Nine London-based diagnostic healthcare SMEs developing screening tests and technologies to detect some of the UK’s most debilitating diseases, have been awarded match-funded research partnerships with experts in academia and industry.

The partnerships, mediated by London’s life sciences cluster organisation, MedCity, as part of its Collaborate to Innovate: London Diagnostics programme, will help the companies progress their R&D, test, validate, scale-up and implement technology that will help catch diseases earlier and ultimately save lives. Match funding for the SMEs is awarded by the Greater London Authority on behalf of the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) to catalyse the partnerships.

Collaborate to Innovate: London Diagnostics aims to tackle the lack of industry collaboration that can hamper diagnostic innovators in bringing their products to patients. The successful companies were assessed based on clinical need for the technology in London and expected impact on London’s population.

Rajesh Agrawal, deputy mayor of London for business said: “It’s fantastic to see ‘Collaborate to Innovate: London Diagnostics’ kick-starting these exciting projects. I’m delighted that this LEAP-funded programme is supporting diagnostics innovators in London to progress their technologies and bring them closer to commercialisation and making a difference in people’s lives.”

Neelam Patel, CEO of MedCity added: “This programme is one of a series of Collaborate to Innovate programmes that helps to overcome the challenges that SMEs have in finding the right clinical, research and commercial partners to collaborate on diagnostic development, and the funding available at the right time to progress their technologies. Accelerating cross sector collaboration provides the optimum conditions for commercialisation.”

Each SME has been matched with leading specialists in diagnostics R&D, clinical translation and commercialisation to create a joint research project, supported by up to £100,000 per project, including up to £50,000 from LEAP.

The nine projects are:

• BioMavericks & UCL: developing biomarkers for detection of early-stage pancreatic cancer
• Curenetics & Queen Mary University of London: developing an algorithm to predict incidents of Graft Vs Host Disease for post-surgery cancer patients
• iLoF, with mentorship from Roche: testing and refining an optical blood-based differential test for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias
• Macusoft & Guys & St. Thomas' Trust: using AI and digital technologies to standardise clinical intravitreal diagnostics and treatments for macular diseases
• MultiplAI & QMUL: developing diverse risk profiles in training an AI risk detection platform for cardiovascular disease
• Mursla with mentorship from Roche: developing a next-generation liquid biopsy test for liver cancer, the third most common cause of premature cancer death worldwide
• Pear Bio & UCL: optimising organ-on-a-chip technology via patient samples in detection and effective treatment of kidney cancer
• Vatic & King’s College London: testing the range and accuracy of a next-generation true infectivity test for SARS-Cov2, to inform optimisation prior to real world testing and use
• Vesynta & NIHR London IVD Co-operative: researching short and long-term economic benefits and outcomes for the NHS to support commercial readiness of a critical bedside drug monitoring and dosing platform in paediatric oncology.

MedCity has brought together academic, industry, research charity and NHS partners to help deliver the programme, including: Imperial College London, King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, UCL, Roche, Cancer Research UK, British In Vitro Diagnostics Association, NHS, Imperial College Health Partners, King’s Health Partner, UCLPartners, Health Innovation Network South London, NIHR London In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative.