About the competition

Early diagnosis of cancer is a critical national priority underpinning ambitions set out in the National Cancer Plan for England and the NHS 10-Year Health Plan to improve survival outcomes and reduce inequalities. Earlier diagnosis significantly increases the likelihood of effective treatment and improved patient outcomes.

A key unmet need lies in the early detection of rare and less common cancers, such as brain, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. Although individually less prevalent, these cancers collectively represent a substantial proportion of diagnoses and account for a disproportionate share of cancer mortality, often due to later-stage detection and poorer survival outcomes.

The advancing innovation in accelerating cancer diagnosis competition has been established to directly address these challenges by supporting the clinical validation and evaluation of innovative diagnostic technologies, particularly those targeting less common cancers. By funding cross-sector collaborations across industry, academia, the NHS and charities, the programme aims to generate robust clinical evidence and accelerate promising innovations towards adoption in healthcare settings.

Competition focus

Innovate UK will invest up to £25.4 million from the Office for Life Sciences to support the clinical validation and evaluation of innovative early cancer diagnostic technologies. Projects addressing the needs of those with less common cancers are particularly encouraged. Less common cancers are defined as any cancer type outside of breast, prostate, lung, and bowel cancer. The aim of this competition is to accelerate the development of diagnostic innovations that enable the earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer, particularly less common cancers. Your proposal must generate robust evidence on clinical performance, safety, utility and readiness for regulatory approval and NHS adoption.

Find out more about this competition.