Since its inception in 2011, the Science and Technology Facilities Council has contributed more than £350 million and helped more than 150 businesses thrive.
More than a third of the 28 start-ups backed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and its latest £2 million drive to bring new innovations to market more quickly and succeed in global markets come from the healthcare sector.
“While new problem-solving products are being created by innovators across the UK every day, the hurdles to enable start-ups to scale up into successful businesses are often too high – from sourcing finance to accessing facilities,” said Patrick Vallance, minister of state for science, research and innovation.
The ten companies are Signatur Biosciences which makes precision diagnostics accessible, starting by decentralising breast cancer prognosis to reduce patient diagnosis times and lower hospital costs; BioTryp which has developed a novel treatment for bacterial infections (starting with urinary tract infections), that increases antibiotic effectiveness and reduces recurrence by preventing biofilms; Talk It Out which is building a mental health app that uses AI to help people understand their subconscious thoughts and the emotions they create, reducing anxiety and burnout; Decently, an app (for clinical teams caring for patients who display complex behaviours due to neurological conditions; SenseAI which provides a method to speed-up analysis of electron microscopy and other imaging, using smart sampling and inpainting to reduce scanning times; Currant Care which via its Sensora platform provides non-invasive, AI-powered monitoring for real-time alerts and analytics to caregivers, enabling data-driven and efficient care for elderly and disabled patients; Leaf AI which provides conversational AI for care organisations and people and families affected by dementia or social isolation and loneliness; BBL Protect which manufactures a personal isolation and transport device for safe and efficient transportation of infectious, contaminated or immunocompromised patients in healthcare settings; Neurovate which develops drugs for central nervous system disorders, starting with Alzheimer’s disease, that work at lower dosage and reduce patient side-effects; and Apnea-Tech which is building a low-cost and sustainable screening and diagnostic device for sleep apnoea that speeds-up diagnosis and reduces healthcare costs.
In 2024 alone, STFC says that its network of business incubation centres delivered £78 million in economic impact to the UK economy. Since its inception in 2011, it has contributed more than £350 million and helped more than 150 businesses thrive.
In addition to funding, participating businesses gain access to research facilities, expertise and IP, resources that are typically inaccessible to start-ups. The thinking is that this enables them to accelerate the development of new products that benefit our lives and the world we live in to achieve commercial success and create high-value jobs.
“Deep tech start-ups often face barriers to commercialisation due to high costs and technical challenges. By providing vital, tailored support, we’re helping to bridge the gap between laboratory breakthrough and profitable business,” said Will Gault, business incubation programmes lead at STFC.
