London funding and investment opportunities

Health, Care and Life Sciences

Access to funding is a critical factor for innovations aiming to tackle London’s most pressing health challenges. As part of the implementation of the London Life Sciences Strategy, we curate a list of current and upcoming health and care funding opportunities aimed at supporting innovative projects.

Have you got an upcoming funding opportunity you’d like us to highlight? Get in touch with us.

Maintained by the Health Innovation Network South London on behalf of our partners

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Latest

36 opportunities

Closed

Innovate UK

Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1

Innovate UK is offering up to £3.1 million in grant funding to support UK SMEs developing novel frontier artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies. Phase 1 will fund feasibility studies to validate technical innovations with the potential for significant performance improvements and commercial scale-up. Priority themes include AI-enabled health and life sciences, advanced materials, national security and AI safety.

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies
Closed

N-CODE

Innovation Challenge: neurological healthcare

The N-CODE Innovation Challenge seeks early-stage ideas that could transform neurological care in the NHS. Proposals may focus on bringing care closer to home, moving from analogue to digital services…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI)
Open

British Heart Foundation

Healthcare Implementation Fund

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) Healthcare Implementation Fund supports innovative changes to cardiovascular care delivered in real-world UK health services. Grants of up to £500,000 can support early-stage testing or…

Funder type
Charity
Eligibility
NHS
Open

Henry Royce Institute

MATcelerate HEALTH funding round 3

This round funds six-month research and development projects that bring advanced materials technologies closer to use in healthcare. Projects must have a clear materials innovation at their core. The £50,000…

Funder type
Charity
Eligibility
Higher Education Institution (HEI)
Open

MRC / UKRI

Proof of Concept: stage one (2026 closing round)

Stage one of this scheme supports the development and testing of new therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions for a specific clinical need. Work can range from prototypes and…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other
Open

The Rockefeller Foundation; OpenAI Foundation

Cities Deliver: AI Solutions for Public Services

Cities Deliver supports organisations working with city governments to improve public services using frontier AI. The public health strand covers healthcare access, disability services, disease surveillance, prevention, food access and…

Funder type
Charity
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other
Open

SBRI Healthcare

NHS Cancer Programme – Innovation Open Call 4

Innovation Open Call 4 is looking for innovations that address two challenges; improving productivity through managing demand or improving capacity on cancer care pathways, and driving the earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer.

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, NHS
Open

Innovate UK

UK-Germany Bilateral Collaborative R&D: Round 5

Innovate UK is offering up to £2.4 million to support collaborative research and development projects between UK and German businesses. The competition focuses on industrial research in life sciences, engineering biology and clean energy. UK SMEs must collaborate with at least one independent German SME applying through Germany's ZIM programme. UK partners can request grants of £100,000 to £350,000 per project.

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other
Open

NIHR

Calls 14–15: collaborative health innovation (anticipated 2027)

The NIHR i4i PDA NICE Early Use Recommendation opportunity (2026/514) funds real-world evidence generation for technologies already recommended for early NHS use through NICE's early use assessment process. Its purpose…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

CHAI

Catalyst Competition: causal AI in healthcare

This competition offers three £50,000 seed awards for early-stage innovations that use causal AI to address a healthcare need. Projects should start with a proof of concept at technology readiness…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Other
Open

Innovate UK

Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1

UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of up to £8 million to develop engineering biology products and services with selected investor partners.

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies
Open

NIHR

i4i Product Development Awards: James Lind Alliance commissioned call

This is the James Lind Alliance (JLA) commissioned route within NIHR's Invention for Innovation (i4i) Product Development Awards, reference 2026/511. It supports the development and evaluation of health and care…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS
Open

NIHR

i4i Product Development Awards: NICE early use recommendation (October 2026)

The NIHR i4i PDA NICE Early Use Recommendation opportunity (2026/514) funds real-world evidence generation for technologies already recommended for early NHS use through NICE's early use assessment process. Its purpose…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

NIHR

i4i Product Development Awards: NICE rolling commissioned call

The NIHR i4i Product Development Awards NICE rolling commissioned route (2026/512) supports product-development proposals responding to research recommendations in NICE guidance published or updated during the past five years. It…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS
Open

NIHR

i4i Product Development Awards: workforce of the future commissioned call

This commissioned strand of the NIHR i4i Product Development Awards (2026/513) focuses on innovations that help shape and support the future health, public health and social care workforce. Proposals must…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS
Open

NIHR; National Health Innovation Centre Singapore

i4i–LeapX joint funding: UK–Singapore (October 2026)

This joint NIHR and National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC) opportunity helps late-stage healthcare innovations generate the clinical, regulatory and market-entry evidence required for adoption in the UK and Singapore.…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS
Open

NIHR

i4i Product Development Awards: researcher-led (October 2026)

NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Product Development Awards support collaborative development of technologies addressing unmet health and social care needs. The October 2026 researcher-led opportunity (2026/510) accepts proposals across relevant…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

Innovate UK

BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Assurance and Compliance

This strand supports AI that checks, tests or provides evidence that an organisation meets defined requirements. For a health or life sciences deployment, applicants should identify the standards or controls…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, NHS, Other
Open

Innovate UK

BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Decision-Critical Systems

This strand supports AI for operational decisions where an error, delay or inconsistency could have significant consequences. For a health or life sciences use case, explain who makes the decision,…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, NHS, Other
Open

Innovate UK

BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Operational Systems

This strand supports AI for the operation of complex systems and workflows. Health and life sciences projects should specify the operational problem, what the proposed system will change for users,…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, NHS, Other
Open

NIHR

Using big data to impact health and health inequalities

The Public Health Research programme is funding evaluations of how data linkage and big data use affect health and health inequalities. Studies can examine data use in local or regional…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

Innovate UK

UK–Singapore Collaborative R&D 2026

This competition supports business-led industrial research in collaboration with Singapore. Life sciences is an eligible sector. Projects should develop a new product, process or service, show a credible route to…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other
Open

NIHR / European Partnership

IICS4all: Joint Transnational Call 2027 for investigator-initiated clinical studies

IICS4all funds multinational, investigator-led phase III randomised studies in cardiovascular, autoimmune, metabolic and non-communicable respiratory disease. Studies should answer practical questions about the comparative effectiveness of existing interventions or the…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

Innovate UK / Eureka

Globalstars Japan 2027: collaborative R&D

This competition supports international industrial research with Japan in specified technology areas. Biotechnology and artificial intelligence are eligible themes, which can include health and life sciences applications that meet the…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other
Open

Innovate UK

Knowledge Transfer Partnership 2026–27, Round 4

Innovate UK's Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) support innovation projects in which a business works with a UK research organisation to access expertise it does not hold internally. Suitable projects can…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other
Open

European Commission / HaDEA

Horizon Europe Health 2027 – AI predictive biomarkers

This Horizon Europe Cluster 1 Health topic, HORIZON-HLTH-2027-02-TOOL-01-two-stage, supports the development and clinical validation of AI-enabled predictive biomarkers for chronic non-communicable diseases other than cancer. The focus is on making…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

European Commission / HaDEA

Horizon Europe Health 2027 – cell-free biological synthesis

This Horizon Europe Health topic funds collaborative development of cell-free protein synthesis platforms for the discovery or production of biologic medicines. It addresses barriers to using these platforms at a…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other
Open

European Commission / HaDEA

Horizon Europe Health 2027 – independence and disability

Horizon Europe's HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-STAYHLTH-01 topic aims to support independent living and inclusion for people with long-term physical, sensory, intellectual or mental disabilities. Its emphasis is on person-centred services, accessible technology and…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

European Commission / HaDEA

Horizon Europe Health 2027 – innovative NCD interventions

HORIZON-HLTH-2027-02-DISEASE-01-two-stage is a Horizon Europe Health research and innovation topic focused on innovative healthcare interventions for non-communicable diseases. It aims to improve treatment, ongoing disease management and quality of care…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS
Open

European Commission / HaDEA

Horizon Europe Health 2027 – innovative trials for neurodegeneration

Horizon Europe's HORIZON-HLTH-2027-02-DISEASE-14-two-stage topic supports innovative clinical trials for interventions addressing neurodegenerative conditions. The programme seeks safer and more effective care and improved quality of life by combining a therapeutic…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

European Commission / HaDEA

Horizon Europe Health 2027 – polypharmacy/adverse drug reactions

HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-CARE-02 is a Horizon Europe Health topic concerning safer use of multiple medicines and personalised approaches to reducing adverse drug reactions. It covers patients receiving three or more medicines, and…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Open

European Commission / HaDEA

Horizon Europe Health 2027 – portable point-of-care diagnostics

The Horizon Europe topic HORIZON-HLTH-2027-02-IND-02-two-stage supports development and evaluation of portable, versatile point-of-care diagnostic technologies. The aim is to improve access to rapid and reliable tests near the patient, reduce…

Funder type
Government
Eligibility
Companies, Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS, Other
Apply Anytime

LifeArc Ventures

Seed to Series B Life Sciences Venture Capital Investment

LifeArc Ventures provides venture capital investment and scientific support to early-stage life sciences companies, typically from Seed to Series B. It invests across therapeutics, HealthTech and MedTech, supporting innovative technologies with the potential to deliver significant patient benefit. Opportunities are considered through direct engagement with the investment team.

Funder type
Charity
Eligibility
Companies
Apply Anytime

Wellcome

Wellcome Discovery Awards

This scheme provides funding for established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing.

Funder type
Charity
Eligibility
Higher Education Institution (HEI), Other