Awards of up to £1m unveiled for West Yorkshire’s ‘booming’ healthtech businesses

Health technology companies in West Yorkshire will be able to bid for funding of up to £1m to help develop ‘life-changing’ medical innovations for use in the NHS and across the world, Mayor Tracy Brabin has announced.

Due to the emerging strengths of the region’s £5bn health technology sector (healthtech), the Mayor of West Yorkshire has secured £7.5m of new investment, hailed as a “gamechanger” for businesses and patients.

The funding will be distributed to businesses which can demonstrate that they will have a positive impact on patient care through an innovative new medical, diagnostic or digital health solution.

The new multi-million-pound partnership between the Mayor and Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), comes days after £5m was announced by UKRI for the medical technology sector across Yorkshire, which employs over 16,000 people across 250 companies.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, commented: “This groundbreaking new partnership is a major vote of confidence in the future of our brilliant healthtech businesses, who are transforming the lives of patients world-wide.

“That we were able to secure this funding is a testament to the strength of our sector, the talent of our homegrown scientists and researchers, and our ambition to transform the NHS through innovation.

“I’m confident these grants of up to £1m will be a gamechanger for local businesses, helping them create skilled jobs, pioneer new technologies and level up patient care.”

Indro Mukerjee, CEO of Innovate UK, added: “Innovate UK is building strong regional partnerships across the UK to support local innovation and commercialisation. Our new Launchpads will help to attract further private sector R&D investment into innovation clusters, growing local economies and delivering societal and economic benefits to local communities.”

Home to the headquarters of NHS England and some of the strongest academic and clinical research facilities in the country, West Yorkshire is an incubator for many leading healthtech companies.

From the end of October, companies working on devices and technologies that could improve patient care will be able to apply for competitive grants ranging from £25,000 to £1 million. The £7.5m “launchpad” programme will help them develop the innovations all the way from the lab through to clinical trials and on to global health markets.

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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