?? The time is now, the opportunity is here.
This week’s Yorkshire Post Health and Life Sciences Business Breakfast galvanised dynamic organisations and innovators in a bold vision for the future of health innovation in our region.
We were delighted to be a part of it as sponsors and attendees, joining industry, government, NHS, and academia to explore the enormous strengths and opportunities of the UK’s largest county.
In an inspiring opening session, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire shared how – as one of its fastest growing sectors – health is intertwined with the region’s economic ambitions. From a ￡160m West Yorkshire Health Tech and Digital Tech Investment Zone (https://lnkd.in/eFxjDKps) to an historic trade and investment pact with Nashville (https://lnkd.in/ecuRyTnd), the Mayor described how the region is well on its way to becoming the go-to location for #healthinnovation.
Did you know?
?? West Yorkshire is home to more than 600 health and life sciences firms
?? … and in the past 5yrs, investment growth in healthtech businesses has grown exponentially from ￡2m to ￡30m
Director of Enterprise and Innovation at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, Dr Neville Young, chaired two thought-provoking panel discussions.
Felix Kumi-Ampofo (West Yorkshire Combined Authority), Jessica K?hne (C.ErgHF) (ClariMed, Inc.), Prof. Liz Towns-Andrews OBE (The University of Huddersfield) and @John McCormack (EMIS) explored Yorkshire’s role in shaping the future of #healthtech in the UK. This includes the fundamental role of academia in catalysing industry growth across the region – with 11 Yorkshire universities contributing to an invaluable pipeline of talent, driving economic and societal impact and supporting innovators through #spinout company creation.
Did you know? Leeds is:
?? one of the top academic hubs for spin-out company creation in the UK
???? home to 3 major universities, with 17,000 STEM graduates/year across the region
?? the UK’s top-performing city for business scale ups
The second panel session, featuring Nick Hex (York Health Economics Consortium), Nathan Berry (Nexus Leeds – University of Leeds), Luella Trickett (ABHI) and Varaidzo (Vee) Mapunde (NIHR HealthTech Research Centre), was packed with important tips for innovators. This included the importance of aligning solutions with wider priorities, such as the government’s emphasis on moving from treatment to prevention, from hospital to community and from analogue to digital.
The morning closed with a challenge to all present: it takes a village to raise an innovation, so let's come together and harness the power of health innovation in Yorkshire, because the time is now, and the opportunity is here.
