The UK’s international innovator boot camp

The Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network is transforming healthcare by nurturing new technologies as part of the innovative networks established by NHS England to transform healthcare

The Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Sciences Network (AHSN) is one of 15 AHSNs in England created to operate as the key innovation arm of the NHS. Across the country, AHSNs are building a pipeline of solutions for the NHS by acting as a bridge between healthcare providers, commissioners, academia and industry. The relationships and in depth understanding of the UK healthcare ecosystem from AHSN’s give healthtech companies unique insights and pathways into the NHS. As the world’s largest single payer for healthcare, the NHS presents a substantial market for international healthcare companies.

Propel@YH first opened its doors to UK innovators in 2019. Since then, it has supported more than 45 companies. UK based innovators receive a six-month course of structured support and advice to help them navigate the complexities of entering the NHS, increase market presence and accelerate their growth.

The Propel@YH Boot Camp was subsequently created in 2022 and has been designed with international healthtech SMEs in mind, o ering a week long accelerator programme to companies outside the UK. The five-day programme gives innovators a crash course on the UK market. The Boot Camp provides a series of intensive support and timetabled masterclasses from expert partners to promote direct engagement with local NHS stakeholders, as well as the wider regional ecosystem.

Each Boot Camp is customised to accommodate the specific needs of the cohort, providing a tailored series of masterclasses and advice. Through their partners, the Propel@YH Boot Camp is able to o er a comprehensive support system to all SMEs involved. The Yorkshire and Humber AHSN and Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership gives an overview of the region and expert local insights as an introduction to the Boot Camp. Partners including the Barclays Eagle Labs, Hill Dickinson, Nexus at the University of Leeds and West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership provide investment advice, legal support, research and business services and guidance on sustainability and environmental impacts.

In addition to their partners, Propel@ YH have a range of supporter organisations including:

•Orcha, who deliver a masterclass on digital standards and compliance, digital technology assurance criteria and technical documentation

•HMA provides guidance on marketing and communications, including branding, identity and positioning alongside website development and social media management in the UK

•Thrive by Design outlines the complexity of the NHS, clinical safety by design, building an evidence base for innovations and inclusive digital design

•6B Digital focuses on the interfaces of interoperability across the NHS, looking at healthtech interfaces and systems integration

•The York Health Economics Consortium provides insights on the importance of real world evaluation and the economics of healthcare

In addition to these sessions, participating innovators have the opportunity to pitch and engage by networking with clinicians and stakeholders from local and regional health care organisations.

Behavidence

As one of the five US based SMEs selected to participate in the 2022 Propel@YH Boot Camp, Behavidence has established itself in the UK market.

Behavidence is a mental health app using AI to monitor mental health conditions by analysing mobile interactions which generate a mental health score which is then compared with that of other people diagnosed with ADHD, depression and anxiety. The app helps to identify the risk of conditions relapsing and provides screening as well as remote monitoring for clinical interventions if necessary.

Through Propel@YH, Behavidence was able to access advice and support from UK healthcare experts, understanding the NHS governance, procurement and financing frameworks. Through key stakeholder interactions, Behavidence was connected to the right support to evaluate their technology and its suitability to the UK market.

“The programme helped us to seek out other opportunities and helped us realise there’s a lot to do and even more opportunities in the North of England, rather than taking the classic route of settling in London,” says Roy Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Behavidence.

The company is now successfully established with an o ice in the Nexus community, part of the University of Leeds, and plans to expand their UK team to support their growth plans. The support provided by Propel@YH has led to Behavidence generating investment and building a support network across the region.

SingFit

Award-winning US based digital health platform and music app SingFit has been designed to support improved wellbeing through music. The therapeutic benefits of music provide a basis for the app’s work with Alzheimer’s, dementia, aphasia and Parkinson’s disease. SingFit technology provides a cost e ective and successful treatment used in cognitive behavioural therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and other cognitive decline therapies. SingFit also provides support and solutions to users su ering from the e ects of depression and social isolation.

The Propel@YH Boot Camp champions the adoption of digital solutions to improve health outcomes, as Rachel Francine, CEO and co-founder of Musical Health Technologies found.

“The speed of our UK launch was really fuelled by the information we gathered at Yorkshire and Humber AHSN’s international Boot Camp.”

Through the Boot Camp, SingFit was introduced to pilot partners, as well as supporting their regulatory approval journey by helping them to define and articulate their o ering to an audience of key UK stakeholders. “The AHSN brought together the players with knowledge that allowed our team to very quickly assess how long it would take to launch SingFit solutions in the UK and the resources it would take to do so.

“This knowledge, along with the introductions they made significantly compressed the amount of time and energy it took to assess that the SingFit platform and UK health systems are highly aligned in terms of product market fit.” Rachel adds. “A er the Boot Camp, the AHSN has continued to help us, strategically and tactically to bring SingFit’s therapeutic music solutions to the UK.”