NOMW Health is an early-stage medtech company developing AI-powered devices to detect and respond to opioid overdoses. Founded by brothers Ayub and Ali Shoaib, the startup blends Ayub’s corporate and regulatory experience with Ali’s clinical expertise as an anaesthetist. Their shared mission is personal: having grown up witnessing healthcare access inequalities in Pakistan, they vowed “not on our watch” when they saw preventable deaths caused by limited access to care.
That mission sharpened in Scotland, where their idea and expertise could bring about significant positive change. The brothers realised the opioid crisis wasn’t being addressed physiologically, despite Ali’s frontline knowledge of how opioids affect the body. Their solution: a wearable device capable of detecting overdose and alerting responders in real time.
Support from Techscaler, delivered by CodeBase on behalf of the Scottish Government, has been pivotal. From mentoring to relevant exposure, Techscaler offered NOMW Health tailored resources at the right time. This case study explores the resilience of two founders tackling one of the world’s deadliest public health challenges, and how ecosystem support accelerated their journey.
The seeds of NOMW Health were planted long before incorporation. Ayub, a corporate strategist with experience in life sciences, and Ali, an anaesthetist, had each achieved what they set out to do in their careers. But both felt compelled to act after seeing people denied critical care because of financial barriers while growing up in Pakistan.
Their turning point came when they confronted Scotland’s opioid issues. Unlike others approaching the problem from psychiatry, Ali’s perspective as a clinician reframed it physiologically: how opioids affect the body in real time. That insight led them to design a device capable of saving lives.
Before Techscaler, NOMW Health was already gaining traction but faced some key challenges. Developing a novel medical device meant balancing regulatory, technical, and funding hurdles, while also managing the volatility of early-stage R&D.
Despite securing NHS Scotland innovation backing and initial grants, the team still faced hard choices, like when to hire versus when to contract expertise, and complex regulatory and technical hurdles.
Support from Tecshaler by CodeBase helped them navigate these challenges with timely mentoring and guidance. Techscaler provided an ecosystem where NOMW could ground its mission in proven paths to scale.
Techscaler, delivered by CodeBase, introduced Ayub and Ali to an ecosystem of peers, mentors, and global opportunities that shifted how they built NOMW. From the outset, CodeBase’s network proved crucial: navigating NHS engagement, identifying gaps in regulatory knowledge, and resetting strategic priorities.
Access to founders who had “been there before” gave the team confidence to stay the course through difficult moments. For NOMW Health, the Techscaler involvement reframed support as not just advice but lived experience, peer-driven, founder-focused, and deeply practical. That environment reminded the team they weren’t building in isolation.
Beyond mindset, Techscaler offered NOMW concrete, timely resources. Techscaler by CodeBase connected Ayub to an experienced medtech mentor, Peter Bannister, who guided the team through regulatory hurdles and complex competition applications.
The community also delivered when a project manager left mid-project. Alexandra, found through Techscaler by CodeBase, now anchors NOMW’s operations.
Training via Techscaler Catalyst refreshed fundamentals and helped the founders reset their approach at critical stages. Most recently, participation in a CodeBase-supported trade mission to China gave the hardware startup vital insights into scaling manufacturing, direct supplier connections, and even a new in-market resource.
These tangible supports turned high-stakes unknowns into solvable challenges, accelerating NOMW’s path to market.
Since being a part of Techscaler, NOMW Health has accelerated both product development and global positioning. Backed by over £600k (£100k feasibility + £500k development from the Scottish Government Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Challenge) in Scottish Government funding, Ayub and Ali Shoaib have built LifeSavr, the world’s only device capable of monitoring all vital signs to confirm an opioid overdose.
Their alpha prototype is complete, with a beta version targeted for release in late 2025. Techscaler expanded NOMW’s mindset, while a China trade mission provided critical manufacturing partnerships and an in-market liaison. But the Shoaib brothers’ ambition goes further: transforming LifeSavr into an open platform where developers can build new healthtech applications.
What began as a mission to address inequality is evolving into a globally scalable solution, rooted in both clinical expertise and technological innovation. The challenge ahead is balancing reliability with growth, ensuring NOMW’s platform can save and extend countless lives worldwide.
Techscaler, delivered by CodeBase, provided not only mentorship and programming. For NOMW Health, but a concrete set of lived experiences as well, making regulatory navigation, manufacturing strategy, and founder resilience achievable.
The Shoaib brothers exemplify how mission-driven founders, given structured support and global exposure, can build solutions with world-changing potential. For universities, corporates, government, and ecosystem partners, NOMW’s journey highlights the impact of tailored, founder-led support. Learn more about NOMW Health.
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