A Charnwood Campus Cluster event in partnership with Medilink Midlands, part of a series of events to celebrate the achievements and support the growth of the life science organisations clustered around Charnwood Campus Science, Innovation and Technology Park.
Local companies, Council leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and stakeholders gathered at Charnwood Campus to celebrate the Leicestershire Life Sciences cluster and its unbeatable entrepreneurial spirit. The life sciences sector in the region is growing apace, which has led to the creation of 3,700 jobs in the sector since 2010, brings £900M of GVA per annum and contributes hugely to the success of the UK in the fields of medical and clinical research, innovation, Health data, AI, and digital health. The audience heard how the Midlands Engine, Charnwood Borough Council, Innovate UK, Health Innovation East Midlands, Medilink Midlands and Charnwood Campus are supporting the acceleration of this sector, read the whole article here.
However, a cluster is only as good as its supply chain, an essential component of a successful life sciences cluster. From sourcing API’s, manufacturing, distribution and delivery supported by people, skills, regulatory compliance and transport and logistics our region has a strong track record of supporting our life sciences to deliver innovative products that improve patient health and care. With CRO’s and CRDMO’s such as Almac Group, Charnwood Discovery, Kindeva Drug Delivery, 3M Healthcare, Fisher Scientific, and Aspire Pharma, world leading equipment and service suppliers such as PHC Europe, Horiba Medical and Scientific, Weiss Technik and Datalink Electronics and strong support from pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory, legal, product design and consulting services it is not surprising our life sciences companies are well placed to grow.
Gosia Khrais, Commercial and Marketing Director, Charnwood Campus commented: “I am delighted to see our Expo Room at capacity with local supply chain companies exhibiting and the buzz created by companies doing business is great. We fully appreciate the importance of the supply chain for the success of the sector and make local exhibitors a priority at all our events. Over 100 companies have exhibited at our events, allowing companies to rapidly identify and source services, collaborators and suppliers. Our region really is the next ’one to watch’ location within the UK that is strongly betting on knowledge economy, science, innovation and springboarding entrepreneurs”.
Melanie Davidson, CEO Medilink Midlands said: “Supply chain is identified by our Medilink Midlands members, as a key barrier to successful development and adoption of innovative solutions within MedTech. Clusters such as this are fundamental to support the future landscape of the life sciences eco-system, connecting innovators to match supplier needs and solutions. We’re committed to support innovation across Leicestershire and the wider Midlands region to strengthen supply chain opportunities and better position the sector on a national and international scale.”
Al Mills, Director of Business Development, IMED Consultancy said: “Exhibiting at Charnwood Campus allows us to directly communicate with the cluster on current Regulatory conundrums and to launch of new services and resources like our recent Whitepaper ‘Best Foot Forward’, which gives great advice to MedTech businesses on how to decide which market to enter first. Giving critical regulatory guidance to MedTech manufacturers hits at the core of IMed’s principles, where getting great novel tech to patients is king. Being on the Campus, talking to Academics, Entrepreneurs and Science Park residents is a great way to get involved with emerging medical and healthcare solutions. And so, we’ve decided we’ll be launching our next Whitepaper at Charnwood Campus’ Big Regulatory Event on 7th November too!”
Steve Knights, Area Sales Manager, PHC Europe B.V. said: “We provide reliable, high-quality medical and laboratory equipment – backed by more than 50 years’ experience in the sector. Our longstanding presence in the market means we’ve built valuable relationships with leading pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology partners. And a European network that means we can satisfy customer demands across the continent within days. So, customers benefit from market-leading, innovative technology, as well as service that’s second to none”.
Michael Watts, Co-founder and CEO, Blum Health said: “Blüm Health is a one of the industry leaders in the UK for digital health software development and consultancy. We have a strong track record of delivering healthcare-ready software which is regulatory-compliant, accessible and scalable from the earliest opportunity. This methodology has allowed us to support universities in exploiting IP from research and innovation, and NHS Trusts who have won both NIHR and Innovate UK grant funding. It has also broken-down barriers to innovation within industry, as we ensure clinical entrepreneurs can turn their ideas to reality without hitting typical NHS red tape and it is great to share all of this with the companies in our cluster.”
Henry Sodzi-Smith, Legal Associate, Claric Legal Services, commented: “It has been great to come together as a region to share that we are pioneering a flexible, affordable style of legal support suitable for public research institutions and innovative SMEs for whom traditional forms of external legal support have often not been viable, cost-effective, or relevant.”
Mark Smith, The Brand Strategy said: “At The Brand Strategy we create innovate brand environments for businesses launching or repositioning their products or services. Using a blend of insight and inspiration brought together with strategic precision to take a fresh view on how their potential customers view what they offer in a way that disrupts for outcomes that truly matter. At first, we considered long and hard whether to base in London or here in the East Midlands. We’re really happy we stuck with the East Midlands as not only is there strong connectivity to other parts of the country (but without the challenges that come from an expensive London base) but there is also superb business connectivity that really makes this feel like a collaborative region”.
Toren Storer, Product & Industrial Designer at Bluefrog Design said: “Bluefrog Design has recently collaborated on a new innovative medical product called ApneScan. ApneScan is designed to triage patients with suspected sleep apnea. A Bluetooth-enabled, easy-to-use, low-cost, single-use device that screens for sleep apnoea by monitoring the breath pathway. With the potential to increase capacity within busy sleep clinics, Apne-Scan enables patients to access much-needed treatment. It is great to be able to highlight this product and our award-winning expertise to the cluster to help drive ecosystem growth”.
Dr Lucy Alexander, Head of Business Development, Charnwood Campus, said: “Supply chain is something that probably most people and companies only think about when it goes wrong. Being able to source local where possible is incredibly important, from both a sustainability and resilience perspective, therefore it is great to have events that bring our companies together. If you would like to join or exhibit at our next event during the Leicester Business Festival or if you are interested in joining our cluster at the campus, more details can be found on our website Charnwood Campus UK Science Park.”