The Discovery Park science and innovation campus in Sandwich, Kent has welcomed another 12 start-ups for the seventh edition of its accelerator programme. Launched in 2023, the Discovery Spark initiative helps start-ups grow a network of peers, mentors and expert advisers and prepare for investment.
The initiative has already supported 62 companies and 96 founders across six previous cohorts, with alumni so far securing £5.5m in UKRI funding. This latest cohort is themed around innovations in health, with startups selected based on the need for their innovation, the uniqueness of their solution, and the strength of their team.
The 12 participating businesses will attend specialist-led sessions in both Kent and London focused on investor readiness, covering topics from tax and finance, legal and governance essentials, and risk mitigation to performance and communications insights. They will then come together for a competitive pitch day on 8 July to a panel of active investors and health specialists.
Among the 12 are four women’s health-focused start-ups aiming to close the gender health gap and reduce the persistent diagnosis delays that affect millions of women across the UK. They are Ainia Empower, a femtech app connecting women to clinicians trained in gender-informed care; Avline Health, which provides at-home vaginal microbiome testing; OvaJoy, a digital health platform supporting people living with Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS, formerly PCOS); and Vina Health, a digital clinical intelligence platform aiming to close the diagnosis delay for women with chronic pelvic conditions, endometriosis, fibroids, PMOS, and adenomyosis.
Joining them are Dermalere, EquiCheckAI, IgEDAPT, Inherit Health, In2cell Biosciences, Modular Clinton Global (MCG), Soule, and VacTimmune.
Renos Savva, head of innovation and venture development at Discovery Park, said: “Cohort 7.0 brings together a strong and diverse group of founders – tackling challenges across human and animal health, from chronic conditions to antimicrobial resistance and food allergy. The breadth and quality of applications we’ve received this year has been remarkable, and that’s reflected in the twelve companies we’ve selected.
“Over the coming weeks, we’ll be working intensively with every team to sharpen their investor narrative, stress-test their commercial strategy, and make sure they leave as investor-ready SMEs, increasing the odds of these fantastic innovations making their way into the hands of patients.”
Image source: Discovery Park
