The New Zealand (NZ) government is investing $8.1 million over three years in the MedTech Research Translator, co-led by the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) to develop new technologies that could transform healthcare.

The funding has been announced by Associate Minister for Research, Science and Innovation, Dr Ayesha Verrall. “COVID-19 has shown that we need to build a more resilient, productive, innovative and economically sustainable health system, to meet both the demands of a global pandemic, and the demands of a growing and aging population,” Dr Verrall said.

It is an initiative comprising two linked programmes co-funded by the Ministry of Business and Innovation (MBIE) and the University of Auckland to support collaboration in MedTech-related research and innovation. 

Each project will have a researcher, clinician, and commercialisation expert on the team. The programme will accelerate the most promising projects by providing pre-seed funding to researchers.