CLUSTER NEWS – August 2025
Life Sciences Week 15-19 September
The first Life Sciences Week outside London is going to be held here in the West Midlands – and it is getting very close now!
WMHTC is a partner organisation for this inaugural celebration and promotion of all-things life sciences related, and we naturally intend that the HealthTech sector in the West Midlands should be showcased.
We shall be present on our Expo Stand at the launch event on Monday 15th September (11am-4pm) at Millennium Point. There will be a social, too, at Hotel Du Vin (5.30pm-8pm) where you can meet members of the WM Health Technologies Innovation Accelerator.
There is also a series of podcasts recorded and edited by Dr Martin Khechara, Associate Professor for Engagement in STEM and Public Engagement, University of Wolverhampton. Together with their STEM Response Team (which Martin is part of), they are Partners of Life Sciences Week. Each podcast is about 20 minutes long and you can find them via the QR Code below or directly on the podcast link below. They’re a great listen!
Here is the link for the The My Life in Science Podcast – Episode 1 with David Kidney.
You are also able to vote for David Kidney as he has been nominated for an award! Outstanding Contribution to Life Sciences. Click on the link below to vote! Good luck David!
Voting – WM Life Sciences Week
We will be at Innovation Day in partnership with Medilink Midlands on Wednesday 17th September (9am-5pm) at Villa Park.
There will be a Gala Dinner and Awards Night on Thursday 18th September.
We shall be hosting a joint event with Aston University on AI-enabled tools on Friday 19th September.
There’s still time for you to register to attend one of the many events on offer, or host your own event, or sponsor an event by visiting the dedicated Life Sciences Week website.
TOP TIP: Look out for the Life Sciences Special Edition of Birmingham Business Magazine in September for lots of news about Life Sciences Week, a thought piece by WMHTC, and a feature interview with David Kidney!
Events
I was pleased to assist Birmingham Solicitors Mills and Reeve in the preparation of their new video to promote HealthTech in the West Midlands, which will be premiered at the firm’s fringe event during Birmingham Tech Week in October.
I represented WMHTC at this month’s meeting of the steering group for the new Robotics and Autonomous Systems Cluster.
I have recorded a podcast with Martin Khechara of University of Wolverhampton, which will form one of a series of podcasts for airing during Life Sciences Week in September.
I was interviewed by Henry Carpenter, editor of Birmingham Business Magazine, for a feature about me and my work in the Life Sciences Special Edition to be published in September.
I chaired the last meeting of the Life Sciences Week Advisory Board in the run-up to the week of activities.
Coming up:
15-19 Sep Life Sciences Week –
The West Midlands has taken the lead in organising the inaugural Life Sciences Week relevant to the whole UK to be held here in our region between 15th and 19th September.
We are pleased to be a partner organisation for this bold enterprise, and we will have a strong presence at events during the Week.
Funding Opportunities
- Business Growth Service
Business Growth West Midlands is now in partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on the new Business Growth Service, designed to make it easier for businesses across the UK, including in the West Midlands, to find and access the support they need to start, grow and succeed.
The Business Growth Service helps businesses to access free, expert and impartial advice, including vital local support through Growth Hubs across England.
Business Growth West Midlands will continue to provide personalised support to local businesses while being able to connect them with wider government resources through the new integrated system of the Business Growth Service.
For all the details GO HERE.
2. Business Energy Advisory Service
The Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS) is a pilot programme designed to help businesses save money and drive growth by providing free energy assessments and 50% match-funded grants.
There is no payback required on the grants, and BEAS is part of a broader government initiative aimed at reducing carbon emissions nationwide.
For details and to see if your business is eligible go here.
3. Pre-announcement: Local Innovation Partnerships Fund
This programme earmarks at least £30 million for each of ten regions across the UK, including one in each of the devolved nations.
A competition will run for all other parts of the UK to bid for support to grow their innovation ecosystems. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will work with regional partnerships between civic authorities, businesses and research organisations to co-create a portfolio of investment in each region. The intention is to attract a further £1 billion additional investment, including from the private sector, and £700 million of additional value to local economies.
The scheme is not live yet, so the details of how to apply are not certain. However, the intention is to draw businesses, academics and local authorities into partnerships. It is worth looking at what has been pre-announced.
For the details so far available GO HERE.
4. Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund
A share of £520M is available to support HealthTech businesses in the West Midlands looking to be part of a capital investment programme that will deliver growth and innovative processes and products. I only know of one application from our region to date, so here is a reminder to consider whether this funding might be accessible for you.
The Fund is UK and sector wide and will provide capital grants for investments in the manufacture of:
- Human medicines (this includes both the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) / drug substance and finished product / drug product).
- Medical diagnostics – for both disease identification and monitoring.
- MedTech products – all types of medical devices related to human health.
For guidance and how to enter an Expression of Interest see here
5. Horizon Europe
The European Commission has published the Horizon Europe 2025 Funding Opportunities (Work Programme). It Calls for Expressions of Interest across a wide range of subject areas, including health (especially cancer), explains the Calls procedure, gives details of Information Days, Partnering Events, Travel Grants and Support and referencing information on Innovate UK International Funding Opportunities for Health).
Contact me if you are interested but don’t know where to start in expressing your interest.
For the information published by the European Commission see here
6. British Business Bank
The British Business Bank’s mandate from the Government has been boosted to the tune of an extra £10bn linked to the new Modern Industrial Strategy. It is intended to boost the UK economy. As part of the Chancellor’s Spending Review, the Bank has been allocated the additional funding to strengthen its operations through investment plans aimed at growing startups and British businesses.
It is worth looking afresh at what the Bank has to offer businesses now.
For more information GO HERE.
7. Biotechnology Business Incubation Centre
Grants of up to £50,000 are available to enable early stage start-up biotechnology businesses to engage with the Bio BIC incubator programme. Bio BIC is open to UK-registered companies who are:
- under five years old
- majority-owned by founders and employees
UK-registered companies must also have one or more of the following:
- received a BBSRC or other UKRI grant to support the research underpinning the product or service
- received an Innovate UK or other UKRI commercialisation support grant to take forward a bioscience innovation to address any market opportunity
- received accelerator or pre-incubation support from a UKRI partner organisation.
The technology must be either:
- biological in nature
- interact with a biological entity
- involve a biological process
- address a biological challenge.
The funder will not accept applications based on medical or clinical devices and therapeutics being developed solely for a specific end-point clinical utility (including diagnostics).
The closing date for applications is 07 September 2025.
For more details GO HERE
Health Technologies Sector News
BTEC Higher Nationals MedTech for England (2026)
1. New MedTech qualifications at Levels 4 & 5 (BTEC)
This first Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) in MedTech continues to make progress. Already validated by Pearson, it has now received OFQUAL accreditation – and an application has been made to Skills England for HTQ status. Once Skills England validates the HTQ, we can engage with local training providers about offering the course to individuals and employers and also engage with individuals and employers to encourage take-up.
Additionally, Pearson have created a webpage for the qualification on its HNC page, where the specification can now be viewed.
For all the details GO HERE
2. Is your business ready for AI?
AI is reshaping how patient care is delivered and transforming the HealthTech sector, but do you know where your business stands or how to begin your AI journey?
Business Growth West Midlands and Code Institute invite you to join a FREE AI Maturity Assessment, an initiative helping West Midlands health tech companies understand their AI readiness and identify next steps.
By taking part in this comprehensive, expert-guided AI readiness check, you will receive:
- A personalised report that shows exactly where your business stands
- A clear benchmark of your capabilities across six key areas: Strategy, Value, Data, Technology, People, and Governance
- Actionable recommendations to bridge capability gaps and inform your next steps.
Whether you’re exploring AI for the first time or advancing existing capabilities, this expert-guided assessment provides the clarity you need.
For more information on the free checks GO HERE
3. Industrial Strategy Zones
The Government is bringing together its support for Freeports and Investment Zones under a single banner of Industrial Strategy Zones. Funding, planning and other means of public support, and leveraging private sector support, will be focused on these Industrial Strategy Zones as set out in a new Action Plan.
The Action Plan promises more financial support like the £23 million funding package from the West Midlands Investment Zone to power up the Coventry and Warwick Gigapark with the installation of a dedicated energy supply capable of supporting large-scale battery production. It promises to devolve Financial Transaction Funding to Mayors like Richard Parker. It also promises that the National Wealth Fund will enhance its offer across all Industrial Strategy Zones (it has £27.8 billion to drive investment and growth across the UK and can offer a range of financing options).
For more information, see the Action Plan GO HERE
West Midlands Region News
1. West Midlands Business Festival 2026
The West Midlands Business Festival will return in 2026 (2-13 Feb), following the success of the inaugural event earlier this year. The festival, which provides significant networking and knowledge sharing opportunities, will return with the theme ‘Growth Without Limits’; with applications to host an event currently open.
For more on this news GO HERE
2. Global Talent Funding for University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is among 12 elite UK institutions chosen to share £54 million from the Government’s Global Talent Fund. We will use our £4.35m allocation to recruit exceptional international researchers to strengthen our expertise in key national growth areas linked to life sciences, technology and defence.
For the University’s news report GO HERE
3. Record West Midlands Inward Investment
The West Midlands has reinforced its position as the UK’s leading regional destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), performing strongly again.
During the 2024/25 financial year, the West Midlands represented the top-performing UK location outside of London for inward investment.
The West Midlands attracted more investment projects than Northern Ireland and Wales combined, and more FDI jobs than the South East and the South West combined.
According to official data from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), 130 FDI projects landed in the region during the 2024/25 financial year – more projects than Northern Ireland and Wales combined. This represents 9.4% of the UK’s total FDI wins (1,345) – the largest share of all UK regions outside the capital.
For the news report of the Growth Company GO HERE.
National and International News
1. Backing your business: Government’s plan for SMEs
This newly-published plan promises small and medium-sized enterprises a number of actions to support growth, including:
- Legislate to end late payments
- Modernise the tax and customs system
- Support to realise net zero opportunities and reduce energy costs
- Expand Start-up Loans to another 69,000 new businesses
- Boost access to finance through British Business Bank’s Growth
Guarantee Scheme
- Expand the capacity of the ENABLE programme by £3 billion to £5 billion
- Transforming business rates starting in April 2026
- Banning Upward Only Rent Review clauses in commercial leases
- Boost adoption of the latest technologies amongst small businesses
- Back the next generation of young entrepreneurs, by promoting enterprise
education and competitions in schools, colleges and universities, and launching a new ‘Youth Entrepreneur’ category of the King’s Awards for Enterprise
- Engage with SMEs on accessing apprenticeships and T-Levels
- Expand UK Export Finance’s capacity by £20 billion to £80 billion, including a Small Export Builder insurance product
- Making it easier for smaller businesses to win government contracts.
For more information on these actions GO HERE
2. Connected Places Catapult Summit
The Connected Places Catapult is hosting a forum about Innovation Districts in London on 25th September. They aim to bring together innovation leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders from across the UK for a high-impact summit focused on driving collaboration, investment and skills development across innovation districts.
Date: 23 September 2025
Time: 10.00-16.00
Location: Impact Hub London King’s Cross, 34b York Way, London, N1 9AB
For more information and to register GO HERE
3. 100 Community Diagnostics Centres
100 Community Diagnostic Centres across the country now offer out of hours services, 12 hours a day seven days a week. Tens of thousands of patients across England can now access vital diagnostic tests and scans out of hours and in their community, with 100 Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) opening in the evenings and on weekends.
Patients no longer have to choose between their job and vital health appointments as more centres open 12 hours a day, seven days a week based in convenient settings closer to people’s homes like shopping centres, community hospitals, and university campuses.
For the Department of Health and Social Care’s news GO HERE
CheckUp Health App
SPOTLIGHT ON…
Founder of Check Up Health, Fungai Ndemera, has been a good supporter of the Cluster since it was set up in 2021.
From its base in Wolverhampton, CheckUp Health is pioneering next-generation GP platforms that are transforming primary healthcare. A diverse team, with over a century of combined clinical, technical, and operational expertise, is committed to making digital healthcare accessible, inclusive, and equitable for all. Inspired by real NHS challenges and powered by deep healthcare insight, the platforms are designed to meet the needs of patients and providers alike.
This empowers GPs, clinicians, and practice administrative teams with digital tools that enhance decision-making, streamline day-to-day operations, and improve patient outcomes. With support for bespoke AI customisation, multilingual features, and culturally tailored design, CheckUp Health ensures no one is left behind—no matter their language, background, or access level.
Fungai is excited that CheckUp Health remains one of only four core suppliers chosen by NHS England for the Tech Innovation Framework (TIF)Local innovation, national impact—leading the way in digital transformation for GP IT.
I hope you enjoy reading my e-bulletin. Feel free to contact me personally with your feedback and suggestions for future activities at david@wmhtc.co.uk
Regards,
Executive Chair, August 2025