The Liverpool City Region is set to bolster its status as a global leader in health innovation with a substantial investment in children's healthcare.
A £9.44m project at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust will receive over £4m from the Combined Authority to support groundbreaking research and innovation.
Alder Hey’s Paediatric Open Innovation Zone (POIZ) will spearhead the development, testing, and deployment of life-changing technologies to address major health challenges faced by children and young people in the region. This programme will prioritise collaboration with local innovators, generating high-quality jobs and delivering significant health and social benefits across the city region.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has approved £4.16m for the POIZ project. As one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, Alder Hey is home to the UK’s largest hospital-led innovation centre, pioneering new approaches to paediatric healthcare. The POIZ programme will provide innovators with direct access to Alder Hey’s clinical expertise, enabling joint development of new paediatric treatments. It will also serve as a real-world testbed for validating healthcare innovations and offer consultancy and training to embed innovation-led care across the region’s hospitals.
Additionally, the programme will support NHS and industry partners both in the UK and internationally, sharing Alder Hey’s expertise and best practices in healthcare innovation.
Commenting on the move, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said:
“Alder Hey is world-class, not just for the outstanding care it provides but for its relentless drive to push the boundaries of children’s healthcare. This funding is an investment in our future, giving young people the best possible start in life while cementing our position as a global leader in health innovation.
“It’s also an investment in high-quality jobs, skills, and economic growth for our region. We’re proving once again that the Liverpool City Region is a place where we turn great ideas into action, and where we will keep pushing the boundaries of innovation for the benefit of our communities.”
At the same Combined Authority meeting, leaders approved £4.24m of Innovation Zone funding for a new business support programme, Innovate, Grow, Accelerate and Partner (IGAP), led by LYVA Labs. This five-year initiative will help early-stage and scaling businesses develop and commercialise cutting-edge health and life sciences technologies.
Delivered through three workstreams – incubator, accelerator, and challenge fund – IGAP will address gaps in early-stage investment, providing vital technical, financial, and business support for local start-ups, spinouts, and SMEs. The incubator will offer tailored support for 40 early-stage businesses, helping innovators move from concept to investment-ready enterprises in fields like life sciences, clean tech, and deep tech health. The accelerator will focus on scaling 50 high-growth potential businesses that have already developed a minimum viable product, providing expert guidance on commercialisation, scale-up, and investment readiness. The £1m ‘Clean Tech for Health’ Challenge Fund will offer up to £100,000 each to at least 10 businesses tackling major public health and net zero challenges.
LYVA Labs was launched with £10.5m of Combined Authority investment in 2021 to transform pioneering ideas into high-growth businesses and high-value jobs. To date, it has invested £1.62m into 20 businesses, creating 50 skilled jobs in the Liverpool City Region.
Together, the POIZ and IGAP programmes are expected to support 108 businesses and create at least 115 new jobs. They are part of the wider Liverpool City Region Life Sciences Innovation Zone programme, a 10-year initiative designed to attract up to £800m in public and private investment and generate 8,000 skilled jobs in the region. This programme forms part of the Government’s national Investment Zone Programme, positioning the city region as a powerhouse for health and life sciences innovation.
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