Access to Funding

MS Research Call in collaboration with Top Sector Life Sciences & Health

Since 2015 Top Sector LSH has worked closely together with the Dutch Health Foundations. To enhance the structural collaboration between the health foundations and the LSH industry a Get Together meeting was organised on 12 May this year. This afternoon resulted in many new contacts, but also in new targeted calls boosted by the 15 million euros of TKI allowance for new public-private partnerships. One of those calls that is currently open for application is the MS Research call.

Applications need to meet the requirements of both the TKI-LSH allowance and of the Dutch MS Research Foundation. In a nutshell these conditions include:

A public-private partnership;
Both parties need to contribute in cash and/or in kind;
Proposed projects must fit within the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda 2016-2019 of Top Sector LSH;
Project needs to be completed before 31 December 2020;
Research needs to contribute to one or more of the objectives of MS Research Foundation: improving the quality of life of people with MS; improving the prognosis and diagnosis of MS; finding the causes of MS; developing a treatment for MS;
The project needs to be a joint initiative, confirmed by a signed collaboration agreement.

Please visit the website of the Dutch MS Research Foundation or Health~Holland to find more information on the call. The call closes on 2 September 2016 (12.00 hours).

Future calls
Are you interested in the funding opportunities that the Dutch Health Foundations and Top Sector LSH have to offer? Then please visit the Health~Holland website for the latest information on calls from the foundations and funding opportunities from Top Sector LSH.

Apply for MIT Scheme R&D Collaboration

With their device, Preceyes supports surgeons in high-precision operations, for instance with drug delivery in the eye. Gerrit Naus, co-founder of Preceyes states: “An excellent surgeon can work up to a resolution of 0.1 millimetres, however, these vessels for drug delivery are a factor of ten smaller. Such a treatment is possible with the help of our system”. In 2016, English biotechnology company NightstaRx became a strategic partner of Preceyes, which is a spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology. As a launching customer NightstaRx has bought the first release of the robot to use in their gene therapy of hereditary retinal diseases. "This agreement with NightstaRx is a big step forwards to market introduction", says Naus, "as new, high-precision procedures in eye surgery developed by the (bio)pharma industry are one of our first target markets".

University of Oxford

Recently Preceyes also signed a partnership with the prestigious University of Oxford. Together with professor Robert MacLaren and his team Preceyes develops the clinical application of the robot. Naus: "Our partnerships with NightstaRx and the University of Oxford are great recognition of the unique value of our technology and its applicability for conditions for which no treatment exists. This joint effort brings us closer to our goal of implementation in general hospitals in 2018."

Benefits of Value Vouchers

Several hurdles need to be overcome to achieve implementation in general hospitals. Therefore significant investments are crucial. Naus explains: "The CE marking and FDA clearance, in particular, cost a lot of money. With the Value Voucher from the Value Centre we can develop two specific parts. The first part is that international industrial company VDL can help us to design a piece of the mechatronics: "we need a perfect placement of the needle. If the needle is switched, we need to be sure that it returns to the same position where it has left."

For the second essential part, the draping, we are working together with Palmedic, a company with experience in designing and producing covers for ultrasound transducers. The draping is essential for a safe clinical system, which ensures that our device can be used in a sterile environment. Naus states to feel confident that he will overcome those hurdles. "Especially with these partners, the support of the Value Center and the collaboration of one of the most prestigious universities in the world."

See how a Value Voucher can benefit you.

Access to Funding

MS Research Call in collaboration with Top Sector Life Sciences & Health

Apply for MIT Scheme R&D Collaboration

Preceyes uses Value Vouchers for essential steps in developing eye surgery robot