Med-tech businesses in Wales are set to get a boost in bringing new innovative products and services to market as Innovate UK unveils its first £1m Launchpad for the med tech cluster in Wales.
The Launchpad for Wales will provide funding designed to support the development and growth of high tech companies in the Med Tech cluster located along the M4 corridor from south east to west Wales.
Aimed at small and micro companies, it will support the development of innovative healthcare products or solutions, as well as encourage growth of the cluster through a number of business support activities.
Innovate UK – formerly known as the Technology Strategy Board – will launch the competition at an open invitation event at Life Sciences Hub Wales on October 15 when the scope of this particular Launchpad will be explained as well as the different stages of the competition.
The news has been welcomed by Economy Minister Edwina Hart who said: “Launchpads offer a great opportunity for companies to accelerate innovation and product development.
“This is the first Launchpad announced for Wales and is a recognition of the strong and dynamic cluster of med-tech companies we have in Wales. I welcome the news and the opportunities it can present to small and micro businesses..
“Life sciences is one of our priority sectors with high growth potential and the Welsh Government has invested heavily to support the sector to ensure it reaches its full potential. We have laid the foundations for growth through initiatives such as the £100m Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund and the Life Sciences Hub Wales and I hope our Med-Tech companies take full advantage of this Launchpad .”
The briefing document, which provides more detail on the scope of the competition can be found here:
https://www.innovateuk.org/competition-display-page/-/asset_publisher/RqEt2AKmEBhi/content/medical-technologies-launchpad-wales
A registration page is open on Business Wales for interested companies wishing to attend the launch event:
https://wales.business-events.org.uk/events/wales_medtech_launchpad
Winners of the Launchpad competition get up to 60% funding towards eligible costs for industrial research – total project costs are not expected to exceed £250,000.
Projects can last up to 18 months and should be led by micro or small companies in the early stages of their development working independently or working in collaboration. Companies then have up to six months to attract matched funding from the private sector , with specialist support offered during this time to assist in developing and ” investor ready” proposition.
The funding available can help early stage highly innovative companies that are a critical element of the cluster and also attract companies into Wales or to collaborate with companies in the cluster.
Launchpads acts as a catalyst to help companies access R&D funding and a strong business support element runs in tandem so businesses can tap into the range of WG business support programmes, which will be delivered in collaboration with organisations across Wales, such as Life Science Hub Wales.
The Launchpad will develop an investor-ready pipeline of projects for further private sector investment, enabling companies to go further and faster towards commercial success.