In this blog, our Deputy Director of Programmes, Alex Leach, reflects on the success of the West of England Commercialisation Academy – a free eight-week programme designed to help health and care innovators scale and achieve wider adoption – and explores how it is building a lasting community of innovators who support each other.
Over the past two years, the West of England Commercialisation Academy has become one of the most energising programmes at Health Innovation West of England. What began as a focused initiative to help later stage innovators navigate the complexities of commercialisation has evolved into something much broader: a catalyst for peer support, partnerships, with the potential to deliver real-world impacts across health and care.
As we complete this year’s cohort and reflect on both groups we have worked with so far, one thing remains clear, the UK is full of extraordinary innovators. What they need is the right support at the right moment to unlock their potential.
Across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 cohorts, we have supported companies tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing health and care today. Their technologies span digital tools, medical devices, and AI enabled platforms, but they are united by a shared goal to improve outcomes for patients, staff, and the wider system.
Last year’s cohort set the tone
Our inaugural cohort demonstrated just how transformative structured commercialisation support can be. Many participants joined with strong innovations and early traction but faced challenges in achieving wider NHS adoption and navigating complex procurement pathways.
By the end of the programme, they had sharpened their value propositions, identified new routes to market, strengthened their evidence strategies, and built confidence in pitching to investors and NHS partners. Since completing the Commercialisation Academy, several have secured new contracts, investment, and partnerships – clear evidence that targeted capability building delivers results.
From our first cohort, Accumentice, Avid and Feedback Medical have all reported increases in NHS contracts, and Expert Self Care and The Sound Doctor have also successfully expanded to wider markets and grown their businesses. Notably, collaboration has continued beyond the programme itself. Two companies from the first cohort, RateMyShift and AlphaLake Ai are now working together, with Annie Taylor from RateMyShift also being successful in joining the NHS Innovation Accelerator. These outcomes highlight the lasting value of attending the Commercialisation Academy.
This year’s cohort raised the bar
This year’s participants brought an even greater level of maturity and ambition. Many were already engaging with NHS partners or had early traction but needed clarity on scaling, pricing, and navigating the ‘messy middle’ between initial success and widespread adoption.
What stood out most was their willingness to challenge assumptions, including their own. They embraced the difficult but essential work of refining business models, interrogating customer needs, and stress testing their commercial strategies.
Together, the two cohorts reinforce an important lesson: successful commercialisation is not simply instinctive, it is a skillset that can be learned, developed, and applied.
A structured approach to commercialisation
A cornerstone of the Commercialisation Academy’s success has been our partnership with Triple Chasm. Their methodology provides a structured, evidence-based framework that guides innovators from idea to market.
The model resonates because it breaks commercialisation into clear, manageable areas, helping teams identify gaps and strengths while creating a shared language for progress. It encourages strategic thinking over reactive decision making, an essential shift for scaling companies operating in complex systems like health and care.
This partnership has also strengthened our own approach. By combining the Triple Chasm framework with our deep understanding of NHS pathways and pressures, we are able to offer innovators a rare blend of commercial expertise and system insight.
Supporting wider health and economic priorities
The Commercialisation Academy is not a standalone initiative. It plays a strategic role in advancing both regional and national priorities. By improving companies’ commercial readiness, we help reduce one of the biggest barriers to adoption: a lack of clarity around value, evidence, and sustainability.
The programme contributes to economic growth by supporting high potential companies, helping them build investable propositions, and developing skills that remain within the region. It also fosters collaboration across academia, industry, and the NHS, strengthening the wider innovation ecosystem.
Crucially, we focus on innovations that address real system needs, including workforce pressures, patient flow, prevention, and digital transformation. Our work aligns with key priorities such as shifting from analogue to digital, delivering care closer to home, and focusing on prevention over treatment. This ensures that innovation is not only exciting, but relevant and impactful.
A core aim of the Commercialisation Academy is to equip innovators to succeed independently. Participants leave with the tools, frameworks, and confidence needed to continue their journey beyond the programme, and we remain committed to supporting them as alumni.
Looking ahead: building a community of practice
One of the most rewarding outcomes of the Commercialisation Academy has been the emergence of a strong, supportive community. Alumni from both cohorts are already sharing insights, collaborating on projects, and offering peer to peer advice. Many are also acting as ambassadors for the region.
This sense of community is vital. Innovation can be an isolating journey, but the Commercialisation Academy has shown that when founders are brought together with shared purpose and the right support, they can thrive, not just individually, but collectively.
Final reflections
Reflecting on the past two years, I am proud of what the Commercialisation Academy has achieved, but even more excited about what lies ahead. The West of England is home to exceptional innovators, and with the right support, they can deliver solutions that transform health and care at scale.
Perhaps most importantly, the growing alumni network demonstrates that the Commercialisation Academy’s impact extends far beyond the programme itself. It is helping to build a lasting ecosystem, one where innovation is supported, collaboration is encouraged, and meaningful change becomes possible.
If you would like to know more about our Commercialisation Academy and joining a future cohort, sign up to our Innovation Exchange newsletter.
Learn more about the latest innovators who took part in our Commercialisation Academy 2025/26, this cohort included:
- Sommus Scientific Limited– realtime blood propofol concentration monitoring
- Virtually Health Systems Ltd– online GP practice
- NuvoAir– remote monitoring for conditions such as asthma and COPD
- Pal – digital care app for families affected by serious illnesses
- Tend VR – providing mindfulness based cognitive therapy via virtual reality (VR)
- Deontics Limited – clinically driven artificial intelligence (AI) platform providing treatment recommendations
- SuperPenguin – app to support speech and language therapy
- Lingly– evidence-based language learning based on context and conversation
Learn more about the innovators who attended our first Commercialisation Academy in 2024/25, this cohort included:
- Acumentice (Sigma View) – automated patient pathway management
- Avid– digital care programmes that comprise health coaching, content and data insights
- Cognitant (Healthinote) – a platform connecting people with accessible health resources and self-management tools and facilitating shared decision-making
- Expert Self Care– information and signposting apps for health and wellbeing service providers
- Feedback Medical (Bleepa) – collaboration platform designed to connect multiple NHS systems across care settings
- RateMyShift– a real-time staff experience app to facilitate timely dialogue between individuals and their line managers
- The Sound Doctor – bite-sized films and structured education courses to help people manage long-term conditions
Posted on May 12, 2026 by Alex Leach, Deputy Director of Programmes
