ORUK has announced the launch of this year’s Ronald Furlong Fund for UK-registered MSK health startups.
Named in honour of ORUK’s founder, the Fund offers up to £100k to help entrepreneurs accelerate innovative and commercially viable ideas that solve the unmet needs of society around bone, joint and muscle wellbeing. ORUK will ask for equity in the company and the amount will be negotiated at the final stage depending on various business factors.
ORUK has investments in seven early stage MSK businesses, some of whom applied through the Ronald Furlong Fund. The charity’s investments target innovations that lead to:
- Improved clinical practices and care processes, including earlier diagnosis, better decision‑making, and optimised treatment pathways; and/or
- New products, services, and technologies that can be adopted across healthcare settings and scaled to deliver long‑term social and system‑level returns.
It invests across a broad spectrum of MSK research and innovation areas with clear routes to impact, including but not limited to:
- Digital and data‑enabled healthcare: AI, big data, digital health tools, and computational modelling
- Biological and translational science: cell, bone and soft‑tissue biology
- Devices and materials: biomaterials, biomechanics, prosthetics, and surgical technologies
- Condition‑focused innovation: osteoarthritis, pain, bone fractures, spine and back conditions, rheumatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, infection, and bone cancer
- Clinical and surgical specialties: hip, knee, shoulder, foot & ankle, hand & wrist, trauma and orthopaedic surgery
- Population and system priorities: paediatric care, co‑morbidity, rehabilitation and exercise, and MSK health awareness and prevention
Deadline: 22/05/2026 23:59
For further information on how to apply, follow this link: https://oruk.org/research/ronald-furlong-fund/
