Driving Medical Research & Creating Healthcare Solutions Through Effective
Collaboration
HIC Fund Programme
The Health Innovation Challenge Fund (HIC Fund) is a scheme
supported in equal measure by the Department
of Health and the Wellcome Trust.
Key Objectives and Requirements:
- Projects must have already demonstrated ‘proof-of-principle’, supported by experimental and, where feasible, in vivo data. Early stage research or basic science projects will not be supported.
- Projects must complete first testing in man within the duration of the project (typically 3 years) and deliver an innovative, healthcare solution within five years where the potential benefit has been demonstrated in patients.
- Projects must plan to take the product, technology or intervention to the stage at which it is sufficiently developed to be attractive to:
- Commercial organisations for follow-on development and taking the product to market, e.g. venture capital funds and corporate bodies.
- Not-for-profit organisations that can offer expertise and resources to assist with the evaluation and development of products, e.g. National Institute of Health Research.
- Healthcare providers - if the product is ready for procurement and adoption e.g. NHS.
- Proposals must include a commercial strategy that takes into account the regulatory pathway, IP management, commercial barriers, health economics and routes to market.
- Applicants must have a plan for the adoption of the technology into the NHS and other healthcare providers, which addresses the requirement of patients and health professionals.
- Projects must offer technology and solutions that can be:
- Seamlessly integrated with the established infrastructure, systems and resources currently in use.
- Scaled up from local to national level and not, for example, reliant on specialised centres or expertise which can hinder widespread adoption.