What Makes the West Midlands Great for Data-Driven Healthcare?
We spoke to a series of leaders and pioneers in the data-driven health ecosystem to find out what drew them to invest in the West Midlands and how the region has helped them find success.
Watch the video below, or read the transcript.
Hospitals and facilities in the West Midlands
The West Midlands has incredible hospitals and eight leading universities that produce over 55,000 graduates per year and work with industry to nurture our research-led economy. The facilities at our universities and the innovative research going on there, make them desirable partners for businesses. From large corporations to SMEs, those working with our universities are accessing world-leading experts, equipment and research to develop their products.
Meanwhile, the Birmingham Health Partners have created an appealing network that welcomes companies of all sizes. They offer the support and collaboration that helps get great ideas from the drawing board to the market.
Workforce and talent pool
Among 600 companies working in the healthcare sector, eight hospitals, 35 centres of clinical research and our universities, our medical research talent pool is vast and varied. The West Midlands has 295,000 employees currently working in the sector.
Our people, invigorated by the electric economy of research and collaboration, have the skills and expertise needed to make healthcare projects a reality.
Our companies
When speaking to Jane Whitlock of Deloitte, she explained that they chose the region because of the fantastic hospitals, medical schools, diverse population and the technology available. Deloitte is just one of the many companies that chose the West Midlands when looking to invest in the UK, including Binding Site.
A diverse genetic population
As Dr Darren Clarke explained, the West Midlands has an incredibly diverse population, with Birmingham having one of the most diverse populations in the UK. This gives our clinical trials centres a stable, varied test base right on their doorstep. With the future of medicine turning ever more towards tailored, individualised treatment, the wide genetic pool is a resource that gives local companies an edge.
How WMGC can help you invest in the UK
While relocating, investing, or starting up your own business can feel risky, our sector experts are ready to help you, free of charge. By getting in touch with us, we can help you navigate the local economy, set up desk or office space, and introduce you to a network of partners. We are here to help you succeed.
Download our investment brochure
Video transcript
Dr Masood Ahmed – NHS Black Country & West Birmingham CCG
From a data perspective, we’ve got a real focus on the West Midlands, whether that be through research – we’ve got over 90 regional clinical trials centres – but also, it’s around the workforce, you know, how do we build up the workforce to support that data and make sense of it.
Jane Whitlock – Deloitte
Deloitte have chosen to base our health tech catalyst here in the Midlands, and that’s because we see it as a real opportunity for the region. We have fantastic hospitals, we have great medical schools, the technology available and diverse population.
Professor Martin Levermore – Birmingham City University
The anchor point for those companies looking to come to the West Midlands is that we’ve got a superb infrastructure.
Parvin Virdee – Binding Site
We’ve got great university links with Birmingham University, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Aston. A lot of the students that join the binding site have recently graduated.
Dr Darren Clarke – Medilink Midlands
The Midlands is a great region for doing research because of the diverse genetic population here. That means that as new medicines become more focused and specialized towards the genetic makeup of individuals, new products can be tested within that stable population.
Professor Martin Levermore
We’ve got to move away from reactive treatments and look at preventative care. And what health care data does is actually put the patient back into control.
Dr Masood Ahmed
One of the key projects that’s been going on across the region is around the shared care record. So how do we create a record that can be used by clinicians and other professionals, but also by the patient so they know what’s going on with their own health. And we kind of empower them, so they can take the steps that they want to in order to look after themselves.
Dr Darren Clarke
The reason the Midlands is such a great place for a medical or life science company to start up is because of the support and the infrastructure around that company to help them develop and grow their business.
Jane Whitlock
We have 5G available here, one of the only test beds in the country, and it provides a real opportunity to advance the medical tech sector.
Dr Masood Ahmed
So, we’re at the cutting edge in terms of developing the infrastructure so that we can share information over 5G. It means that innovators can come to the West Midlands, knowing that the infrastructure is there for them to test out ideas.
Dr Noreen Akram – Eczemadoc
So, myself and my co-founders have launched Eczemadoc, a digital health app that uses patient reported data and predictive analytics to help patients understand their condition and predict and prevent flare ups. There’s a lot more investment coming into the region now and central Birmingham in itself is growing very quickly, so I think that’s why the region is good for young startups and young companies like myself.
Professor Martin Levermore
The ability to engage with clinicians, with academia and industry, therefore being able to bring my products quicker to market in an evidence-based manner.
Emma Yeap – West Midlands Health Technologies Cluster
Our ecosystem is world class, in terms of our facilities, and we all have this shared vision and that is to improve patient outcomes.