Plug and Play Health United Kingdom Unveils Inaugural Cohort of Health Accelerator Program

BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM, JANUARY 23, 2024 - Plug and Play UK proudly announces the commencement of its 12-week Health Accelerator Program, marking a significant milestone in advancing healthcare innovation within the UK while maintaining a global perspective. A total of 13 exceptional startups have been meticulously selected for the inaugural batch, contributing to the success of the West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA) and bolstering innovation and research and development (R&D) capabilities in the region. As the world's largest innovation platform, Plug and Play plays a pivotal role in facilitating the global commercialisation of healthcare innovations.

This outstanding cohort spans various healthcare sectors, stages of development, and geographical locations, reflecting the program's commitment to fostering international expansion and commercial viability. The expansive array of healthcare innovations within the cohort encompasses precision oncology solutions, advanced LLMs for clinical assessments, pioneering cardiac digital biomarkers, real-time hormone monitoring technologies, and ground-breaking remote-controlled stem cells, among other transformative advancements.

To strengthen the program’s success, Plug and Play UK Health has established a carefully curated Advisory Committee comprising of a select group of corporate and other key partners. Key players in the pharma industry, including Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Haleon and Daiichi Sankyo, as well as health insurance giants such as BUPA and Aviva, are joined by strategic partners such as BT, NHS, The Alan Turing Institute and other invaluable investors.

This Advisory Committee will collaborate with the startups throughout the program, guiding them with invaluable insights and strategic support. Additionally, an outstanding assembly of mentors from Plug and Play global offices, government, universities, and accomplished entrepreneurs and investors will further enhance the program's impact.

The Health Accelerator Program, meticulously designed to support companies on their commercial journey, leverages Plug and Play's extensive network to facilitate the securing of first commercial pilots or customers.

The 13 startups that have been selected to participate in the program are:

Anathem (https://www.anathem.ai/) is automating the administrative burden of mental health clinicians through AI.

CardioSignal (https://cardiosignal.com/) is developing groundbreaking solutions for early detection of heart diseases.

DDM Health (https://ddm.health/) is providing AI-led, data-driven population health solutions to empower patients to achieve their health goals, with over 1.8 million members across platforms.

Impli (https://www.impli.org/) is developing the first real-time hormone monitoring

device for IVF making fertility treatment more accessible, safer and more successful.

InoCardia (http://www.inocardia.co.uk/) is providing predictive award-winning cardiac screening assays and virtual tools for pharma and biotech industry.

MICA Biosystems (https://www.micabiosystems.co.uk/) is developing a pioneering biomagnetic technology designed to remotely deliver directed mechanical stimuli to individual cells within culture or within the body.

NovaBleep (https://novableep.com/) is revolutionising the way hospitals operate by streamlining and digitalising essential communication processes.

PingBit Health Ltd (http://www.pingbithealth.com/) is developing the new generation of digital health for healthy and active ageing.

PragmaClin (https://www.pragmaclin.com/) is transforming neurological disease monitoring by using innovative digital tools to manage movement disorder assessments from home.

Research Grid (https://rgrid.tech/) is intelligently streamlining clinical operations and patient engagement.

Sensora Health (https://www.sensorahealth.com/) is developing an end-to-end remote monitoring system using sensor-based technology to help care teams more effectively deliver immediate and proactive care in elderly living environments.

Skyfarer (https://www.skyfarer.co.uk/) is building a greener and more connected world through the use of unmanned aviation to save organisations time and money, sustainably.

Vivan Therapeutics (https://vivantx.com/) is developing intelligently designed personalised cancer therapeutic solutions.

These innovative companies will undergo a tailored 12-week support program with Plug and Play and its extensive partner network, culminating in a grand Expo in Birmingham, United Kingdom in April 2024.

“We are proud to bring Plug and Play Health to the UK and be selected as one of the delivery organisations of the WMHTIA. Plug and Play have been investing, accelerating and supporting startups to scale for over 30 years; we are excited to support a new generation of world-changing companies through our global healthcare ecosystem,” said Kieran Borrett, Director of Plug and Play UK.

Funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Innovation Accelerator, which comes through a fund set up by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and delivered by Innovate UK, the WMHTIA is focused on helping companies address the challenges of bringing technologies to the market.

For inquiries regarding partnership opportunities or participation in the upcoming second batch starting in the summer, please contact Health Ventures Associate Miruna Chipara at m.chipara@pnptc.com and Senior Program Manager Agata Bendik at a.bendik@pnptc.com.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 50+ locations across 5 continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/

About West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA)

The West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA), is focused on addressing the challenges of bringing new medical and healthcare technologies into the market. It unites 18 key partners across universities, hospitals, industry and government-funded ‘Catapults’ for manufacturing innovation under one cohesive programme, to help companies navigate the difficulties of the commercialisation process. The WMHTIA has received £14 million in funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Innovation Accelerator. The Innovation Accelerator is funded through a share of a £100m fund set up by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and delivered by Innovate UK in partnership with regional authorities. First announced in the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper, The West Midlands Innovation Accelerator will bolster the region’s innovation and R&D capability and capacity to spark commercial growth and investment.