CLUSTER NEWS – January 2025
A West Midlands share of new Life Sciences funding?
The Government’s new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund has a lot of money on offer – £520M. But the eligibility criteria are challenging. Here at the cluster, we are looking to see if we can find a suitable applicant – the applicant has to be a single UK company – supported by a collaborative team of partners willing to back the bid and be part of the Life Sciences proposition.
The applicant might be an established HealthTech business already involved in manufacturing or looking to get involved in manufacturing. Or the applicant might be an established manufacturer looking to diversify or pivot and enter a Life Sciences market.
Partners in the project may include Manufacturing Technologies Centre, SCC and Warwick Manufacturing Group. Just get in touch with me if you want to know more or if you have an idea that may be worth us pursuing.
CLUSTER’S EVENTS
Emma will shortly publish our 2025 calendar of events. Expect more webinars and face to face meetings as well as social events and of course our contribution to Birmingham Tech Week next October. More immediately, you will find us at Venturefest again this year – 19 March 2025 at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham.
My roundtable for stakeholders as part of the development of a single Narrative for HealthTech in the West Midlands will be held on 20 February. Government Departments, Innovate UK, British Business Bank and other significant national and regional players will join some of the biggest HealthTech companies in our region to agree a single narrative which we can all get behind.
I have become a member of a new Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) cluster, being led by MTC (Manufacturing Technologies Centre) and we are planning a conference to explore the potential for growth in our region’s HealthTech sector based on RAS adoption by more businesses.
I continue to participate in the Growth Company’s training programme on Strategic Relationship Management. The programme is part of a push by the West Midlands as a whole to improve relationships and services for businesses.
HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR NEWS
New £7M Clinical Trials Unit
A new £7m clinical trial research centre will serve more than four million people, including those in deprived areas, in the West Midlands. The Central and North West Midlands (C&NWM) Commercial Research Delivery Centre (CRDC) will be based at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. More than 20 partners including NHS trusts in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Staffordshire and Shropshire are involved.
People will be able to join research trials easier, mobile research units will be used as well as digital technologies to ensure it reaches people who have never participated in research. The centre will be one of 14 in England over the next seven year as part of £72m plans by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHCR) starting from April.
As part of a 10-year health plan, the NIHCR said the centres will shift clinical trials from large hospital trusts into community settings, helping underserved regions and opening up access for people.
Funding opportunities
Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe is an opportunity for all types of UK organisations (including businesses and academia) to get funding for research and innovation. UKEI’s Business Connect provides services to UK businesses to help them access this funding.
European Events Travel Awards
Since September 2023, Innovate UK has supported SMEs looking to expand into Europe by providing travel awards to enable innovators to attend events in several different countries and form new collaborative partnerships to help their business grow and simultaneously strengthen the UK economy. Innovate UK has offered European event travel awards with up to £700 available for UK businesses to attend European events. This travel support has enabled participants to discuss collaborative Horizon Europe projects, learn about upcoming European R&D funding opportunities and form impactful global business partnerships.
Innovation Loans
Round 19 of Innovate UK’s innovation loans future economy is now open.
UK registered businesses can apply for loans for innovative projects with strong commercial potential to significantly improve the UK economy.
The competition opened on Thursday 9 January 2025 and closes on Wednesday 5 March 2025 11:00am.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership funding
Round 5 of the funding competition for Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2024 to 2025 is now open. UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £9 million to fund innovation projects with businesses or not for profits.
The competition opened in December 2024 and will close on Wednesday 12 February 2025 11:00am.
Kick Start for Health Tech is filling up quickly!
If you have a health tech idea, don’t miss out on filling in the Expression of Interest form as there are only a few days left!
This is a free-to-access programme of support for HealthTech entrepreneurs and innovators. This is a collaborative effort between West Midlands Health Technologies Cluster (WMHTC) and Birmingham Enterprise Community (BEC), with support from a wide range of our partners and stakeholders.
New MedTech qualification at Level 4
The Awarding Organisation Pearsons has now started work on preparing the new MedTech qualification – modular, Level 4 – for approval and piloting. This is going to be a real feather in our West Midlands cap if the piloting goes well and the qualification gets adopted nationwide at a later stage.
I thank those of you who responded to my call for help with the formation of an advisory group and a verification panel and for individuals to help with content writing for the curriculum. The responses I have received have been very helpful indeed. You should be hearing directly from Pearsons about now – let me know if you haven’t heard anything.
Venturefest Mobile Hub
The Venturefest Mobile Hub, which is in partnership with Coventry University and Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, will be in Coventry on 06 February. The 3-hour event helps businesses to identify opportunities and understand their challenges. It’s a first step businesses can take on their journey to innovation and growth. Attendees will:
- Hear from other businesses on how they engaged with support to overcome barriers.
- Take part in an Innovation Canvas workshop led by Innovate UK.
- Find out about support and grants for businesses.
To reserve your place at the event click here.
Life Sciences Week
The people behind Technology Supply Chain are aiming to run a Life Sciences Week in Birmingham 15-19 September 2025.
If you are interested in hosting an event, speaking on a panel or sponsorship opportunities, have a look at the Life Sciences Week website.
Attendance at events during the Life Sciences Week will offer opportunities to:
- Discover emerging trends in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
- Network with industry leaders, investors, and policymakers.
- Gain valuable insights from keynote speeches and panel discussions led by experts.
- Explore sponsorship opportunities to boost your company’s profile in the life science sector.
Digital Health Business Networking Event: How is health data research driving better care?
One-day conference to explore how we can work together to accelerate life sciences collaborations that will help unlock the region’s potential. From using health data research to improve healthcare products so they are ready to go to market to how AI and data-science is driving real-world evidence generation.
The conference will be held on Monday 03 March 2025 at Edgbaston Park Hotel, 53 Edgbaston Park Rd, Birmingham B15 2RS.
Register now to secure your place at this event.
WEST MIDLANDS REGION NEWS
Funding for our region’s innovators and inventors
Both the region’s Innovation Accelerator and Made Smarter programme will get fresh funding for 2025-26 so they can continue to support businesses and drive growth across the West Midlands.
These are programmes that support businesses, researchers and entrepreneurs get expert advice and funding to commercialise new and emerging products and technologies through the Innovation Accelerator and technical support or grants to help them adopt new digital machinery and processes to increase productivity and drive growth through Made Smarter. The funds will continue to be overseen by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
You can read more on the WMCA’s website.
Business Energy Advisory Service (BEAS)
For the past two years, the West Midlands has been operating a pilot service for businesses involving access to a free energy audit and a report making recommendations for becoming more energy-efficient and reducing carbon emissions, for example by switching to renewable energy sources. The actions recommended in reports are eligible for grant funding of up to 50 per cent of the cost of the works.
WMCA has been negotiating with the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) for this service to be extended beyond March of this year. Alongside these talks, DESNZ is looking to roll out BEAS nationally if the evaluation of the West Midlands pilot is positive.
I will keep you posted on developments.
Unlocking Net Zero
UKRI has an online Introduction to the Support Ecosystem for UK SMEs on 11 February, 12 noon to 1.00pm.
This webinar will showcase the ecosystem of organisations working to support UK SMEs on their Net Zero journey. You will hear from those leading national initiatives as well as those providing tailored support for SMEs in the devolved nations.
By the end of the session, you will:
- Have an understanding of the key organisations who are offering net zero support and advice for SMEs
- Be aware of the resources and programmes available to help SMEs on their climate and wider sustainability journey.
To register for this webinar click here.
New Partner for Birmingham Law Firm
Gayle Curry has joined Mills & Reeve to support the growth of their commercial HealthTech practice. Gayle, who is an experienced commercial health lawyer with expertise in HealthTech, has joined from Mishcon de Reya where she was a partner in the firm’s commercial and technology groups.
Her appointment also sees a return to Mills & Reeve for Gayle, who was previously head of commercial health at their Birmingham office. In her new role, Gayle will have a national HealthTech role.
Gayle’s practice will complement, in particular, the firm’s existing and growing practices in the life sciences and technology sectors.
West Midlands Business Festival March 2025
West Midlands Business Festival is a new initiative by Business Growth West Midlands. It will showcase the region as a fantastic place to work, live and do business.
Taking place from Monday 3 – Friday 14 March 2025, the festival will include an exciting programme of free events put on by business for business. Events will promote growth, collaboration and skills development.
Businesses can get involved as event hosts and anyone can join the mailing list for future details. There is a dedicated website for the Festival.
10th Anniversary of Venturefest
Also in March 2025, we will be helping celebrate ten years of Venturefest, our region’s premier platform for connecting investors, innovators and entrepreneurs.
Venturefest West Midlands continues to bring together regional businesses, universities, science parks and business support organisations. It will be held on Wednesday 19 March 2025 at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham. Running alongside Venturefest West Midlands will be Birmingham Pitch Up, a pitching competition for business owners, giving a unique opportunity for businesses to raise their profile both in the West Midlands and in front of a national audience of investors.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Funding for Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing
I am talking to HealthTech and manufacturing interests in our region about whether we can mount a realistic bid for funding from the Government’s £520 million Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund.
The funding will be 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 products
- Medical diagnostics – for both disease identification and monitoring.
- MedTech products – all types of medical devices related to human health.
The fund will remain open until all the funding has been allocated.
Our challenges are around the conditions for getting funding, including one private company must be the applicant, the capital cost of the project must be at least £8M, and the funding from Government is to supplement existing capital (to be the difference between a good plan going ahead or not).
Improving Social Care with Technologies and digital platforms
The UK Government has set out plans for investment and reforms to improve adult social care through harnessing care technology and a new digital platform for information sharing. The aim is for adult social care to help older people to live at home for longer and will create new national standards to ensure providers and families are using the best care technology. The government will also develop a shared digital platform to allow medical information to be shared between the NHS and care staff, including when someone last took their medication.
The immediate plans are part of a wider, long-term plan for social care reform, and are backed by a total of £711m investment that will help to reduce hospitalisations and enable up to 7,800 more disabled and elderly people to live more independent lives.
The plans will set out new national standards aimed at helping care providers know which technologies are fit for purpose, secure and able to connect with wider NHS and social care systems in the future. They will also help technology suppliers know where to invest. Examples of such technology include sensor-based technologies that can prevent and reduce the impact of falls, enabling people to live independently for longer and decreasing demand on the NHS and social care.
Health and care services by will also be joined up through digital systems through a shared platform. This will enable health and care staff to access real-time social care, GP and hospital data, with the aim for all care providers to be fully digitised, and for staff to have access to essential medical information in a timely way.
Government attempts to make it easier to sell hearing aids
In a new policy statement, the Department of Health and Social Care says tens of thousands of people with hearing loss could benefit from “Green light for companies to sell innovative devices”, such as earphones with hearing aid functionality.
These are products which allow someone to take a hearing test at home using their earphones and an app on their phone. If the test indicates mild to moderate hearing loss, the person can then switch on the hearing aid function on the same earphones.
Spotlight on…
Hydrogel
Cluster Member Hydrogel Healthcare Ltd is a one-stop place for knowledge, expertise and experience in hydrogels for biomedical applications. The company is a large-scale manufacturer of hydrogel rolls, makes final products for biomedical electrodes, wound care dressings, chest seals, face masks and more, and provides research and development services to companies requiring niche market applications of adhesive hydrogels or pressure sensitive adhesives.
Led by Founder, Dr Mohammed Yasin (BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, FIMMM), a renowned global expert in hydrogels, Hydrogel has secured a new partnership which enables the company to showcase its new range of hydrogels to customers across the world.
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.
