WM HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES CLUSTER LTD
HealthTech WM Newsletter – May 2025
Life Sciences Week 2025
The West Midlands has taken the lead in organising an 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.
Already a huge number of people have expressed an interest in being part of the activities, and you will find an impressive list of events that are already confirmed on the West Midlands Life Sciences Week website.
If you want to find out which events to attend, or host your own event during Life Sciences Week, just head over to the website to register your interest.
Events
We are seeking funding for a successor programme to Kick Start for HealthTech, provisionally entitled Gateway to HealthTech Innovation, for 2025-26. Stand by for details of the new programme if our funding application is successful.
I chaired the latest meeting of our Board of Directors on 20th May.
I attended the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) webinar on 21st May.
I took part in the West Midlands Investment Zone stakeholders’ meeting on 29th May.
Coming up:
09 June Midlands Economit Summit at The Vox – Productivity will be a key issue to explore – It’s a pay-for event, tickets at Tickets – Nachural
17/06 Business Growth Through Exporting Forum at The Studio, Cannon St, Birmingham – Join UK Export Finance, West Midlands Combined Authority, Department for Business and Trade and independent export finance experts to find funding and support available for UK companies looking to trade overseas – Programme and registration herehttps://eu.eventsclou
26/06 Robotics and Autonomous Systems in Healthcare at University of Birmingham’s Medical School – contact me if interested in attending
30/06 Cybersecurity in Healthcare at John Cadbury House, Corporation St, Birmingham 2-4pm – hosted at Aston University and presented by the Innovative Health Working Group, in partnership with the WM Cyber Working Group, the critical issues every business should be addressing – register to attend here
15-19/09 Life Sciences Week – full details here:
Funding Opportunities
1. WMIP Flexible Innovation Fund 2025-26
£715,000 funding is available to support small-scale projects that address barriers to innovation in the West Midlands and create new collaborative approaches, driving growth across our region’s key clusters and sectors.
This opportunity will support a minimum of six pilot projects to be delivered in 2025–2026.
The closing date for bids is: 09 June 2025, 5.00pm.
Full details here
2. Forging Ahead/Forging Beyond
As part of a £30M Government-funded initiative to prime the Public sector to bring innovative ideas out of government labs and onto the market, a ”mini-Mindforge” is receiving almost £10 million over 5 years to address the talent, expertise and skills gaps in the Midlands by creating a Talent Pool, inward investment champions and innovation networks. The project will particularly target Heath, Advanced Manufacturing, Net Zero, and Creative & Digital sectors.
Full details here
3. WM Co Investment Fund
Midven still has WMCA funds to provide innovative businesses with equity of up to £1m when matched by private co-investment, helping them to expand and develop the region’s companies of the future. The fund aims to support SMEs with brilliant, well-developed propositions and vision who are hungry for growth.
For further details see 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. Innovate UK innovation loans future economy: round 21
Innovate UK is offering up to £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 for applications is 02 July 2025, 11.00am.
You can read all the details here
Health Technologies Sector News
1. Cambridge Healthcare Research
News this month that Cambridge Healthcare Research plans to create up to 40 new roles at its research centre in Bull Street, Birmingham. The company already has a presence in Cambridge and London and offers specialist research services to clients around the globe.
For more information about the company, see its website.
2. Your opportunity to inform new research into smart technologies
A new University of Birmingham research project is looking at the manufacture and development of smart technologies for health to understand how they navigate regulation in practice and what, if any, impact considerations of IP/AI/Medical Devices regulation have on the development of smart technologies.
The lead researcher, Louise Hatherall, has asked me if I can appeal to you to share your experiences in the empirical component of the research. She is also really eager to ensure this research is beneficial for business, so would like members of industry to help shape the themes the research might address and contribute to some of the policy guidance she hopes to develop.
Your input can be as much or as little as you like. Maybe host visit by Louise and talk her through your work, or attend workshops, or be part of the research project’s advisory group. You would get some positive exposure through taking part and the research findings might be useful for you and other West Midlands HealthTech businesses.
If you are interested, please contact me and I will introduce you to Louise.
3. A new Community Diagnostics Centre
You may have seen the news on BBC Midlands Today this month of a brand new £15M Community Diagnostic Centre, officially opened by Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care at the Department of Health and Social Care.
Located in Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre, the centre provides the latest cutting-edge diagnostic imaging technology for X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound and other health screening, including endoscopy.
Further information about this “brilliant idea” can be found here.
4. HealthTech WM Narrative
We are on the last leg now of producing a single Narrative for HealthTech WM. I received lots of suggestions for improving my previous draft document – and I made changes as appropriate. Now a near-final Narrative has been circulated for sign off before I get design and graphics in to produce the final document.
The current, near-final, draft of the Narrative is constructed around four strengths:
- Digital connectivity (in all its senses)
- Innovation ingrained
- Unrivalled Collaboration
- Proven Track Record.
In summing up these strengths, the suggested Key Words for promotion of our sector are:
Connect – Innovate – Collaborate – Achieve
I will share the Narrative with you all as soon as possible.
If you want any further information about the Narrative at this stage, get in touch now with David Kidney: david@wmhtc.co.uk
West Midlands Region News
1. West Midlands Futures Green Paper
The Green Paper is a conversation for everyone in the West Midlands about the future of the region for inclusive growth and sustainability. It presages, and will inform, the Local Growth Plan which the Government has asked the Combined Authority to produce.
You can respond directly to the Green Paper’s questions until 08 June. The details of the consultation are here.
Thousands of partners have been contacted, there have been two webinars and a roundtable with Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, and presentations and engagement at events run by the Centre for the New Midlands and British Venture Capital Association. The Green Paper also featured at UKREiiF in the West Midlands pavilion and a webinar on the public service innovation chapter. Many organisations helped raise awareness of the consultation, including WMHTC, Sustainability West Midlands and Birmingham Voluntary Service Council.
A Local Growth Plan will be produced next. The rich data and discussion generated in our region will also influence, hopefully, the Government’s National Industrial Strategy and related 10-year Plans (for example, NHS, Science).
2. Spin out success Delta g
Congratulations to the team at University of Birmingham and its quantum spin-out Delta.g for winning the 2025 Institute of Physics Business and Innovation Group (qBIG) Prize for creating the world’s first field-deployable quantum gravity gradiometer.
Founded by Professor Michael Holynski, Jonathan Winch and Dr Andrew Lamb in 2023, and joined by startup veteran Tony Lowe, Delta.g has fast-tracked the commercial availability of ground-breaking quantum technology sensors that will map underground spaces.
For more on this story see here.
3. UK Export Academy – upcoming webinars
Coming up, subjects for discussion at UK Export Academy webinars are:
- How to access finance to help you sell overseas – 17 June, 10am
- Ensuring compliance and sustainability with Digital Product Passports (DPPs) – 25 July, 10am
If either subject is important to your business, head over to their website for full details and registration.
4. Reduce your digital carbon footprint
To reduce your carbon footprint, your business can implement several strategies focused on sustainable technology use.
Conducting a comprehensive energy audit is a crucial first step, as it will help identify areas where energy efficiency can be improved.
Upgrading to energy-efficient hardware, such as servers and computers with high energy ratings, can significantly reduce electricity consumption. Additionally, transitioning to cloud computing services that utilise renewable energy sources can decrease reliance on energy-intensive on-site data centres.
Optimising data management practices also plays a vital role. Implementing data compression techniques, reducing redundant data storage and scheduling non-essential data processing during off-peak hours can lower energy usage. Encouraging employees to reduce unnecessary emails and limit large attachments can decrease data transfer demands.
Smaller energy-saving practices such as powering down equipment when it is not in use and minimising unnecessary printing can make a difference.
Investing in renewable energy solutions, such as installing solar panels or purchasing green energy from suppliers, can offset the carbon emissions associated with technology use. Collaborating with technology providers that prioritise sustainability in their operations can help you meet your environmental goals.
Simply staying informed about the environmental impact of emerging technologies like AI will enable your business to make conscious decisions about their implementation.
Business Growth WM may be able to help you. For example, you may be able to get an energy audit for free.
Check out this article for details of the help you could get from Business Growth WM.
5. DigiSpin WM – a Technology Transfer Pilot
Funded by Research England and led by Coventry University, with partners Birmingham City University and University of Wolverhampton through the West Midlands Combined Universities, DigiSpin WM set out to test one big idea:
Can we build a shared model for spinning out digital and advanced manufacturing innovations — faster, smarter, and more investable
To date (6 months in):
✔️ 40+ technologies assessed
✔️ Bespoke support for spin-out and IP development
✔️ 11 investor-ready innovations now preparing to pitch
✔️ A unified framework for tech transfer across the West Midlands
I can only find details on LinkedIn, so if you are interested to know more you will need to go through that route to contact the DigiSpin WM team.
National and International News
1. 10-Year R&D Budgets
The Government intends to support long-term, ten-year funding for some R&D activities. Vital R&D work exploring innovation in areas as diverse as human health and cutting-edge computing will be given much-needed long-term certainty under new criteria announced by Science Minister Lord Vallance.
The plan is to provide long-term certainty to researchers and industry, deepening opportunities for partnerships in vital R&D work that could transform the UK economy. Guidance underpinning the Government’s intention, a key manifesto commitment, supports the Government’s upcoming Industrial Strategy and delivering growth as part of its Plan for Change.
You can read the Government’s announcement in full here.
2. Smart technology powering a greener NHS
For those with an interest in NHS developments, especially in technology usage, an article in Health Tech World sets out some of the key areas of activity in modernising NHS practices while cutting carbon footprints.
Healthcare buildings alone account for 15 per cent of the NHS’ total carbon footprint, which means reducing emissions in this area is essential. Especially if the NHS is to reach its goal of becoming the world’s first net zero health system.
To achieve this, it will have to find new ways to reduce emissions and embed energy conservation into its buildings. Technology will have an important role to play in making this possible.
You can read the full article here.
3. You wait ages for one trade deal – and three come along at once
It would be remiss of me not to mention the three trade deals negotiated by the UK and announced this week – with USA, India and the EU. They are by no means comprehensive trade agreements, but they have helped steady nerves after the shocks affecting global trade on the back of the announcements of new tariffs by USA.
Some of the worst effects have been removed, and others better mitigated, and as well, there are some genuine opportunities in HealthTech trade, especially in India.
SPOTLIGHT ON…
WTW/Wills
WTW is a risk, insurance, and HR management firm with over 700 life science clients globally. Their specialists have a deep understanding of the changes impacting the HealthTech industry and can partner with you to create solutions that mitigate and transfer risk.
Life Sciences is a strategic industry for WTW globally and specifically for its Life Sciences hub based in Birmingham. They’ve been providing Risk Management and Insurance advice to West Midlands businesses for decades, and with the Towers Watson merger in 2016, their offering extended to include ‘people’ risk, Employee Benefits, Talent acquisition and retention, executive compensation, salary benchmarking, and the like.
Their experts will be at the inaugural West Midlands Life Science Week in September to answer any questions, but if you’d like to contact their team personally beforehand, please contact:
Barbara Dainty Barbara.dainty@wtwco.com
Neil Emerson neil.emerson@wtwco.com
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.
