It’s not cheap developing innovative new technology that can change people’s lives and make aging a healthier, happier process. Plenty of smart individuals and small companies have good ideas but lack the resources to make them work. That’s where public bodies like UK Research and Innovation come into play, in collaboration with enthusiastic private investors (https://longevity.technology/news/new-investor-offers-funding-to-healthy-aging-innovators/).
Recognizing the value of research into healthy aging, the British government has created specific partnerships under the wider umbrella of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Sponsored by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology but run as a non-departmental public body, UKRI was launched in 2018 to provide investment, encourage collaboration and support researchers in developing their skills. Basically, it’s all about making research and innovation easier.
The healthy aging investment partnership directs some of UKRI’s resources specifically to connecting private investors with small businesses that have big potential. It means less risk for the investors and could lead to major benefits in health and longevity if the companies have the chance to truly put their ideas into practice on a grand scale. There were three investors when it all began, but by 2022, two more had been added. The five are 24 Haymarket, Barclays Ventures, Northstar Ventures, Legal and General, and, in 2021, Nesta.
Nesta works on three specific principles: a fairer start, a healthy life and a sustainable future. Nathan Eltsub, Chief Investment Officer at Nesta, expressed his excitement at being able to “support riskier, more cutting-edge approaches” through the partnership. Similarly, UKRI’s Healthy Aging Challenge Director, George MacGinnis, praised Nesta’s “new dimension to our portfolio.”
According to one expert, Dr. Lorraine Morley, Nesta was a particularly good addition to the partnership because it could “unite the social impact and traditional investment worlds”. Plus, with the addition of Nesta’s investment, the overall pool of money available from all five investors together grew to £18 million in grant funding and another £18 million in equity investment.
If you’re based in the UK and you have a good idea with lots of potential but don’t have the money or the connections to get it off the ground, UKRI presents a huge opportunity. Similar partnerships between public and private entities exist in many countries, including the US, to encourage innovation and research that may one day make a huge difference to people’s health.
