News | July 2026

Student and alumni startups

Orbion Connect gains SEIS approval and opens investment round. Healthtech is moving faster than most teams can comfortably absorb. The people who understand those layers, let alone all of them at once, are dispersed across hospitals, universities, and specialist consultancies, making them hard to find quickly. Orbion Connect fills the gap.

Orbion Connect are opening a focused investment round with angels who understand HealthTech. Connect with Dr Tristan Derry to learn more.

Pipeline and licensing

Brush test detects oral cancer within the hour. Invented by Prof Muy-Teck Teh, qMIDSv3 has been validated in a paper published in Biomarker Research (Nature). The clinical implications are significant. Patients would no longer need even a minimally invasive procedure to benefit from molecularly guided triage.

We are looking for a commercial partner to help develop this inexpensive test for clinical use. With the right partner, the test could be in use within two years. Connect with Dr Queenie Chan to learn more.

US patent for cardiovascular treatment and risk predictor. Prof Jesmond Dalli and his team have developed a new way to treat, prevent, and predict cardiovascular disease which uses resolvins to restore the body’s own ability to resolve inflammation, rather than merely addressing symptoms.

We’re looking for commercial partners to help develop this approach for clinical use. Connect with Dr Maria Frolova to learn more.

Varnish VLC outperforms market leader. A dental treatment inspired by the flake glass coatings protecting the Forth Bridge and deep-sea oil pipelines from corrosion. Invented by Dr Saroash Shahid, early lab tests showed Varnish VLC lasts longer than any rival, and this latest clinical trial found Varnish VLC provides rapid and durable protection for sensitive teeth, with superior pain relief in adults compared to Clinpro White Varnish, a market-leader.

Read more in Dentistry. We’re in active licensing talks to bring Varnish VLC to dentists. Connect with Dr Ben Golland to learn more.

Industry collaboration

TREAT-EB produces first research results. Dr Emanuel Rognoni and Dr Matthew Caley, backed by DEBRA Research, are developing a pipeline of pre-clinical models for EB, a rare skin disease, which can be used for academic and commercial testing of promising drugs. The newly published research is the first example of the team’s pre-clinical pipeline and demonstrates TREAT-EB’s potential to fast-track development of new therapies.

Read more about this work. Connect with Dr Jemma Trick to discuss collaborating with Queen Mary Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

Associate Researchers needed for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Queen Mary is working with AstraZeneca to advance AI for drug discovery and with Huma to develop an innovative AI-powered tool for remote asthma coaching. Collaborations like these are a key route to impact. Three of Queen Mary’s recent Knowledge Transfer Partnerships were rated Outstanding by Innovate UK.

Apply for the AstraZeneca opportunity, deadline 2nd August. Apply for the Huma opportunity, deadline 6th August. Connect with Maria Supersad to learn more about KTPs with Queen Mary.

Spinouts and pre-spinouts

European patent for CE-Move. CE-Move is a locomotion system for capsule endoscopes. It will be the sister-spinout of CE-Track, an intelligent tracking system for locating the capsule. Used together, the two technologies give clinicians complete control for fast and accurate diagnosis.

The team are looking for early adopter partners for both technologies. Connect with Dr Mohamed Adhnan Thaha to learn more.

Performance Magazine names LANDR top music distribution service for indie artists. Founded by serial entrepreneur Prof Joshua Reiss, LANDR has become a market leading creative platform for musicians.

Read the article.