Medtech
Medtech plays an important role in the UK Life Sciences sector, and the West Midlands offers support to companies looking to expand or establish in a new market.
From a rigorous academic network to digital infrastructure built for innovation, the West Midlands can help Medtech and biotech start-ups succeed. We are home to a diverse and growing Medtech sector. Choosing to develop tech in the West Midlands means choosing to work in one of the most advanced academic life science and technology networks.
Our world-class university ecosystem supports start-ups and scale-ups with research, expertise and clinical experience. Our leading teaching hospitals provide a rich environment to test new products and innovations. Our digital infrastructure and expertise facilitate clinical trials that accelerate products to market.
Collaborative hospitals, universities and industry partners
Collaboration is key to success. By drawing on the knowledge of experts and applying it through academic-industry partnerships, products and solutions can be more efficiently created and quickly put on the market.
The University of Warwick life sciences research contributes to global life sciences solutions. The University’s Institute of Digital Health aims to improve healthcare quality, safety, accessibility, and productivity by supporting the implementation of digital solutions. They work with industry partners, employing experts across biomedical and informational engineering to analyse problems and develop and deploy innovative digital solutions.
Medtech centres of excellence
The West Midlands is home to some of the most forward-thinking universities and life science centres in the world.
The Healthcare Technologies Institute at the University of Birmingham is working to advance technologies and treatments that can improve patients’ lives. They work through programmes like their Med-Tech Connect group to further the local Medtech economy. They project Connect will generate an additional £78.5 million GVA. A key component is leveraging industry, academics and policy leaders to create future products.
The Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MD-TEC) works with Medtech companies to accelerate products to market. They provide Medtech companies access to state-of-the-art facilities and source expertise from the local universities and clinics.
Among many centres working to further healthcare and life sciences, we’re also home to:
- DEMAND – (Data-Enabled Medical technologies ANd Devices Hub) is an ERDF-supported programme for the Black Country, Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Coventry & Warwickshire, and Stoke-On-Trent & Staffordshire LEP regions
- The NIHR Trauma Management Medtech Co-operative which builds expertise in the NHS to support the development of new medical technologies
- The Centre for Custom Medical Devices, which works with experts from across disciplines to realise the full potential of manufacturing in the Medtech sector
- The Institute of Translational Medicine, where industry partners work together to accelerate the development of medical science into healthcare system applications
Patient and Medtech data
The people of the West Midlands are diverse, young and talented. 4.7 million people from 190 different countries live here. Across the NHS, institutions and universities, there are large, curated clinical and genomic patient data sets that tap into this huge amount of diversity.
The Genomics Networked Information Exchange (GeNIE) integrates genomic data across 17 hospital trusts. The University Hospitals Birmingham global digital exemplar is one of the most advanced electronic patient record systems in the world. We are home to Pioneer and Insight, two of the country’s Health Data Research Centres. Accessing this wealth of information unlocks a huge potential for the discovery and refinement of digital solutions and technical products.
UK 5G testbed and 5PRING
There is a digital transformation in life sciences happening across the globe, and it can be acutely felt in the West Midlands. We are a hotspot of innovation, always looking for new heights to reach with our technology.
We are the first multi-city 5G testbed. 5G will be key to delivering a new generation of remote health services over the next decade. It delivers real-time information at an increased capacity and heightened security – all of which are fundamental in scaling Medtech solutions.
We have already seen amazing applications of 5G for healthcare, such as allowing specialists to give advice to ambulance paramedics on the move via live video.
Companies aren’t left to work it out for themselves. The 5G testbed is supported by 5PRING, a program that supports companies looking to trial 5G and better understand how 5G can enhance their products. It can offer co-working space, mentoring, access to a partners’ network and training to help companies reach their digital potential.
Succeeding in the Medtech sector
Our region is home to a network of UK Medtech companies working on technologies to improve the lives of patients, including:
- Alliance Medical – a large UK business based in Warwick that provides a range of imaging services for the healthcare sector. They deliver high-quality diagnostic solutions in partnership with public and private healthcare organisations
- Amplivox – a leading UK manufacturer of audiological equipment based in Birmingham that creates products for hearing tests
- Wave Life Sciences – a US life science company with a base in Birmingham working on precision medicine with the capability to design and manufacture stereopure oligonucleotides, developing potential medicines to modulate proteins responsible for genetic diseases
- Synexus – a large UK clinical trial business that has been testing the effectiveness of new medicines and treatments for more than 25 years
Free support services
We bring together a project team from relevant organisations across the region. This team includes property agents, recruitment consultants, public sector departments and universities. It delivers a comprehensive support package to quickly and easily help you establish and scale your business in the UK.
