Proof of Concept Fund
InterAct managed a £1.5 million Proof of Concept (POC) Fund, which provided initial development funding to allow nascent opportunities to be progressed to a point where their commercial value could be better realised through licensing or further venture funding. Projects could involve other academic/government laboratories as well as collaborative projects with commercial companies.
During the first InterAct project 21 projects received funding, several of which led to new exploitation opportunities being realised. For the second InterAct project the first investment round was held in December 2008 where funding was approved for four projects. Further investment rounds were held quarterly since then, and the Fund was fully committed by November 2010. A total of 47 projects were supported, and the first of these have led to new commercial opportunities for the partners.
Members of InterAct organisations should contact their InterAct representative for more details about applying for similar funding which may be available through their institutions.
Projects funded to date include:
- a new molecular detection platform and assays
- the development of new reference materials to provide additional commercial reagent opportunities
- new data collection tags for monitoring of wildlife movement and activity
- microarrays for the identification of pathogens
- tools to allow the investigation of environmental changes in water and sediments
- services to support farmers and growers
- instruments which can detect and identify airborne particles
- development of testing methods to identify and authenticate foodstuffs
- a suite of tests for disinfectant efficacy, and methods to monitor surface disinfection
- specific assays for the diagnosis of various plant, animal, fish and human diseases
- a new class of antimicrobial pro-drugs
- development of e-learning training modules
- development and validation of a prototype slip assessment tool
- a new chemical for the treatment of infections in fish
- development of a new anti-foulant paint for ships
- system to improve the take up of dye materials
- novel vaccine technologies
- development of a new Proficiency Testing scheme
- instrument to monitor radiation levels
- remote controlled water sampler
- a rapid method to detect bacteria in food samples