- £1.8m Innovation Zone funding for Health Tech Business Incubation Centre at SciTech Daresbury
- New centre will drive innovation and commercialisation of research
- One of the first of 21 Life Sciences Innovation Zone projects expected to create 8,000 new jobs and attract up to £800m investment
A new centre aimed at commercialising Health and Life Science research will be set up at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Daresbury Laboratory thanks to £1.8m in Innovation Zone funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Led by UKRI’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Health Tech Business Incubation Centre (Health BIC) will provide a major boost to the city region’s health and life sciences sector.
The Health BIC will drive innovation and commercialisation of research, providing much-needed tailored support to nurture new and early-stage businesses derived from the region’s wealth of assets in Health & Life Sciences.
The programme is one of an initial 21 projects that, as part of the city region’s ambitious Investment Zone plan, are designed to supercharge the economy by creating new hi-tech facilities, providing business and innovation support and training the next generation of talent.
STFC has over 15 years’ experience working with the health sector at Daresbury Laboratory, including a successful HealthTec Cluster which promotes economic growth through the co-location of organisations, knowledge, skills and facilities. STFC’s track record in incubation support includes the creation of over 1,000 jobs and £650 million of enterprise value from its long established European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre, making them an ideal home for the Health BIC.
The programme will provide a stimulus to the city region’s health and life science entrepreneurs, researchers and clinicians as they commercialise products and services.
The support will help by identifying the best opportunities and working with them to reduce the risk of the early stages of development and commercialisation. Spin-out or early-stage businesses, less than 5 years old, will receive a targeted package of support to validate their product or to deliver a minimum viable product and increase their investment potential.
The Health BIC is among the first of 21 Life Sciences Innovation Zone projects that are expected to create 8,000 new jobs and attract up to £800m investment to the Liverpool City Region over the next 10 years.