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Applications open for Propel’s final 2026 healthtech cohort
Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire has opened applications for its final 2026 healthtech cohort, offering innovators support to scale solutions for the NHS and wider healthcare system.
The accelerator is inviting healthtech innovators with ambitious solutions to join its last cohort of the year.
Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire supports small and medium-sized businesses at start-up and scale-up stages as they develop, progress and scale healthcare innovations.
The fully funded programme is delivered by Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber in partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
It provides tailored business support, NHS engagement and access to a nationally recognised innovation network.
Successful applicants will join a six-month programme designed to accelerate commercial growth and NHS adoption.
Support includes business development, regulatory guidance, one-to-one mentoring, masterclasses and direct access to NHS organisations, investors and industry partners.
Regulatory guidance helps companies understand the rules they must follow before healthcare products can be safely adopted.
Dr Neville Young, director of enterprise and innovation at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, said: “It’s always incredibly exciting to open another round of applications for Propel.
“So far, we’ve seen outstanding examples of how this collaborative, innovation-led programme supports companies to start, scale and embed their products and solutions within our local healthcare system.
“As we launch our final cohort of 2026, we’re looking forward to welcoming another group of ambitious innovators who share our vision of improving health and care through innovation.
“The value we can offer participating SMEs continues to grow year on year, and we’re proud to deliver Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire alongside partners who help shape a programme that is truly world-leading in its ambition, quality and impact.”
The programme launched in November 2025 following £4.5m through the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Investment Zone, part of a wider £160m Investment Zone.
It aims to accelerate innovation, attract investment and strengthen the region’s health and life sciences sector.
Over four years, the programme plans to support hundreds of innovators, helping businesses grow in West Yorkshire while developing technologies intended to improve patient care, tackle healthcare challenges and create high-value jobs across the region.
The programme is delivered with a network of regional, national and international partners, giving innovators access to expertise, markets and organisations familiar with developing and scaling healthcare innovations.
Applications are open to early-stage innovators and organisations that can show evidence of NHS traction.
Applicants must already have a presence in West Yorkshire or be willing to establish one.
Each successful organisation will receive support tailored to its stage of development and growth ambitions, reflecting its individual commercial and clinical priorities.
Applications opened at 9am on Monday 20 July and close at 4pm on Friday 25 September.
Successful innovators are due to be notified on Friday 2 October, ahead of the cohort launch event on Thursday 15 October.
Programme offboarding is scheduled for March 2027.
Tim East, workstream lead for start-ups at Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire, said: “Every cohort brings together founders tackling some of healthcare’s biggest challenges with innovative ideas, technologies and solutions. What makes Propel unique is the breadth of expertise available to innovators, from NHS partners and academics to investors, experienced founders and international organisations.
“Whether you’re at the beginning of your commercial journey or preparing to scale, Propel is designed to give innovators the knowledge, connections and confidence needed to successfully navigate the healthcare system and accelerate growth.”
Tracy Brabin, mayor of West Yorkshire, spoke in November 2025 during the launch of the £4.5m investment as part of the Local Growth Plan.
She said: “The first priority of our Local Growth Plan is to boost our region’s fastest growing business sectors, because we know that’s how we’re going to drive investment, create jobs and put more money in people’s pockets.”
She added: “This will help with access to finance, skills and workspace to bolster collaboration with hospitals and universities, boosting growth and helping us build a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire.”
Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire says it is committed to building an inclusive innovation ecosystem and is encouraging applications from underrepresented founders, including female founders, innovators from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Small bowel microbiome differences between women and men may help explain why some conditions are more common in women, a study suggests.
The small bowel microbiome is the community of microorganisms living in this part of the digestive tract, where they play vital roles in immune function, metabolism and hormonal regulation.
Researchers found differences between women and men in the composition and organisation of these microbial communities. One bacterial community containing Granulicatella was found only in women.
The study was conducted by investigators at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University.
Ruchi Mathur, director of clinical research and clinical operations for the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) Program at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study, said: “One intriguing finding was a bacterial community containing Granulicatella, which we found only in women.
“Bacteria in this community appear at increased levels in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome.”
The researchers also identified differences between women and men in how microbes in the small bowel produce fructans, complex carbohydrates known to trigger digestive symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
IBS is far more common in women than men.
Mathur, who is also a professor of medicine, said: “Our findings show that biological sex is a critical variable in the small bowel microbiome.
“We must consider it as we move toward more personalised approaches to understanding and treating disease.”
An experimental cancer drug reduced bone loss and body fat in mice modelling post-menopausal changes, early research suggests.
The compound, CADD522, appeared to strengthen bones and help the animals stay leaner after surgery designed to mimic hormonal changes seen after menopause.
The treatment remains at an early experimental stage and has so far only been tested in animals.
The study, led by the University of East Anglia, investigated CADD522, which was originally developed to block a protein involved in the growth and spread of several cancers.
Mice treated with the compound for eight weeks showed significant improvements in bone health. Scans found increased bone volume and better preservation of the honeycomb-like structures inside bones that are crucial for strength and resilience.
Blood tests suggested the treatment stimulated new bone growth without interfering with the body’s normal process of breaking down and rebuilding bone.
Dr Darrell Green, lead researcher from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Osteoporosis affects around one in three women over the age of 50, leaving sufferers vulnerable to painful fractures that can seriously impact quality of life.
“Current treatments exist, but many are plagued by side effects, safety concerns or inconvenient dosing schedules that make long-term use difficult.”
The researchers also found that mice receiving CADD522 weighed less than untreated mice despite eating the same amount of food.
They had less body fat and fewer fat deposits in their bone marrow, a process commonly seen after menopause and linked to declining bone health.
The team also examined brain tissue and found that the drug appeared to reverse several menopause-related changes in fatty acids.
Levels of omega-3 fats including DHA remained largely intact, while several other lipid abnormalities shifted back towards healthier patterns.
Green said: “We didn’t directly test for memory or thinking ability, but our work raises questions about whether this drug could one day help address wider menopause-related health problems.”
Safety experiments in mice, rats and dogs found that CADD522 could be taken orally and was well tolerated.
The compound also appeared to be metabolised more slowly in human tissue than in rodents, potentially improving its performance in people.
“This is still in the early stages and has so far only been tested in animals but we hope that the benefits will translate to humans to ultimately reduce fracture rates,” added Green.
The research was led by UEA in collaboration with the University of Maryland, the Scintillon Research Institute in San Diego and the University of Stirling.
Safety testing was funded by The Sir William Coxen Trust as part of the development of CADD522 as a childhood cancer treatment.
Weight loss surgery was linked to more regular periods and fewer polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) symptoms in women aged 18 to 45 living with obesity in a recent study.
The researchers recommend that women undergoing the procedure have access to preconception care and reproductive counselling to support their reproductive health.
Researchers at the University of Surrey analysed data over 24 months from 84 women who underwent bariatric surgery and 18 women living with obesity who did not have surgery.
Of those who underwent surgery, 49 had gastric bypass procedures and 35 had gastric sleeve surgery.
Women who underwent metabolic bariatric surgery lost more than 30kg on average at 12 and 24 months after the procedure.
Among women with polycystic ovaries, the condition persisted in only 10 per cent after 24 months.
Women also reported a resolution of clinical hirsutism, or excess body hair, by 12 months.
Women who had previously experienced irregular periods reported more regular menstrual cycles after surgery.
Professor Martin Whyte, co-author of the study and professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Surrey, said: “A large proportion of those undergoing bariatric surgery are women of reproductive age, who may be planning a pregnancy in the coming years.
“So much remains unknown about the impact of this type of surgery on women who are planning to have children.
“This raises the question of when the ideal time after surgery is to conceive.”
Women have a higher prevalence of obesity than men, with 57 per cent of women in the UK classified as overweight and 27 per cent living with obesity, which can affect fertility and the health of an unborn baby.
The researchers said 17 women had healthy pregnancies following surgery.
Although this was not specifically examined in the study, no difference in birth weight was observed between babies conceived within or after the first year.
Dr Kathryn Hart, co-author of the study and associate professor in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Surrey, said: “What we have found is that bariatric surgery positively affects the reproductive health of women living with obesity and can improve the likelihood of them having a healthy pregnancy after surgery.
“Dysregulated hormone levels, irregular periods and conditions such as polycystic ovaries are affected by obesity.
“By reducing this, what we have seen is that it can lead to improvements without the need for medication.
“We would suggest that clinicians consider medical intervention for obesity to treat irregularities in the menstrual cycle and issues with fertility.”
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