The Awards

Innovation is the life blood for any organisation and over the coming years of economic uncertainty, there has never been a more pressing demand for healthcare innovation, especially for technologies or therapies that seamlessly integrate into front line service delivery, leading to efficiency gains and enhanced outcomes for patients.

Each year, thousands of ideas are seen at all stages of development and many, whilst academically sound, lack a market facing or commercial dimension. Indeed many of the more advanced, venture capital backed businesses we see, lack medical insight and the clinical evidence necessary for market penetration.

Anyone involved in the healthcare sector can enter with ideas at any stage, from concepts through to trading businesses. Throughout the year, a series of activities take place in the background that encourage, support and reward innovators in their aspiration to drive forwards their ideas. A series of workshops called i2 Events, help provide service transformation; legal; and market oriented commercial advice to healthcare innovators. So far, thousands of clinicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs have attended Medical Futures’ events - connections are made, and ideas are brought to life.

The best ideas are then invited to pitch their idea, face to face to a peer review panel of leading experts both in the medical field and also with business and legal expertise.

Winning ideas gain critical endorsement and recognition; access a valuable support network; and increase their chances of investment.

Past winners have secured over £100m ($160m) of funding, and most importantly many have gone onto become successful services or products that are now changing peoples’ lives (see case studies).