20.02.20
New technologies to improve patient care to receive £10m boost
Leading researchers and businesses based in the UK are being supported to work closer together to develop treatments and cures for those facing life-threatening conditions, courtesy of a new £10m government funding scheme.
The UK is home to one of the strongest, most productive health and life sciences industries globally, worth £75bn a year and employing 250,000 people across the UK.
The newly-launched Innovation Scholars Scheme, unveiled today (February 20, 2020) by Life Sciences Minister Nadhim Zahawi, will support secondments for academics to develop new technologies and techniques to tackle life-threatening conditions like cancer and dementia.
It is hoped the scheme will help see NHS patients receive the benefits of these new technologies as soon as possible.
The scheme offers investment to support collaborations in life sciences between researchers and industry. It will include developing new healthcare wearable technologies such as smartwatches and monitors, diagnostic devices like mobile health units, and new personalised medicines based on patients’ genetic information.
Also announcing six new locations to be awarded the prestigious designation of Life Science Opportunity Zone (LSOZ), these zones will be able to attract investment from national and international businesses linking research expertise with business skills.
The six new LSOZ named by government in today’s announcement are:
- Stevenage Advanced Therapies Campus, Hertfordshire
- Birmingham Life Sciences Park, West Midlands
- Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire
- Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridgeshire
- Porton Science Park, Wiltshire
- Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent
Life Sciences Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “The UK is home to one of the strongest, most vibrant health and life science industries globally, with discoveries and improvements in health diagnosis transforming people’s lives.
“Collaboration is vital to growing this sector and this new £10 million scheme will support the exchanging of ideas, knowledge and skills between researchers and businesses while encouraging strong collaboration with them, the NHS and the government.”