New funding on offer for businesses advancing key medical fields

The government has announced a new funding scheme to encourage the development of new products and services for people with mental illnesses and those approaching the end of their lives.

Two competitions will provide a total of five million pounds in support for businesses that demonstrate innovative new approaches in either of these fields, coming as part of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI).

Previous SBRI competitions focused on new solutions to improve adherence to medication regimens and change behaviour to reduce the impact of obesity and alcohol-related diseases, with contracts having now been awarded to successful organisations for commercialisation.

This ties in with the government's aim of improving the standard of palliative care for people with terminal conditions, as well as ensuring mental illnesses are diagnosed earlier and treated in a more individually tailored manner.

Health minister Lord Howe said: "Small businesses play a crucial role in providing creative and innovative solutions to existing problems."

The SBRI is coordinated by the Technology Strategy Board and is designed to encourage government departments to direct a proportion of their procurement budget to innovative companies.