MedTech
Medical technologies touch all of our lives – from pregnancy testing and ultrasound scans before birth; through wound care products for childhood injuries; to diagnostic imaging systems and therapeutic implants for disease in adults.
The range of products and services is vast, spanning medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics, and overlaps with medicines (through drug delivery systems) and with digital health (through software as a medical device).
The sector is therefore highly diverse, dominated in the UK by resource-constrained SMEs, and the individual segments can to some extent, be viewed as separate industries. But they’re bound together by some common elements – a shared regulatory framework; an increasing convergence of technologies (particularly in connected devices); and a drive to deliver innovation. They also face some common challenges – these include a complex innovation and funding landscape; regulatory change; and a need to improve sustainability.
Innovate UK Business Connect can help innovators to navigate the complex landscape and accelerate ambitious ideas into new products and services. Our team of trusted experts, from within the Health team and across the wider range of disciplines in which we have deep expertise, can help create diverse connections to drive positive change.
Related Opportunities
Horizon Europe 2026-2027: Health, Cluster 1
Various closing dates from Apr 2026 to Sep 2027
Topics available under Horizon Europe's Health programme for 2026/27, with funding of up to €90m per call.
More Information
Advancing innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare
Opens: 16/02/2026 Closes: 06/05/2026
Industry led consortia can apply with total eligible costs up to an expected £10m
More Information
Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare
Opens: 16/02/2026 Closes: 06/05/2026
Promising pharmaceutical, MedTech and digital interventions for addiction can receive up to £1.5m (inc. VAT) per project.
More Information
UK Defence Innovation: Rapid transfusion diagnostics - blood testing in the field
Opens: 16/03/2026 Closes: 02/06/2026
UKDI seeks innovations to support the donation and transfusion of blood in deployed settings.
More Information
Medicines Manufacturing: Labs of the Future
Opens: 13/04/2026 Closes: 27/05/2026
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £7.5 million to support the development and use of digital, automated, and robotic technologies. This aims to improve the speed and efficiency of pharmaceutical process development and manufacturing.
More Information
UKDI Biosecurity Frontiers: Defending against biological threats
Opens: 17/04/2026 Closes: 10/06/2026
This competition seeks innovations to strengthen the UK's ability to detect, prevent and respond to biological risks.
More Information
Related Events and Recordings
Related News
24/07/2024
£3.2m funding awarded to advance early-stage healthcare innovation
Thirty-three companies, which took part in Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst pilot accelerators, have been awarded funding to further develop their innovative projects.
Read more
16/05/2024
Project to detect hidden signs of osteoporosis gets Innovate UK funding
Naitive Technologies has secured funding from Innovate UK’s Advancing Precision Medicine programme to develop its technology which aims to find patients at risk of osteoporosis during routine, otherwise unrelated, hip or pelvis X-rays.
Read more
Related programmes
Biomedical Catalyst
Accelerating the translation of innovative ideas and discoveries into healthcare solutions that improve lives. The Biomedical Catalyst transforms innovative ideas into commercially viable businesses. It delivers sector growth, de-risks innovation and gets companies investment ready.
Medimap: End-to-end medicines supply chain map
Medimap is a new interactive reference tool for the UK medicines sector, mapping and categorising over 3,000 sites of organisations engaged in or supporting the end-to-end supply chain for medicines.
Neurotechnology Landscape
Neurotechnology is the application of electronics and engineering to the human nervous system and ranges from the measurement of the whole brain through technologies such as electroencephalography to the stimulation of a single nerve using bioelectronic medicines.