Fourth cohort launches following the success of the previous three cohorts, which have helped innovators secure millions in funding and bring breakthrough musculoskeletal technologies closer to patients.
Applications have now opened for the fourth MSK Innovation Accelerator, the UK’s only accelerator dedicated exclusively to musculoskeletal (MSK) innovation. This year’s programme is sponsored by TIME Interconnect MedTech UK Ltd, supported by Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK) and Joint Venture Academy, and powered by Imperial College London’s MedTech SuperConnector (MTSC) and Enterprise Lab.
The fully funded six-month Accelerator, provides more than £80,000 worth of specialist support for each participating venture, including entrepreneurship training, commercial guidance, mentorship from experts in MSK innovation, regulatory expertise and access to investors, clinicians and industry pioneers. Participants will also have the opportunity to pitch for investment from ORUK.
Since launching eight years ago, the Accelerator has established itself as an important part of the UK’s musculoskeletal innovation ecosystem. To date, the MTSC programme has facilitated the creation of 24 spinout companies and helped participating ventures raise over £26 million in combined grant and venture funding.
Orthopaedic Research UK has also provided pre-seed and seed investment to five alumni, including three companies from last year’s cohort, helping promising technologies progress from research towards commercialisation and ultimately improving patient care.
Arash Angadji, Chief Executive Officer of Orthopaedic Research UK, said: “The UK has no shortage of brilliant ideas that could improve musculoskeletal health. The challenge is helping innovators turn those ideas into technologies that genuinely reach patients. Over the past three years we’ve seen exactly what’s possible when innovators are given the right commercial support, mentoring and investment at the right stage to turn promising ideas into successful businesses.”
The fully funded six-month programme is now seeking researchers, clinicians, engineers and entrepreneurs developing technologies that help prevent injury, improve surgery, speed up rehabilitation and enable people to stay active and independent for longer.
Applications are welcomed from those working across orthopaedic devices, digital health, AI, rehabilitation, diagnostics, mobility technologies, advanced manufacturing, wearables and novel therapies.
Hiten Thakrar, Head of MedTech SuperConnector at Imperial College London, added: “We’re seeing an incredible breadth of ideas coming from researchers, clinicians and entrepreneurs. AI, digital rehabilitation, smart implants and data-driven technologies are creating opportunities that simply weren’t possible a few years ago, at a time when demand for musculoskelet