The health technologies sector has been under the spotlight since the start of the pandemic with many firms across the West Midlands rising to the challenge of providing products and solutions to the challenges of Covid-19.
Now a new body is calling for individuals and organisations to come together and collaborate. The West Midlands Health Technologies Cluster (WMHTC) has been set up by innovative individuals and organisations with a view to growing the industry in the region and creating a collective voice to attract further funding.
The ambition is to build collaborative relationships with the region’s Businesses, Universities and health providers to help promote businesses in health technologies and the life sciences sectors at a local, national and international level.
“We want businesses who are working in health technologies to become cluster members and in return our aim is to help them succeed.
This is a great opportunity to network, meet buyers and commissioners of services. The WMHTC will provide a forum for members to share their experiences and to create solutions to some of the challenges you may experience as a business owner.
As a cluster we will share our news, bring more coherence to support systems and we will be a powerful advocate for our sector. The task is to make this a success and for us this means helping to grow businesses and create jobs”
David Kidney, Executive Chair for WMHTC
The setup phase of the West Midlands Health Technologies Cluster was funded by Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) and Bruntwood SciTech.
Tim Pile, Chair of Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP adds, “The West Midlands Health Technologies Cluster (WMHTC) will enable businesses of all sizes to come together to share best practise and collaborate. We have 400 life sciences businesses across the West Midlands region, employing 11,000 people and together they generate a GVA of £4 billion. This is a great opportunity to create a collective voice for the sector”.
“GBSLEP works with our partners in the public, private and academic sectors to create inclusive economic growth and we see life sciences, and in particular health and medical technologies, as high growth areas which can contribute to economic recovery”.
The cluster is open for business from 1st April 2021.
A formal launch will follow later in the year once Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have been lifted. In the meantime, the cluster will be offering members and supporters a full programme of events, virtual for the first few months.
Notes for editors:
1. The West Midlands Health Technologies Cluster (WMHTC) organisation is a legal entity in its own right – a company limited by guarantee (not for profit) with its own board of directors.
We have our own communications including our website, email and Twitter:
E: info@wmhtc.co.uk
Twitter: @WM_HTC
An annual membership fee is payable, with three rates to reflect different business sizes:
MICRO £249
SME £499
LARGE £749
For Micro businesses (fewer than 10 employees), the first year is FREE, and the first year is free for businesses coming into the West Midlands. Large businesses are those with more than 250 employees.
For further information CONTACT:
David Kidney, Executive Chair
M: 07966 378844
E: david.kenkid@gmail.com