Medovate launches new Innovation Voucher competition in partnership with Medipex

Medovate has announced the launch of a new Innovation Voucher Competition in partnership with Medipex to support the development of promising new medical device innovations arising from within the NHS.

The Innovation Voucher Competition is open to innovative ideas in the field of medical technology which have real potential for further development, specifically those designed to improve hospital or patient outcomes in the fields of surgery, emergency and critical care. The winner will be awarded an innovation voucher worth up to £5,000 to further develop their idea.

Entry to the competition is open exclusively to NHS employees from within Medipex’s member organisations across the Yorkshire & Humber and East Midlands regions. Entrants from any role or grade within a relevant organisation are encouraged to submit their innovative medical technology ideas.

The closing date for all entries is Monday 13th December 2021.

Robert Donald, New Business Manager at Medovate said: “Developing promising ideas into a real-life product that can be successfully adopted by the NHS can be an incredibly daunting challenge. At Medovate we are dedicated to supporting these ambitions, we are so excited to be partnering with Medipex to launch our new Innovation Voucher Competition, which provides a unique opportunity for medtech innovators to secure funding and expert advice to support their innovation. We would like to strongly encourage NHS staff of any role, responsibility, department or grade to apply to this competition.”

Through their new partnership, Medovate and Medipex will be working with the Innovation Voucher competition winner to further explore their novel idea for a new medical technology, with the aim to support the advancement of new technologies which could bring benefits to the NHS.

The lead entrant will be awarded with an Innovation Voucher to the value of £5k to be spent on activities which could include funding early development work, such as prototype design; costs associated with Intellectual property protection; feasibility research; regulatory advice; or in depth market and competitor analysis for example.

To be accepted, competition entries have to be a novel idea for a physical device or diagnostics platform, be NHS led, and apply to the following areas of speciality: anaesthesia, critical or emergency care, airway management, and surgery.

Dr Lindsay Georgopoulos, CEO of Medipex, added: “One of the greatest challenges that our NHS innovators face is obtaining financial support to de-risk early stage ideas. This innovation voucher will provide valuable support to progress such an idea, making it more attractive to grant funders and commercial partners, and greatly enhancing the prospect of successfully taking a novel device to market”.

For more information, including entry criteria and how to enter, visit the competition page: Innovation Voucher Competition.

*Update*

Entry for this competition is now closed. The shortlisted entries are as follows:

• Nicholas J Lee and Yasin A M El-Wajeh, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals – Fracture Recovery Device
• Dr Paul Shannon, Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals – Airway Access Innovation
• Syed Qadri, Hull University Teaching Hospitals – Airway Visualisation and Access Innovation
• Dr Andrew Quin, Hull University Teaching Hospitals – Airway Management Innovation
• Mr Liam Stout, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust – Abscess Management Innovation
• Abhinav Kant, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust – Anaesthesia Safety Device Innovation

The winner will be announced on Monday 10th January.