SBRI Healthcare

What SBRI Healthcare does

SBRI Healthcare (Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare) is a national, award-winning funding programme established in 2009, operating as an NHS England initiative managed by LGC Limited from its programme office in Twickenham, UK. It provides development funding to innovators and entrepreneurs — including companies, charities, universities, and NHS providers — to develop disruptive solutions to unmet health and care needs within the NHS and wider health and social care system. The programme is part of the Accelerated Access Collaborative and works in partnership with the 15 Health Innovation Networks across England, the NHS Innovation Service, 17 Cancer Alliances, and Integrated Care Boards. Competitions are open to UK and EU-based organisations, and applications are reviewed by expert panels with clinical, implementation, industry, and patient representation.

The programme operates through themed open competition rounds, including a dedicated NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call series. To date, SBRI Healthcare has awarded over £163M in funding, supported 373 products, granted 381 intellectual property rights, and benefited more than 17.5 million NHS patients. It has also contributed to the creation or retention of 2,000+ UK jobs. Its current offerings span Phase 1 and Phase 2 development funding, a Real-World Implementation and Evaluation Fund (up to £3M over 24 months), and a newly introduced Innovation Spread Fund (up to £5M over 36 months) for outcomes-based matched funding with NHS commissioners.

SBRI Healthcare's business model is structured as a public grant programme rather than a commercial enterprise. It does not generate revenue from product sales; instead, it receives and disburses public healthcare funding allocated by NHS England. The programme derives strategic value from its position as a mandated NHS England initiative, providing funded companies with clinical feedback, NHS adoption pathways, and de-risking capital that has historically catalysed significant follow-on private investment — examples include Skin Analytics (£15M Series B), Cyted ($30M total), and iPLATO's merger with Huma Therapeutics ($250M raised). The small core team (11-50 employees) manages the competition lifecycle, portfolio oversight, and stakeholder coordination across the UK health innovation ecosystem.

Name

SBRI Healthcare

Legal name

NHS England

Website

https://sbrihealthcare.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SBRI Healthcare is an NHS England-funded programme that provides development grants and support to UK/EU innovators developing solutions for NHS healthcare challenges. Since 2009 it has awarded over £163M across 333+ companies, benefiting 17.5M+ patients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Innovation Funding

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health Financing, Budgeting & Grants Management (HLAJAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Chronic Disease & Health Promotion Program Funding (HLAJALAJ), Results-Based Financing (RBF) & Performance-Based Grants (BPADAOAF)

Keywords

• Healthcare innovation funding
• NHS funding programme
• Medical device development
• Digital health innovation
• Cancer diagnostic funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SBRI Healthcare is a national, award-winning funding programme that provides development funding to innovators and entrepreneurs through themed competitive competitions to develop disruptive solutions to unmet health and care needs within the NHS and the wider health and social care system. It awards grants across phases (e.g., Phase 1 feasibility, Phase 2 development) and operates dedicated funds such as the Real-World Implementation and Evaluation Fund (up to £3M over 24 months) and the Innovation Spread Fund (up to £5M over 36 months) for the NHS Cancer Programme.

Product overview

SBRI Healthcare is a national, award-winning funding programme managed by LGC Limited on behalf of NHS England. It provides development funding and support to innovators and entrepreneurs tackling identified healthcare problems. The programme operates through themed competition rounds spanning various health priorities (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, mental health, etc.) and delivers the NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call series. The Real-World Implementation and Evaluation Fund (up to £3M over 24 months) supports deployment of market-ready innovations, while the Innovation Spread Fund (up to £5M over 36 months) enables scaling of proven innovations through an outcomes-based matched funding model with ICBs. The programme also maintains a searchable Innovation Portfolio Directory of funded companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call: A competition within SBRI Healthcare focused on accelerating cancer detection and diagnosis innovations into NHS frontline settings

Products and services

• SBRI Healthcare Competition Programme A national funding programme that provides development funding to innovators and entrepreneurs (SMEs, large corporates, charities, universities, NHS providers) through themed competitions to devise disruptive solutions to unmet health and care needs within the NHS and wider health and social care system.
• NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call A dedicated competition series run in partnership with NHS England to identify and implement mature innovations into frontline NHS settings for earlier cancer detection and improved diagnostic efficiency.
• Innovation Portfolio Directory A searchable online database of SBRI Healthcare funded companies and projects that enables users to identify supported innovations across therapeutic areas and technology types.
• Support for Innovators Bespoke support service for founders and innovators including clinical engagement facilitation, exhibition opportunities (e.g., MedTech Expo), and guidance to build and lead successful companies that address NHS unmet needs.
• Innovation Open Call 1 (2022) First round of the NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call, awarding over £9 million to eight late-stage innovation projects for earlier and faster cancer diagnosis.
• Innovation Open Call 2 (2023) Second round of the NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call, awarding £12.1 million to six innovations improving early detection and diagnosis of cancer across breast, bowel, skin, liver, ovarian, and oesophageal cancers.
• Innovation Open Call 3 (2025) Third round of the NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call, awarding £14.4 million to seven innovations including AI-guided robotic bronchoscopy for lung cancer, AI-assisted MRI for prostate cancer, and community pharmacy Barrett's oesophagus screening.
• Real-World Implementation and Evaluation Fund A 100% funded programme offering up to £3 million over 24 months that supports real-world deployment and independent evaluation of market-ready innovations across multiple NHS sites.
• Innovation Spread Fund An outcomes-based matched funding model offering up to £5 million over 36 months to support the spread and embedding of mature innovations across multiple sites within Cancer Alliances, designed to fund both the change management and the technology.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 7 million NHS patients have benefited from SBRI Healthcare supported innovations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 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

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NHS EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBRI Healthcare is an NHS England programme managed by LGC Limited on behalf of NHS England. The programme focuses on NHS priorities identified by NHS England.
• Health Innovation Network (formerly Academic Health Science Networks)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner15 Health Innovation Networks across England support the development of health innovation and facilitate spread and adoption of SBRI Healthcare funded technologies. Working with HINs is strongly encouraged for competition applicants.
• Accelerated Access CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBRI Healthcare is an Accelerated Access Collaborative funded initiative. The AAC identifies best new medicines, medical devices, diagnostics and digital products and supports providers to make them available to patients.
• Skin AnalyticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBRI Healthcare funded DERM AI device development. Skin Analytics raised £15M series B, partnered with Bupa, and has partnership with Affidea for Greece, Romania, and Lithuania.
• CytedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBRI Healthcare funded capsule sponge test development. Cyted raised $30M total including from BGF and Morningside, works with NHS organisations across UK including AHSNs and Cancer Alliances, and partnered with Heartburn Cancer UK.
• NeuroVirtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerXR neurorehabilitation company. Key global partnerships include Guy's and St Thomas', Circle Health Group, Hobbs Rehabilitation, Mount Sinai, Cedars-Sinai, John Hopkins and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in the US.
• NHS Innovation AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMyWay Digital Health is an NHS Innovation Accelerator alumni. The NIA supports adoption of innovations across the NHS.
• Huma TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartneriPLATO merged with Huma Therapeutics who raised $250M. Huma is a UK headquartered healthcare technology company with international operations in Europe, USA and China.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome Trust is one of the world's largest charitable foundations funding health research and innovation. While primarily research-focused, it also supports translation and commercialisation of health technologies, making it a broader incumbent peer in the UK health innovation funding ecosystem.
• Health Foundation: The Health Foundation is a major UK health-focused charitable foundation that funds innovation, improvement, and policy research. While broader in scope (covering health services research and improvement programmes), it shares the model of grantmaking to advance NHS-relevant innovation and is a well-established incumbent in UK health grantmaking.
• Cancer Research UK: Cancer Research UK is the world's largest independent cancer research charity. Given SBRI's growing focus on cancer innovation through the NHS Cancer Programme, CRUK is a relevant broader incumbent funding cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment innovation across the UK research and translational pipeline.

Direct peers

• Innovate UK: Innovate UK is the UK's national innovation agency and funds business-led R&D across sectors, including significant health and life sciences programmes. Like SBRI, it runs competitive funding rounds for UK-based companies and offers Phase 1/Phase 2 development funding, making it a direct comparator in the UK innovation-funding landscape.
• NHS Innovation Accelerator: The NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) is a direct peer — both are NHS England-affiliated programmes supporting the adoption of evidence-based innovations across the NHS. SBRI funds development; NIA supports scaling and spread. Both share NHS branding, NHS England oversight, and target UK-based healthtech innovators.
• National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR): NIHR is the UK's largest funder of clinical and health research. Like SBRI, it channels public funding into health innovation and is NHS-affiliated, with programmes that fund development of medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. NIHR operates across academia and industry, providing a comparable model of state-funded health R&D.
• SBIR (US Small Business Innovation Research): SBIR is the US federal government's small business innovation programme and the namesake parent of SBRI Healthcare. Both run competitive Phase 1/Phase 2 funding rounds targeting small businesses developing innovative technologies; SBIR operates across agencies including NIH and DoD with much larger cheque sizes.

Regional players

• BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority): BARDA is the US government's primary agency for funding development of medical countermeasures and health innovation. As a government health-innovation funding agency, it is highly comparable in model but operates in the US rather than the UK, making it a regional peer with structural similarity.

Emerging players

• EIT Health: EIT Health is a European public-private partnership that funds and accelerates health innovation across EU member states. It overlaps with SBRI in funding early-stage healthtech and supporting market access, but operates at a pan-European level with different funding mechanisms (equity, venture building).

Others

• Health Innovation Network: The Health Innovation Network (formerly AHSNs) is a strategic partner of SBRI rather than a competitor — 15 regional HINs across England support the spread and adoption of SBRI-funded innovations. Listed as an enabling ecosystem player that channels SBRI's outputs into NHS adoption pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sbri-healthcare
• Xx.com/SBRIHealthcare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments341 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SBRI Healthcare