New £25.4m funding opportunity for early cancer diagnostics

A significant new funding opportunity is opening for organisations developing technologies that could improve the early detection and diagnosis of cancer.

On behalf of the Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals programme, Innovate UK is launching a competition offering up to £25.4 million for projects focused on the clinical validation and evaluation of early cancer diagnostic technologies and devices.

Grants of £1.5 million to £4 million are available for industrial research and experimental development projects lasting between 24 and 36 months.

There is a particular focus on less common cancers, excluding breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer. Projects addressing these areas are encouraged, recognising the challenges associated with late diagnosis and the limited commercial investment currently available.

The competition is also seeking innovative approaches including:

• Next-generation diagnostic technologies and devices

• New ways to improve patient access to diagnostic services

• Multimodal approaches to assessing cancer risk

Competition opens - 1 September 2026
Online briefing event - 3 September 2026 at 2.30pm
Competition closes - 28 October 2026 at 11am

Applications must be collaborative and can be led by a UK business, academic institution or NHS organisation. Teams must include at least one grant-claiming SME and a practising clinician, clinical academic or clinical delivery team.

For full eligibility criteria, application details and information about the briefing event, visit the official competition page.

At Inventya, we work with innovative businesses across the life sciences sector to help them identify funding opportunities and turn promising ideas into commercial success.