£20M Fund Backs UK Addiction Treatment Tech
•February 18, 2026
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Companies Mentioned
Innovate UK
Why It Matters
The programme tackles a major public‑health crisis by providing capital and regulatory support that can fast‑track effective treatments to market, potentially lowering healthcare spending and mortality. It also strengthens the UK’s life‑science sector by fostering high‑impact innovation.
Key Takeaways
- •£20M UK government fund for addiction tech.
- •Grants up to £10M for late-stage projects.
- •Supports medicines, devices, wearables, VR, AI tools.
- •Targets £47B annual addiction cost reduction.
- •Provides MHRA and NICE regulatory education sessions.
Pulse Analysis
Addiction remains one of the UK’s most pressing health challenges, claiming roughly 15,000 lives annually and costing the economy an estimated £47 billion each year. Recognising the scale of the problem, the government has turned to technology‑driven solutions, allocating £20 million through Innovate UK to catalyse breakthroughs in treatment and recovery. By focusing on both pharmaceutical advances and digital interventions such as wearables, virtual‑reality therapy, and AI‑powered analytics, the fund seeks to diversify the therapeutic arsenal and address gaps that traditional services struggle to fill.
The funding structure is deliberately tiered: late‑stage projects can receive up to £10 million, while earlier‑stage innovators may secure up to £1.5 million to prove concept and build commercial pathways. Beyond cash, awardees gain exclusive access to regulatory education from the MHRA and NICE, smoothing the route to UK certification and NHS adoption. This blend of financial muscle and guidance lowers barriers for companies, accelerates evidence generation, and encourages rapid deployment of solutions that demonstrate real‑world effectiveness.
For the broader economy, the initiative promises a dual payoff. Successful technologies could slash the billions spent on emergency care, hospital admissions, and social services linked to addiction, while also positioning the UK as a hub for health‑tech innovation. As firms scale and export these solutions, the programme may generate high‑value jobs and reinforce the nation’s reputation for scientific excellence. In the long term, the strategic investment aims to transform addiction care, reduce preventable deaths, and deliver measurable savings for the public purse.
£20M fund backs UK addiction treatment tech
Innovators across the UK are being offered £20 million of government funding to develop cutting‑edge medicines, medical technologies, and digital tools to tackle drug and alcohol addiction.
Around 15,000 people die each year in the UK due to alcohol and drugs, with hundreds and thousands more suffering the effects.
Grants, delivered through Innovate UK, will support the development and deployment of new technologies designed to improve treatment, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm from drug and alcohol addiction.
Health Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed said:
“Addiction ruins lives and we need to look at any way we can help ease the suffering – and aid the recovery – of hundreds of thousands of people.
“Embracing new technology will help supplement all the work this government is already doing, including expanding access to vital drugs and providing billions in funding for drug and alcohol prevention treatment and recovery.
“Finding new ways to combat the scourge of addiction could save thousands of lives and billions of pounds.”
Hundreds of thousands suffer the effects of addiction, which costs England an estimated £47 billion each year. The AHG Catalysing Innovation Awards, as part of the Addiction Healthcare Goals programme led by the Office for Life Sciences, will help reduce the costs by supporting those working on new medicines, medical devices, wearables, virtual‑reality therapies, treatment apps, and AI‑enabled tools.
These innovations have the potential to transform care for people with drug and alcohol addictions by improving treatment outcomes, preventing relapse, and reducing the risk of overdose and death.
Science Minister Lord Vallance said:
“Cutting‑edge medicines and technologies could save thousands of lives lost to alcohol and drug addiction while improving outcomes for hundreds of thousands more.
“Backing both late‑stage technologies and earlier‑stage innovations means we are creating a clear and rapid route from breakthrough ideas to real‑world impact.
“This is about using the UK’s scientific excellence to prevent avoidable deaths and support recovery, while helping innovative companies to grow and thrive in the UK at the same time.”
Professor Anne Lingford‑Hughes, Chair of Addiction Healthcare Goals, said:
“Too many lives are still cut short by drug and alcohol addictions, and healthcare innovations are urgently needed to address the immense personal, mental and physical health and societal impacts they cause.
“To meet this challenge, I am pleased to be working with Innovate UK to launch these Catalysing Innovation Awards, supporting the development of the most promising medicines, devices, and digital tools to enhance treatment and care.
“These awards will support UK companies and innovators to build the evidence needed to show what works in real services, ensuring innovations reach the people who need them sooner, prevent deaths, and strengthen recovery.”
Applications are now open, with awards of up to £10 million available to support late‑stage, high‑impact projects that can demonstrate real‑world effectiveness, UK market readiness, and progress towards regulatory approval.
These grants will support projects expected to be close to deployment and capable of delivering impact within health and care services. A second strand will support earlier‑stage innovations, with awards of up to £1.5 million to help promising technologies demonstrate initial effectiveness, strengthen business planning, and help them scale.
Successful projects will also receive exclusive access to an education session from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), supporting innovators to navigate evidence requirements and the pathway to UK certification, approval, and roll‑out.
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