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The British Business Bank has agreed to make a £100 million commitment to Apposite Healthcare Growth I, a fund investing to support the growth of health technology companies, primarily in the UK. This will be the British Business Bank’s largest fund commitment to date and is the Bank’s first commitment to Apposite Capital.
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Apposite Capital is a specialist healthcare and life sciences investor. Apposite Healthcare Growth I will invest in innovative companies across medical products, diagnostics, life sciences tools, digital health, and pharmaceutical outsourcing services.
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The fund aims to address the shortage of scale-up capital for UK life sciences companies approaching a growth inflection, which aligns with the Bank’s strategy to create deeper pools of scale up funding.
NHS Genomics Hub Tests for New Anti-Cancer Drug Variant
- Routine genetic testing to guide use of chemotherapy has incorporated a new “African” gene variant which could potentially help save the lives of Black and ethnic minority cancer patients.
- Since the test went live in September 2025 at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s North West Genomic Laboratory Hub (GLH), three patients of African ancestry at risk of adverse side effects and toxicity resulting from chemotherapy drugs responded positively following tests.
- Until last year, in the UK, genetic tests were carried out which only sought to identify four main DPYD variants, typically found in the DNA of White Europeans. Further tests to include the fifth variant are now underway at six other Genomic Hubs.
UK cancer cases reach record high – with a diagnosis every 80 seconds
- The number of cancer cases in the UK has reached a record high, according to a report.
- More than 403,000 people are now diagnosed with a form of the disease every year, the report says. That is the equivalent of approximately one person every 80 seconds.
- Cancer Research UK’s report attributes the rise to an “ageing and growing population”. Rates have risen by 15% since the early 1990s – partly due to factors like obesity.
- In support of efforts to have safe and effective diagnostics, treatments and vaccines ready for distribution before the next pandemic strikes, WHO launched, together with partners, research and development roadmaps for 10 viral families and a group of bacteria.
- The roadmaps were launched at an event, co-hosted by ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO), and partners held during the One Health Summit in Lyon, France.
- The event highlighted how a One Health and Pathogen Family-based approach can strengthen epidemic and pandemic preparedness, including through WHO’s Collaborative Open Research Consortia (CORCs), which bring together global research communities around priority viral families and core bacterial threats.
New Oxford-led study set to evaluate multi-cancer blood tests in GP practices for earlier diagnosis
- In an advance for early cancer detection, a new Oxford-led study has received £3.6 million from the National Institute of Health and Care Research to evaluate breakthrough multi-cancer tests in NHS general practices.
- The research addresses a critical healthcare challenge: approximately half of all cancer patients initially visit their GP with vague, non-specific symptoms such as weight loss or abdominal pain, leading to dangerous delays in diagnosis and treatment.
- Over five years, the research team behind the new ARMADILO platform will work with up to 132 GP practices and invite nearly 10,000 patients aged 50 and over to take part. Participants will be asked to provide a sample and permission to access their health records. Tracking their health outcomes through linked NHS records, the researchers will then monitor who is diagnosed with cancer over the following year to evaluate how well the different tests perform in detecting cancer.
