Wales and Northern Ireland work together on groundbreaking cancer innovation projects

Five innovative projects across Wales and Northern Ireland have been awarded a share of £1 million to develop technology to reduce waiting times and improve outcomes for cancer patients.

The projects have been awarded funding as part of a first of its kind Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Cancer Challenge, funded by the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Department for the Economy.

The challenge seeks to further develop innovations that lead to earlier, faster diagnosis, reduction in waiting times, improvements to the efficiency and efficacy of treatment and support palliative care.

Ideas include the testing of a capsule sponge test to reduce endoscopy demand, a blood test for early colorectal cancer diagnosis, using algorithms to help prioritise lung cancer patients and population-wide pre-cancer registry using genomic data to target high-risk patients.

Cabinet Secretary for Health in Wales, Jeremy Miles, said:

Early detection of cancer is crucial for improving survival rates. Advancements which improve people’s outcomes and reduce health inequalities are both welcome and vital for those affected by this devastating disease.

I am pleased the Welsh Government is collaborating with Northern Ireland to lead this UK wide initiative to research and develop innovative cancer solutions. I hope this will support the work of the NHS to improve the care – and timeliness of care - for everyone facing a cancer diagnosis.

Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, said:

We see enhancing innovation in our health and care sector as a crucial part of delivering on our vision for a healthier and more prosperous Wales.

I am delighted we have been able to support this first-of-its-kind initiative and hope it will help enhance quality of care, optimise service delivery and result in better outcomes for cancer patients.

After a competitive SBRI competition, the 5 companies selected are:

·        CYTED Ltd: early disease detection using CYTED Ltd non-endoscopic diagnostic technology

·        IBEX Medical Analytics Ltd: AI-powered diagnostics for pathology, which transforms pathology by ensuring that every patient receives an accurate, timely and personalised cancer diagnosis

·        Cansense Ltd: Welsh company Cansense is at the forefront of transforming bowel cancer diagnosis with a fast, cost-effective and scalable test that leverages artificial intelligence-based modelling (AI)

·        Qure AI Technologies Ltd: involves real-world assessment of Qure’s Chest X-ray (qXR) and Chest CT (qCT) algorithms to increase speed and efficiency in with AI triage and prioritization of Suspected Lung Cancer patients

·        Future Perfect Healthcare Ltd: development of a population wide pre-cancer registry that will identify at-risk patients using genomic testing of tumours and clinical data

Learning from the projects will be shared across Wales and Northern Ireland with commissioners and clinicians in spring 2025.