Northern Ireland’s health and life sciences sector continues to grow, with three local companies securing significant backing through the UK’s flagship Biomedical Catalyst (BMC) programme. The awards will accelerate development of innovations in obesity treatment to children’s respiratory care and long-acting eye therapies, helping scale technologies and bring them closer to patients.
Dia Beta Labs
Dia Beta Labs is developing a non-GLP-1 treatment for obesity, targeting a novel receptor linked to metabolic disease. The BMC grant supports scale-up manufacturing and toxicology studies ahead of clinical trials.
“We are thrilled to secure this grant,” said Dr. Ryan Lafferty, Co-Founder and CEO. “As the flagship competition in the UK for biotech coupled with single-digit success rates, it is a clear validation of how much scientific and commercial promise our technology has. The Grant enables us to significantly progress further toward first-in-human studies through manufacturing scale up and toxicology assessment, bringing this potentially transformative medicine for metabolic disease sufferers nearer to clinic.”
Respiratory Analytics Ltd
Respiratory Analytics will use the funding to co-design age-specific versions of its aflo® respiratory device for children and adolescents, automatically training correct inhaler technique to reduce symptoms like wheezing and breathlessness.
“This support allows us to co-design, build and test age-stratified versions of the aflo® respiratory management platform reach high-risk groups who often experience poor symptom control,” said Dr. Susan Kelly, CEO and Co-founder. “We are grateful to Innovate UK and look forward to putting our high impact technology in patient hands early in 2026.”
Re-Vana Therapeutics Ltd
The third awardee, Re-Vana Therapeutics, is developing an injectable ocular implant that enables sustained drug delivery for chronic eye conditions, offering a potential breakthrough in patient adherence and long-term outcomes.
£15M Biomedical Catalyst Fund Powers Innovation Across the UK
These Northern Ireland success stories are part of a wider £15 million investment from Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst, supporting 33 high-potential healthcare projects across the UK. The programme is designed to empower SMEs to fast-track the development of transformative diagnostics, therapeutics, digital health tools, and medical technologies.
This round of awards includes projects tackling early cancer detection, wearable health monitors, and RNA-based treatments for neurodegenerative conditions is part of the UK’s broader strategy to maintain global leadership in life sciences.
Dr Stella Peace (Executive Director for the Healthy Living and Agriculture Domain at Innovate UK) said: “The Biomedical Catalyst is a key part of Innovate UK’s support for SMEs, helping businesses start, scale, and grow in the UK. By de-risking healthcare innovation, we inspire and unlock innovations that make life better, drive business growth, and strengthen the UK’s leadership in life sciences.
Ecosystem Support Essential for Growth and Scale
Continued growth in the life and health sciences sector depends on a strong ecosystem of support. This has a critical role in fostering cross-sector collaboration, strengthening regional capabilities, and connecting SMEs with clinical, academic and commercial partners. Sustained investment is essential to help companies scale, access global markets, and create high-value jobs across the UK and Northern Ireland.
