Innovation Incubator
Support for early-stage health and biotechnology ventures that would struggle to attract conventional investment.
The ideas the market will not fund
Conventional investment follows returns. That works well for products aimed at people who can pay a premium, and badly for products aimed at people who cannot — which is precisely where the health need is greatest.
A low-cost diagnostic for a condition common among low-income populations may be enormously valuable and still be commercially unattractive, because the achievable margin is small. Those are the ideas our incubator exists for. Operating on a non-profit basis lets us support work whose value is measured in health outcomes rather than in the return it generates.
Incubator support
Scientific assessment
Laboratory access
Technical mentorship
Regulatory guidance
Cost modelling
Partner introductions
The characteristics of a strong proposal
Not all of these are required, but the strongest proposals share most of them.
- A clearly stated health problem, not just an interesting technology
- Evidence that existing solutions are unavailable, unaffordable or inadequate
- A plausible scientific basis, honestly presented
- Awareness of what is already known, including prior failures
- A realistic view of the cost the end user could bear
- Consideration of the setting the product must actually work in
- Willingness to abandon the idea if validation does not support it
- A team prepared to do the unglamorous validation work
Incubator intake details will be published here
Application windows, selection criteria, the support package offered and any terms attached will be published here once the incubator programme opens for applications.
Have an idea to develop?
Submit a concept for review. We assess proposals on scientific merit and on whether the result could realistically reach the people who need it.