Delivering unique insights for innovators trying to understand the NHS market

Health Innovation North West Coast has supported innovator LightOx by creating a comprehensive NHS market access report for its light-activated antimicrobial gel for wound care.

The report drew on our multi-disciplinary team to deliver insights that we were uniquely placed to offer.

The relationship with LightOx began when Lindsay Sharples, Associate Director of Innovation Partnerships at Health Innovation North West Coast, met David Chisholm, Head of Technology, and Cole Sims, Biology Team Leader, during a Microbial Accelerator in 2023, where Health Innovation North West Coast was a delivery partner.

LightOx is a Newcastle-based SME that are developing light-activated technology for healthcare challenges. In recent years the company has been looking at wound care, branching off from their original space in early oral cancer therapies. This is the reason they joined the accelerator. And, after completion, they received an Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst feasibility grant that ran March 2024 to March 2025. Some of the grant was used for the report.

David said: “The wound care market is so different from our experience in oral cancer. We thought maybe before we get into the weeds with developing the technology, we should put our heads up and do a feasibility study to see how our product could be commercialised into the NHS.”

Lindsay said: “Delivering this report was a perfect fit. We have direct links to the stakeholders LightOx was interested in. Our teams specialising in patient safety, commercial strategy, behavioural insights and innovation coaching worked collaboratively to provide them with a structured pathway for its innovation to address real-world healthcare challenges and options to position its product effectively within the UK healthcare system.

During regular check-ins with our team, David said there were always a number of people from Health Innovation North West Coast to talk about progress. “It was clear you brought in expertise from a wide variety of different areas to inform the report.”

David was particularly impressed with the amount of preparation and thought that went into the patient-facing focus group. He said this resulted in a number of new considerations around what the patient might want.

The report included: 

• Clinical discovery – with insights from key opinion leaders, clinical experts, influencers and front-line staff delivering care 

• Patient insights – through a structured focus group 

• System challenges and barriers to adoption 

• Market opportunity analysis and strategy (e.g., value propositions, routes to market and competitor insights)  

• Navigation of NHS procurement and the regulatory landscape 

• Stakeholder maps and lists 

What’s next

David said he has learned a lot about both the challenges in the system and those faced by front-line staff. He said: "The project has highlighted the professionalism and immense knowledge of NHS wound care and tissue viability staff, but it's clear they are under huge pressure, from both a financial and case-load point of view."

When asked if this report was discouraging, David said no. "This is a difficult space to develop new products but it's clear there is significant scope to improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden on NHS staff. We need to involve clinicians in product design at the earliest possible stage and this project has been critical in developing these connections".

The report has been shared with their whole team and there will be two streams of work as a result:  

• technology development – the report has shaped the way that they are going to develop the technology moving forward 

• engagement strategy development – with clinical professionals and key influencers in health services. They are looking for a clinical partner for clinical trial design.

This was LightOx’s first interaction with a health innovation network, and David found the experience very positive. He can see the value that we bring to system. “I don't want this to be the end of our relationship. I would see it as more as the beginning.”