National Health Innovation Centre

What National Health Innovation Centre does

National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC) is a Singapore government programme office established in 2014 to accelerate the translation of clinical innovations from the country's public healthcare institutions (PHIs) into market-ready healthcare products. Operating as a business unit under the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation Singapore (CRIS) — a wholly owned subsidiary of MOH Holdings under the Ministry of Health — NHIC is funded by the National Medical Research Council, MOH Holdings, and the RIE 2025 national research framework. The organisation's core "products" are grant funding programmes (I2D for early-stage development up to S$400,000, LeapX for late-stage up to S$750,000, I2Adopt for clinical adoption up to S$2 million, Joint MedTech Grants, and the STDR therapeutics track), the CADRE public-private partnership scheme, and a Talent Development Programme delivered with SGInnovate and Singapore BioDesign.

NHIC does not develop proprietary technology; it funds and supports innovations across medical devices, digital health, diagnostics, and therapeutics originating from Singapore's three PHI clusters (NHG Health, NUHS, SingHealth). Its business model combines direct government grant disbursement with revenue generated through facilitated commercial licences — cumulative outputs over its first decade (2014-2024) include 100+ innovation projects supported, 72 commercial licences, S$4.38 million in licensing revenue, 25 spin-off companies, 16 launched products, and nearly S$90 million of private capital catalysed into supported ventures. The CADRE scheme, launched October 2022, co-develops and co-invests with more than 15 private partners including Roche, MiRXES, AstraZeneca, SGInnovate, East Ventures, Openspace, and Heritas Capital. NHIC also participates in international events (MedFIT, Asia Summit on Global Health, SWITCH) to position Singapore-originated innovations for cross-border commercialisation. Leadership is currently provided by Executive Director Associate Professor Henry Ho (appointed January 2023) and Board Chair Professor Benjamin Ong (appointed January 2024).

Name

National Health Innovation Centre

Legal name

National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC)

Website

https://nhic.sg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC) is a Singapore government programme office that provides translational grant funding, commercialisation support, and public-private partnership facilitation to clinician innovators across the country's three public healthcare clusters, helping bridge clinical innovations to market-ready products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Healthcare Innovation Funding and Translation Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

Keywords

• Healthcare innovation funding
• Medtech translation grants
• Clinical commercialization support
• Biotech venture co-creation
• Healthtech public partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding and Grant Disbursement: NHIC is a nationally appointed programme office funded by the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) through the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) and MOH Holdings. It operates as a business unit under CRIS and disburses grants to support clinical innovation translation and development.
2. Licensing Revenue: NHIC facilitates commercial licences for innovations developed through its programmes. Under Prof Tina Wong's leadership, 49 commercial licences were facilitated, generating S$3.4 million of licensing revenue.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

NHIC is a Singapore government programme office that channels translational grant funding, mentorship, regulatory guidance, and industry partnerships to clinician innovators from Singapore's public healthcare institutions. Its core offerings are grant programmes (I2D, LeapX, I2Adopt, Joint MedTech Grants, STDR) and partnership schemes (CADRE) that fund the development, clinical adoption, and commercialisation of medical devices, digital health, diagnostics, and therapeutics originating from public-sector clinical research.

Product overview

The National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC) is a Singapore government agency (programme office) established in 2014 that functions as an innovation and enterprise office, not a product company. Rather than offering commercial software products, NHIC operates a portfolio of grant funding programs and partnership schemes designed to support healthcare innovation from Singapore's public health institutions. The core offerings include: Innovation to Develop (I2D) for early-stage development, LeapX for late-stage innovations, Innovation to Adopt (I2Adopt) for clinical implementation, Joint MedTech Grants for seed funding across healthcare clusters, and the Talent Development Programme for nurturing tri-competent healthtech professionals. These programs are complemented by the CADRE partnership scheme and participation in the Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR). NHIC connects clinical innovators with industry partners to accelerate the pathway from research to market-ready healthcare solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Innovation to Develop (I2D) Grant funding programme that supports the development of clinically significant and commercially viable healthcare innovations from early-stage to market readiness, capped at S$400,000 for up to 18 months. Targeted at clinician innovators in Singapore's public healthcare institutions.
• LeapX Partnership programme that supports late-stage, clinically significant healthcare innovations reaching clinical and commercial inflection points, with funding capped at S$750,000 for up to 2 years. Targeted at clinician innovators preparing innovations for market entry.
• Innovation to Adopt (I2Adopt) Funding initiative that supports commercially viable innovations for implementation and adoption across public healthcare clusters in Singapore, with funding up to S$2 million. Targeted at scaling proven innovations across NHG Health, NUHS and SingHealth.
• Joint MedTech Grants Seed funding grants co-funded with healthcare clusters (NHG Health CMTi, NUHS, SingHealth, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine) for early-stage MedTech development, capped at S$100,000 for 12 months. Targeted at early-stage medtech projects originating in Singapore's public healthcare institutions.
• Talent Development Programme Partnership programme with SGInnovate and Singapore BioDesign that nurtures founders and senior innovation project leads with tri-competent capabilities (clinical, technical, and commercial) in the medtech and biotech sectors. Includes real-world immersion in public and private healthcare settings.
• Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR) National-level grant programme for drug development, implemented by A*STAR in partnership with EDDC, SMART, and NHIC, providing phased funding and mentoring for biotech projects. Targeted at therapeutics innovation originating from public-sector research in Singapore.
• CADRE (Clinical Advancement and Development for Research, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise) Public-private partnership scheme that co-develops and co-invests in healthtech projects at Singapore's public healthcare clusters with private sector partners - including venture co-creation, technology development, co-investment, and talent nurturing. Launched in 2022 with 15+ established partnerships across venture firms, medtech and biotech corporates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 72 commercial licences facilitated and S$4.38 million in licensing revenue generated
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Origgin VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2022NHIC partnered with Origgin Ventures to co-create medtech start-ups arising from home-grown, cost-effective technologies, as part of the CADRE scheme.
• Trinity Innovation Bioventure SingaporecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2022NHIC partnered with Trinity Innovation Bioventure Singapore to co-create biotech start-ups from home-grown cost-effective technologies, as part of the CADRE scheme.
• RochecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2022NHIC established open innovation partnership with Roche to explore potential co-development opportunities for clinically and commercially impactful healthtech projects from an early stage.
• MiRXEScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2022NHIC partnered with MiRXES to establish open innovation partnerships to explore potential co-development opportunities for healthtech projects from an early stage.
• SGInnovatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2022NHIC partnered with SGInnovate to nurture founders and senior innovation project leads with tri-competent capabilities in clinical, technical and commercial experience in the biotech and medtech sectors.
• Singapore BioDesigncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2022NHIC incorporated Singapore BioDesign into talent development programmes to train clinician innovators and entrepreneurs in healthtech innovation.
• AstraZenecacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022AstraZeneca is a CADRE partner working with NHIC on co-development and co-investment in healthtech projects.
• Temasek Life Sciences AcceleratorminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator is a CADRE partner supporting healthtech startup development.
• ClavystBiominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022ClavystBio is a CADRE partner involved in co-development of biotech ventures.
• MedTech ActuatorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022MedTech Actuator is a CADRE partner supporting medtech innovation and venture development.
• Singapore Deep-Tech AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Singapore Deep-Tech Alliance is a CADRE partner supporting deep-tech startup development.
• InnoMed AcceleratorminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022InnoMed Accelerator is a CADRE partner providing accelerator programme support for healthtech ventures.
• Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation Singapore (CRIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2020NHIC operates as a business unit under CRIS, a wholly owned subsidiary of MOH Holdings. CRIS was established in 2020 to strengthen synergies and promulgate strategies for national-level clinical research and translation programmes under the Ministry of Health's stewardship.
• Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA*STAR collaborates with NHIC through Singapore BioDesign and SMART (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology) for innovation training and technology development.
• Enterprise SingaporecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnterprise Singapore partners with NHIC on Innovation to Startup (I2START) grant and provides market access support for healthtech companies.
• Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMART collaborates with NHIC on the I2START grant and supports technology development and commercialisation.
• Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHI partners with NHIC on healthcare innovation ecosystem development and events.
• Co11ab NovenacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo11ab Novena is a tripartite alliance between NTU, A*STAR, and NHG that advises startups on development roadmaps and industry partnerships.
• Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDDC is a strategic partner in the Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR) programme for drug development projects.
• IPOS InternationalminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerIPOS International provides workshops on IP portfolio and strategies for clinical innovators from public healthcare clusters.
• IPI SingaporeminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerIPI Singapore supports technology and IP scouting and matching services for healthcare innovators.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Innosuisse: Swiss federal innovation promotion agency that funds applied research projects and supports startup creation from public research. A near-analogue of NHIC's I2D and LeapX grant programmes with venture co-creation support.
• SGInnovate: Singapore government-linked deep-tech investor and talent developer that partners with NHIC on tri-competent talent programmes. Both share a mandate to commercialise Singapore-origin science through co-investment, talent nurturing, and venture building.
• Enterprise Singapore: Government agency that co-funds NHIC's I2START grant and provides market access support to healthtech companies. Both agencies support Singapore SME commercialisation with grant programmes and internationalisation pathways.
• Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR): Singapore's lead public-sector R&D agency and a core NHIC partner through STDR, Singapore BioDesign, and SMART. A*STAR performs upstream research that NHIC translates downstream — both are government programme offices supporting Singapore's innovation pipeline.
• National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore: Singapore's peak body for research, innovation, and enterprise policy that funds RIE plans and oversees the broader ecosystem NHIC operates within. Several NHIC senior staff (Dr Pauline Tay) previously held senior roles at NRF.
• Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator: CADRE partner that supports healthtech startup development with venture co-creation and investment capabilities. Operates in the same Singapore ecosystem and shares the mandate of building ventures from public-sector science.

Broad incumbents

• BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority): US government agency that funds translational R&D for medical countermeasures and supports healthtech commercialisation from public research. Models the same public-funded translational mandate that NHIC performs, though at vastly larger scale.
• NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research): UK government-funded national health research translator that funds early-stage clinical innovation and supports translation into practice. NHIC's I2D, LeapX, and I2Adopt programmes closely parallel NIHR's i4i and similar translational funding schemes.
• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, Australia): Australia's peak health and medical research funding body that supports translational research and commercialisation. Operates a comparable mandate to NHIC under the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) in Singapore, which also funds NHIC.

Emerging players

• Israel Innovation Authority: Israeli government agency that funds and supports innovation from early-stage R&D through commercialisation, with explicit programmes for healthcare and life sciences. Operates a more internationally oriented, venture-creation-focused model than NHIC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nhicsg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Health Innovation Centre