated in system pilots for six and were a catalyst for the adoption and spread of a further 11 within the NHS. Below are two further examples of our support for innovators this year. Mendelian & MendelScan The Mendelian team are dedicated to ending the diagnostic odyssey for people with undiagnosed rare diseases. Their digital solution, enabled by MendelScans algorithm, captures disease features from electronic health records in primary care. Where the algorithm reports a suspected disease MendelScan informs healthcare providers, enabling them to establish how best to help patients. Health Innovation East has partnered with Mendelian on several successful initiatives this year, including a PPI workshop and a detailed survey and analysis of the public perception of the use of health data to help identify rare diseases. Mendelian has also delivered on its 1.4 million AI Award (from the DHSC) this year. We are helping to celebrate this tremendous success by supporting the development of a communications strategy. We are looking forward to the next stage of our collaboration. KiActiv Colleagues at KiActiv are aiming to improve health outcomes by addressing what they describe as the global pandemic of physical inactivity, with an accessible and effective digital service that makes peoples everyday physical activity a medicine. This year we supported their innovative behaviour change technology by establishing a pilot scheme across Suffolk and North East Essex ICS (SNEE). Beginning in August 2023, 258 patients from the ICSs Long COVID service were enrolled and given personalised technology-enabled support to manage their everyday activity in the context of their condition. Reporting in a poster to the National Long Covid Conference, when 95 people had The KiActiv programme was simple and easy to use: it fitted seamlessly into my work/life schedule and I felt fully supported and guided throughout. I now have a better understanding of the importance of being active through the day. This has been lifechanging for my physical health, but more so for my mental health: the guilt and negativity that I used to feel if I did not exercise has been offset by the knowledge gained from the KiActiv programme. (A KiActiv participant) completed their 12-week KiActiv programme, the team showed that 85% of participants reported improved quality of life and that 54% showed a reduction in fatigue. Most recently KiActivs contract with SNEE has been renewed off the back of this success and strong support from NHS staff and patients. Our team is excited to help get KiActiv further embedded in the NHS and support other aspects of its value proposition. Share this article Return to About Us If you want to learn more about how we can support you and your innovation, visit our website Up next: How we are introducing transformational technology from around the world to the UK. References 1 Cellan-Jones, R. (2023). Can Neu Health Transform Parkinsons Care?. [Online]. Rorys Always On Newsletter. Last Updated: 13 December 2023. Available at: rorycellanjones. substack.com/p/can-neu-health-transform-parkinsons [Accessed 2 May 2024]. 2 East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. (2024). New smartphone app helps patients with Parkinsons. [Online]. esneft.nhs.uk. Last Updated: 11 March 2024. Available at: www.esneft.nhs.uk/new-smartphone-app-helps-patients-with-parkinsons/ [Accessed 2 May 2024]. 3 Cambridge Network. (2023). The East of England set to be one of the UKs fastest growing regions in the next few years, finds latest EY report. [Online]. www. cambridgenetwork.co.uk. Last Updated: 2024. Available at: www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/east-england-set-be-one-uks-fastest-growing-regions-next-few-years-findslatest-ey-report