DigitalHealth.London continues to drive digital health innovation across the NHS and social care through its Launchpad and Accelerator programmes, supporting companies to develop, refine and scale solutions to priority healthcare challenges.

The Launchpad programme supports early-stage companies preparing to bring new products to market. Cohort eight, which ran between August and October 2025, attracted 44 applicants of which 20 were selected.  Participants each received 25 hours of support delivered in 11 sessions, including webinars; an in-person pitching workshop; and one-to-one mentoring to strengthen launch plans and commercial foundations.

Nineteen companies launched their products in November and December 2025, marking a significant milestone and demonstrating the programme’s impact on company growth. The programme achieved a “great” Net Promoter Score category.

Over 50 new jobs were created by the more advanced companies who took part in our eighth cohort of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator. This programme fast-tracks adoption of digital solutions across the NHS and social care and ran from September 2024 to September 2025, with 17 companies selected from 117 applicants. The programme held a Showcase event and Accelerator Awards in September 2025 to celebrate the achievements of the cohort and the programme.  As well as the additional jobs created, three cohort eight companies expanded into new markets.

Funded by Innovate UK in partnership with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Office for Life Sciences and the Medical Research Council, the programme addressed regulatory uncertainty that can delay innovation reaching patients.

Webinars delivered by 11 organisations covered the full regulatory journey, from intended use to international standards. Beyond the programme, participants are now part of the RADIANT-CERSI community, raising challenges that inform the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Feedback demonstrated strong impact, with a “Great” Net Promoter Score category. Ninety-five percent of participants said the programme suited their stage of development, with one participant reflecting that it “demystified the often intimidating regulatory process, providing immediate, actionable value.”

Participants reported increased confidence in applying regulatory concepts, with 85% having changed or planned to change their regulatory approach.

Among companies completing before-and-after assessments, regulatory readiness improved overall, with many progressing to more advanced stages of compliance, strengthening the pipeline of safe, effective digital health solutions for the NHS.

These personalised sessions provide focused support aligned to each company’s stage of development and system priorities.

Opportunities to attend networking events are also offered in line with existing events run by DigitalHealth.London. In the last year, we have supported nine alumni companies with activities such as strategic communications 121s, roundtables and networking dinners, and writing thought leadership pieces for publication.

Our Healthcare Challenges roundtable events also bring alumni together with other companies and NHS leaders to address priority challenges and identify opportunities for spread and adoption. These sessions foster collaboration and practical problem-solving, with structured insight summaries shared more widely across the ecosystem. The challenges for this period have been sensory health, with a focus on auditory health, and wearables for emergency departments.

Together, these activities ensure alumni remain embedded within the London innovation ecosystem, supporting sustained growth, stronger system relationships and measurable impact across health and care.

In partnership with South West London Integrated Care Board, the Health Innovation Network South London was commissioned by the South London Regional Research Delivery Network to pilot the use of social media as a tool to raise awareness of research opportunities and support greater participation across south west London.

As part of the discovery phase, studies were identified that were actively recruiting and could benefit from targeted support. Through this process, an opportunity emerged to focus on studies involving pregnant people. Participation among this group was often lower, especially among people from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Evidence highlighted a number of barriers to participation, including limited awareness and understanding of what research involves, concerns about risk during pregnancy, practical challenges, and, for some communities, lower levels of trust in health research based on personal experiences or historical discrimination.

In response, we developed a targeted and evidence-informed social media campaign. This included a raising awareness influencer-led video featuring a trusted local voice and research midwife, followed by targeted paid advertising using advanced audience targeting and multivariate advertising techniques.

Across the campaigns, social media content was displayed more than 740,000 times and generated over 3,200 clicks to partner study websites and lead generation forms. The campaign also supported an increase in interest registrations, rising from 33 people in December to 80 during the campaign period, while a further 21 people completed lead generation forms for interview-based research.

The project demonstrated strong potential for social media and advanced digital advertising approaches to support awareness of and engagement with clinical research opportunities.