CLUSTER NEWS – March 2025
West Midlands Life Sciences Week 15 – 19 September 2025
Did you know that outside London there is no settled celebration of the UK’s Life Sciences sectors?
Enterprising players at the Technology Supply Chain have therefore turned their hand to putting forward the West Midlands to fill this gap. These are the same people who helped launch Birmingham Tech Week – and look what a success that has become!
There will be an inaugural Life Sciences Week from 15th to 19th September, and the event is underpinned by a West Midlands Life Sciences Week website.
WM Health Technologies Cluster is a partner organisation for Life Sciences Week.
It’s possible to register to attend, apply to host an event during Life Sciences Week and even to be a sponsor.
Check out the website.
CLUSTER’S EVENTS
The roundtable for stakeholders I convened on 20 February as part of the development of a single Narrative for HealthTech in the West Midlands has led to my creating a draft narrative for consideration by the stakeholders.
The University of Birmingham Digital Health Business Networking Event on 03 March was packed full of useful information about how health data research can drive better patient care.
Venturefest on 19 March 2025 was a great success at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham. We ran a stand, presented Kick Start for HealthTech and met huge numbers of people there.
Kick Start for HealthTech sessions continued throughout March with masterclasses, webinars and 1-2-1 mentoring.
I shall be at a Future Skills and Economy Thematic Panel meeting at UCB on 15th April.
Funding Opportunities
1. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
£9M in grants available for UK registered academic institutions, research and technology organisations or Catapults to apply to fund innovation projects with businesses or not for profits. Projects must be led by a UK registered higher education or further education institution, research and technology organisation or Catapult and must involve collaboration with a UK registered business, eligible public sector organisation, charity or charitable business with two or more full time employees. The business must contribute to the project’s costs.
The Closing Date for applications is 09 April.
See UKRI for details here.
2. Decarbonisation Net Zero Programme
Free Energy Assessments and Grants from £1000 – £100,000 for small to medium businesses are available thanks to Business Energy Advice Service and West Midlands Combined Authority – supporting businesses in the West Midlands to reduce their environmental impact.
Expert advice to businesses enables them to implement significant decarbonization measures, while lowering energy costs. Businesses in the West Midlands can register to access support here.
3. Coventry Investment Readiness Programme
This programme offers free guidance to SMEs in Coventry to help them secure external investment through debt finance, grants, crowdfunding, and more. Funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, this programme supports start-ups and high-growth businesses by providing expert advice and mentoring to refine investment pitches. Eligible Coventry-based businesses can register by emailing: investmentreadiness@cwgrowthhub.co.uk
See Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub website for more information.
4. APCUK: Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator 4
Innovate UK and partners are offering UK registered businesses a share of up to £25 million for late stage R&D projects that help accelerate the UK transition to zero emission vehicles and towards a net zero automotive future. Whilst this is not directly funding for HealthTech businesses, this is included in case there are HealthTech companies with an interest in fleet management or logistics where this may be relevant to itself, its suppliers or its partners.
The deadline to apply is 02 April 2025.
See Innovate UK details here.
5. Innovation loans – future economy
UK registered businesses can apply for loans for innovative projects with strong commercial potential to significantly improve the UK economy. This is a competitive lending fund of £25 million in loans to micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Innovate UK innovation loans are for highly innovative late stage research and development (R&D) projects with the best potential for the future. There must be a clear route to commercialisation and economic impact.
Your project must lead to innovative new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of others currently available, or propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. It can also involve a new or innovative business model.
Closing date: Round 20 will close on 07 May, 11am.
HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR NEWS
1. NICE’s priorities in HeathTech innovation
If you’re developing a healthtech product, understanding NICE’s priorities is crucial. Currently, NICE is focussing on innovations addressing:
- Mental health
- Early cancer detection/diagnosis
- Diabetes
- Musculoskeletal conditions
- Women’s health
- Respiratory conditions
- Neurology.
NICE’s prioritisation board will publish updated priorities for 2025/26 in June 2025.
To learn how this may be relevant to your work, see this page on NICE’s website.
2. Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF)
No firm news yet that I am able to share with you but it is likely that there will be applications from the West Midlands for funding from the Government’s £520 million LSIMF.
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.
Whilst the applicant has to be a single UK business, I remain convinced that a strong and broad collaborative venture is the way to go for a successful application for our region.
3. HealthTech WM Narrative
The narrative roundtable held on 20th February was a great success. Stakeholders from businesses, universities and government agencies came together to settle on a way forward for our mutual promotion of HealthTech in the West Midlands. I have written a first draft of the narrative and shared it with stakeholders for them to comment. I believe that the narrative will be most meaningful if there is the widest possible input from everyone who has an interest in our success.
Please contact me if you would like to have more details.
WEST MIDLANDS REGION NEWS
1. Productivity in the Midlands
This Midlands Insight Report offers a strategic assessment of the productivity landscape, highlighting key challenges and proposing practical solutions.
The Midlands faces several pressing productivity challenges, including workforce and skills shortages, infrastructure and connectivity gaps, regional economic disparities, and underinvestment in R&D. Persistent skills gaps in high-demand areas, such as manufacturing and digital technology, limit the region’s growth potential, while inadequate transport and digital infrastructure constrain economic mobility.
The report presents solutions that tackle these issues holistically. Recommendations include:
- Expand vocational training, reskilling programs, and lifelong learning initiatives aligned with high-growth sectors.
- Target investments to improve transport and digital networks, particularly in underserved areas, ensuring better access to jobs and services.
- Bolster R&D and innovation capacity through increased funding and incentives for private-sector participation, particularly within collaborative R&D hubs that connect industry with regional universities.
- Align policy across combined and independent authorities
- Strengthen supply chain resilience through greater integration, regional logistics hubs, and initiatives to reduce dependence on international sources.
To access the full report, go to the website of the Productivity Institute.
2. Business Energy Advisory Service (BEAS)
It has been confirmed that there will be £14M of further funding for what has been for the past two years the West Midlands pilot of a free energy advice service to local businesses. A written audit report making recommendations for becoming more energy-efficient and reducing carbon emissions, for example by switching to renewable energy sources, attracts grants to help pay for the recommended works as well. The scheme covers all the West Midlands region and you can read more about it and register for a free assessment on Business Growth WM’s website.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 (Act) is now live as of Monday 24 February 2025. Suppliers need to ensure that their organisation is ready for the changes and carry out due diligence against its supply chain.
Local solicitors VWV have put together a list of top tips and some resources to help you prepare in this blog.
For suppliers the Act means greater transparency of opportunities, less prescriptive procurement routes and a one-stop shop for registering supplier information. As well as the benefits, suppliers need to be aware that with greater opportunities, come higher expectations on supplier performance.
2. Deep tech adoption
Tim Lawrence, Director of the Digital Supply Chain Hub, Digital Catapult outlines in this blog the importance of breaking down technological barriers to improve supply chain resilience in the UK.
While falling behind their larger counterparts, the tide may well be turning for SMEs, with a growing number looking to improve their supply chains, with digital technologies and innovation holding the key.
3. Promoting mental health in the workplace
In this online masterclass session, the Institute of Health Promotion and Education will present the rationale for promoting mental health through workplace settings and explain the business case for organisations. The focus will be on the importance of training line managers in mental health, which is a ‘primary prevention’ approach to improving mental health at work that is recommended in national and international policy.
Tuesday 10th May 2025, 10.00 – 11,00am.
See here for more details and how to register for this free-to-attend session.
Spotlight on…
West Midlands Investment Zone
Investment Zones represent a Government initiative to stimulate growth across the UK. You may know that the designation of an Investment Zone in the West Midlands is in three parts:
- Birmingham Knowledge Quarter
- Coventry & Warwick District Gigapark
- Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor.
The focus of each part is, respectively Advanced Manufacturing, Energy Storage and Additive Manufacturing.
There are advantages for businesses setting up in the Investment Zone, such as relief from Stamp Duty and availability of grants. There are advantages for the local authorities, especially the ability to retain Business Rates locally rather than having to remit them to central government.
All three sites are up and running. There is governance in place for overseeing the Investment Zone and there is also a Stakeholder Group, of which I am a member. If you are interested in learning more about the West Midlands Investment Zone, please get in touch with me.
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.
