Working with the NHS

Get started

We have the experience and expertise to support you if you are either a University employee working in collaboration with the NHS, or a NHS Trust employee working with the University, and want to discuss how to commercialise your technology.

We manage IP in close partnership with Cambridge University Hospital (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust and, where appropriate, Health Tech Enterprise, the NHS Innovation Hub for the East of England.

Our work in this area also includes a close partnership with the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, which combines on a single site scientific research in world-class institutes, patient care in NHS hospitals, and drug discovery in pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Cambridge Enterprise staff are available on-site at the School of Clincial School Medicine at Adenbrooke’s Hospital.

Why commercialise your NHS-based research?

Demonstrable impact for healthcare

Many ideas, inventions and innovations can only reach the patient through commercialisation. Commercialising your research through licensing the technology to industry, or creating new spinout companies, not only demonstrates the value of your work but accelerates its delivery to patients and the healthcare community, benefiting you, the NHS, and the wider economy.

IP management and technology transfer

We support commercialisation of your ideas, inventions and innovations through technology transfer and work closely with CUH to help deliver this, including tech-transfer staff that work across our organisations. We ensure the IP is managed in line with NHS policies, including CUH’s innovation management process and CUH’s IP Policy.

Benefit from our expertise and support

We share our expertise in research commercialisation with you, lending support through every step of the process. We advise you on your IP strategy and carry out extensive due diligence including prior-art searching and analysis of the market opportunity for your technology.

We can help you protect your IP, including patenting, and bridge the gap between the NHS, acdemia and industry to get your inventions to market. We can also give you assistance in obtaining translational funding alongside our partners in the Office for Translational Research, as well as through the Ventures team, to help develop your technology towards a spinout company.

We offer support by:

Assessing your idea or invention, and advising on how to protect your IP
Advising on the best route to commercialisation
Conducting market research to help find the right partners or investors
Negotiating and completing all necessary licence and revenue share agreements, and distributing the benefits between the NHS and the inventors
Carrying out administrative support and contract management
Giving you access to experts and mentors

Have an idea or opportunity and ready to take the next step?

It’s never too early to get in touch. Whether you have the seed of an idea, or an opportunity that is already well defined, we encourage you to get in touch for a confidential discussion to see if we can help you take it forward.