Impli Awarded £1.4M NIHR Grant to Advance World-First Continuous Hormone Monitoring Patch for Infertility Treatment

London, UK, 8 June 2026: Impli, the deep-tech company developing the first continuous molecular monitoring platform for hormonal health, has been awarded a £1.4 million grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme. The funding will advance BEAM (Bio-Endocrine Analysis Monitor), Impli's minimally invasive microneedle biosensing patch, through clinical validation for use in in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The award was made in partnership with a world-class consortium including the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Clinical Research Facility and Wolfson Fertility Centre, the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) at King's College London, and patient advocacy network Fertility Europe, alongside specialist medical device manufacturer TTP.

The clinical challenge

Infertility affects one in six people worldwide. IVF is the most common form of assisted reproduction, yet success rates remain between 15–32%, and as low as 6% for women over 43, while each cycle demands up to 10 clinic visits for blood draws. Clinicians are making time-critical dosing and timing decisions based on hormone values that may be 24–48 hours old. Critical events — LH surges that determine egg release, progesterone dips that cause implantation failure, early signs of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome — are routinely missed by single-point tests, with real consequences for cycle outcomes and patient wellbeing.

The technology

BEAM is a biocompatible microneedle patch worn on the upper arm. Aptamer-based electrochemical biosensors continuously measure estradiol, LH, and progesterone in interstitial fluid, transmitting data wirelessly to a smartphone where AI algorithms convert raw signals into real-time hormone trends. BEAM is the wearable first step in Impli's broader platform roadmap — the same biosensing foundation underpins the company's longer-term vision for fully implantable, long-duration monitoring, beginning where clinical need is most acute and the regulatory path most accessible. By replacing up to 10 clinic visits with as few as 2, BEAM enables personalised, real-time protocol adjustment with the potential to meaningfully improve success rates and reduce preventable complications.

“We are not just building a device, we are building the evidence base to show that continuous hormone monitoring is possible, clinically meaningful, and ready for the real world. With an exceptional consortium behind us, we now have the funding, the expertise, and the clinical pathway to do that properly. The NIHR i4i award is a pivotal moment for Impli and for continuous hormone monitoring as a field.”

Anna Luisa Schaffgotsch, Founder and CEO, Impli

“Continuous hormone monitoring has the potential to change the landscape of fertility treatment, both in terms of clinical care and patient experience. Rather than snapshots taken at fixed points in time, with Impli we will have access to a live feed of each patient's hormonal response, allowing us to personalise care in a way that has not been possible before. Furthermore, reducing the burden of the multiple hospital appointments for venipuncture will be invaluable for our patients, who are in the majority young, active, and busy professionals. I am genuinely excited to be part of this programme and to help bring this technology into the hands of patients and clinicians at the Wolfson Fertility Centre.”

Mr Sotirios Saravelos, Consultant Gynaecologist and Reproductive Medicine Subspecialist, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust / Wolfson Fertility Centre

“The London Institute for Healthcare Engineering was built to turn transformative medical technology into real clinical tools. BEAM is exactly the kind of innovation we exist to support — scientifically rigorous, patient-centred, and with a clear pathway to adoption. We are delighted to be part of this consortium and look forward to helping bring continuous hormone monitoring to patients who need it most.”

Dr. Valentina Vitiello, Head of Clinical Translation and Governance, London Institute for Healthcare Engineering, King's College London

What the grant funds

The NIHR i4i award will fund a structured 30-month programme designed to take BEAM from prototype to first-in-human clinical validation. The programme encompasses final device design and manufacturing to ISO 13485 standards (in partnership with specialist manufacturer TTP), a 25-participant pilot study conducted through Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust's Clinical Research Facility, AI model development, patient and public involvement led by King's College London, and regulatory and health economic groundwork for NHS adoption.

BEAM's development builds on over 15 years of foundational biosensor research at Imperial College London. The company holds multiple patents filed across 14+ countries, including an exclusive worldwide licence from Imperial College London, covering its aptamer-based sensing approach, device architecture, and novel data interfaces.

Strategic partnerships and traction

Impli has an established strategic partnership with Bayer on real-time hormone biosensing, and strong relationships with a variety of IVF clinics. To date, Impli has delivered three functional prototypes, completed in vitro pre-clinical trials, and commenced animal trials with positive results.

Looking ahead

IVF is Impli's deliberate entry point: it is a private-pay, precision-driven market with a clear regulatory pathway and immediate clinical need. But BEAM is designed as a platform. The same core technology has clear expansion potential across hormonally driven cancers, PCOS, endometriosis, menopause, and endocrinology — conditions collectively affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Each dollar of evidence generated in IVF accelerates the case for every indication that follows.

About the consortium

Impli is a deep-tech company building the world's first continuous molecular monitoring platform for hormonal health. Its proprietary aptamer-based biosensing technology continuously tracks molecular signals inside the body and streams real-time data to a smartphone for patients and clinicians to act on. Starting with IVF and reproductive medicine, the platform is designed to expand across multiple therapeutic areas where continuous hormone data can transform diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. Impli is an Imperial College London startup.

The NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme funds the development and early clinical evaluation of innovative medical devices and diagnostics with clear potential for NHS adoption and patient benefit.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in England, delivering care to more than 1.5 million patients each year across five hospitals in north-west London, including St Mary's, Hammersmith, and Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea. Home to the Wolfson Fertility Centre, one of the UK's leading IVF units, and an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, the Trust combines outstanding clinical care with a long-standing commitment to research and innovation.

Imperial College London is a global university focused on science, engineering, medicine, and business, home to world-leading research across medicine, engineering, and the life sciences. Impli's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Salzitsa Anastasova, holds a dual appointment at Impli and Imperial, where she leads research in electrochemistry and smart wearable biosensing.

King's College London is one of the world's leading research universities, with a strong tradition of translating scientific discovery into healthcare solutions. Its London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) brings together engineers, clinicians, and patient advocates to develop and evaluate medical technologies that are safe, effective, and ready for adoption by health systems.

Fertility Europe is a pan-European patient advocacy network representing people affected by infertility and those undergoing fertility treatment. As a consortium partner in the BEAM project, Fertility Europe leads patient and public involvement activities, ensuring the voices of fertility patients shape the design, communication, and future deployment of continuous hormone monitoring in IVF.