NEW CLINICAL TRIALS INITIATIVE LAUNCHED TO SUPPORT MEDTECH COMPANIES

A new initiative is being launched to support UK-based MedTech SMEs and innovators to help collaborative companies and organisations to complete clinical or technology trials successfully.

Mastering Clinical & Technology Trials in MedTech is co-designed by the University of Portsmouth Supporting Innovation and Growth in Healthcare Technologies (SIGHT) Programme and the NIHR Surgical MedTech Co-operative powered by Empact Ventures.

The course is supported by the University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and HealthTech World.

It will help to facilitate clinical engagement and help signpost to the relevant partners that have supporting projects and determine the correct stage of the support offering.

The course will take place over 4 free-of-charge virtual sessions will take place in September 2022 (13th, 15th, 20th, 22nd) for 3 hours (9:30 am – 12:30 pm BST) as a service to support the MedTech sector.

It will feature 20+ speakers from organisations including Device Access UK, Future Health, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Ruffena Capital, Menzies, Innovate UK, Medisieve, and more

The course will also showcase MedTech SMEs and key stakeholders in a Digital Exhibition enabling people to connect with them via video. For those that are seeking to explore new collaborations, Empact Ventures will make introductions via email after the course finishes to potential partners, clients, and funders for those that opt-in upon registration.

Vee Mapunde, Programme Director of the National Institute for Health Research Surgical MedTech Co-operative, commented: “The NIHR Surgical MedTech Co-operative (Surgical MIC) is delighted to be co-hosting this course with the University of Portsmouth SIGHT Program to raise awareness of the processes involved in generating clinical evidence to support MedTech adoption and implementation. Generating clinical evidence via trials or evaluations is challenging for any innovator and our aim is to at least clear the fog and layout a roadmap to making the process as painless as possible”

Phil Jewell, Business Development and Programme Manager, the University of Portsmouth SIGHT Programme commented: 

“The route to market for any new medical innovation can be a long and intricate path. Ensuring that the proposed solution meets patient needs, abides by ethical guidelines, generates sufficient data to provide efficacy evidence, and includes the patient voice in design, development, and deployment, can require significant resources, knowledge and experience. Whilst this may appear a daunting prospect at the outset, especially for SMEs, there exists a wealth of knowledge, and experience in NHS Trusts, Universities, AHSNs, and a host of supporting organisations, which can support the journey at every step. This series of events is designed to break down this journey into a series of constituent steps, illuminating the wide range of support systems and partners, and how to access them, available to innovators”

Please visit the Mastering Clinical & Technology Trials in MedTech course page at www.medtechtrials.org for more information and to register for one or more sessions