Transatlantic health technology fund introduced by Meridan Health Ventures, claimed as a global first.
In an exciting development for the UK's healthtech sector, a new transatlantic fund has been established with a focus on nurturing homegrown innovations. The fund, created by Meridian Health Ventures, aims to address the unique challenges faced by UK healthtech startups, particularly their difficulties in scaling beyond Series A funding.
The fund is backed by a diverse group of partners, including leading health systems, venture investors, institutional investors, and academic centres of excellence. Notable among these are Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, King's College Hospital, University College London Hospitals, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Hartford HealthCare.
The transatlantic partnership seeks to bridge funding gaps for UK healthtech startups by learning from or collaborating with US counterparts. This collaboration could potentially take the form of venture capital or strategic partnerships that help UK firms navigate both markets.
The intended impact on the NHS is significant. The fund is focused on integrating innovations that can alleviate pressures on the NHS system by improving efficiency and patient outcomes. However, the NHS-centric model creates challenges for startups, complicating product development and market access, which in turn affects investment attractiveness.
One of the portfolio companies under Meridian Health Ventures, Apian, has already seen success, growing from its NHS roots and working with companies like Zipline and Wing to deliver care to patients faster. The fund's portfolio companies have deployed solutions in over 100 NHS Trusts across the UK.
The fund's partners are committed to harnessing accelerations in new digital and biomedical advances to deliver better, faster, and fairer healthcare for all. They believe that this collaboration will enable start-ups to generate real-world data and evidence for adoption within broader UK and US healthcare environments.
Apian's CEO and Co-Founder, Alex Trewby, has praised the new fund, stating that it benefits patients, clinicians, and health tech founders alike. Meridian Health Ventures, previously known as KHP Ventures, has announced this transatlantic fund as a means to supercharge the growth of promising innovations, delivering direct benefits to the NHS's patients and workforce, as well as the wider UK economy.
The fund has invested in MedTech spin-outs from Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, King's, and Southampton, with 12 NHS clinical entrepreneurs among its company founders. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center sees this partnership as an opportunity to continue providing the best care possible to patients around the world, and they are excited to build on their collaboration as partners in the fund.
The fund's ultimate goal is to help healthtech superscalers thrive domestically in the UK while fast-tracking their growth in the US, providing a much-needed boost to the UK's healthtech sector and the NHS.
[1] Source: Various online articles and press releases. [2] Source: Meridian Health Ventures website and press releases. [3] Source: Scottish Government and UK life science initiatives. [4] Source: HealthTech Innovation Days and Sachs Annual HealthTech Investment Forum. [5] Source: Various industry reports and forums.
- The new transatlantic fund established by Meridian Health Ventures focuses on nurturing digital health innovations in the UK, aiming to address the challenges faced by health tech startups in scaling beyond Series A funding.
- This fund is supported by a diverse group of partners, such as leading health systems, venture investors, institutional investors, and academic centres of excellence, including Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
- The transatlantic partnership intends to bridge funding gaps for UK health tech startups by learning from or collaborating with US counterparts, potentially through venture capital or strategic partnerships.
- The fund's primary goal is to integrate innovations that alleviate pressures on the NHS system, improving efficiency and patient outcomes, but this NHS-centric model creates challenges for startups in product development and market access.
- One of the portfolio companies under Meridian Health Ventures, Apian, has already witnessed success, growing from its NHS roots and collaborating with companies like Zipline and Wing to enhance patient care.
- The partners involved in the fund believe this collaboration will enable startups to generate real-world data and evidence for adoption within broader UK and US healthcare environments, harnessing accelerations in digital and biomedical advances.
- The fund's ultimate goal is to help health tech superscalers thrive domestically in the UK while fast-tracking their growth in the US, providing a boost to the UK's healthtech sector, the NHS, and the wider economy.
