Funding secured to drive growth in the Northwest's medical technology sector
SMEs in the Northwest's medical technology sector are set to benefit from a £816,000 investment that will enable Medilink North West to increase its resources and support for the sector.
Medilink North West aims to encourage the growth and profitability of medical technology businesses in the region through providing members with business support services, access to funding opportunities and networking events, as well as signposting regulatory changes.
The funding, which consists of £416,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and £400,000 from the Northwest European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), aims to increase the exploitation of new R&D opportunities in health technology innovation through networks, special interest groups, clinical access and universities/hospitals, the provision of which will provide a continual pipeline of new innovation opportunities to SMEs in the sector. The project will generate 32 jobs and create 18 new businesses.
The Northwest has one of the largest clusters of medical and health technology companies anywhere in the UK, with 73 hospitals, 15 universities and internationally renowned specialist centres of excellence in genetics, cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, immunology, minimally invasive surgery, biomaterials, biotechnology and tissue engineering.
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said:
"The medical technology sector is strategically important to the region's biomedical industry. Despite the current economic conditions, it has demonstrated year on year growth and through increasing innovation in the sector, it has the potential to grow even further.
Through providing a specialised knowledge gateway, this project will support medical technology companies in developing innovative new products and processes, raising awareness of finance available and providing access to new markets."
Mike Gill, CEO Medilink North West Ltd, said:
"This award which combines support from ERDF & NWDA funding is crucial to our business plan progression to take Medilink North West through to 2012 and beyond. We now have a truly viable opportunity to build on the hard work and resultant success of the past 2+ years and increase our services to medical & health technology businesses in the North West.
We aim to increase our membership of SME's to Medilink North West and create many more innovation opportunities, whilst increasing involvement and collaboration with universities and the NHS throughout the region.
The business of getting good innovative health technology products to the patient & user will create & safeguard jobs and help to create new businesses too."
The Medilink North West project is part of Solutions for Business, the Government's package of publicly funded business support designed to help companies start and grow.
Liz Meek, Chair of the ERDF Programme Monitoring Committee, said:
"European funding is all about stimulating enterprise and supporting growth in priority sectors. This will increase the support already given to the health and technology sector in the region and will ensure that SMEs have access to a specialist network that will further assist their growth and development."