Medilink East Midlands has launched a Life Sciences project that will target Innovative companies in the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP). Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ‘ACTIS’ will provide medical technology, pharmaceutical and bioscience organisations with funding and support to help develop their new innovative projects and products.
ACTIS: Advanced Clinical Technology Innovation Support will run until June 2019 at a total cost of almost £1.3 million, with £649,782 coming from the ERDF funding allocation of SEMLEP. During that time, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) will be able to gain access to life science sector specific expertise as well as grant funding and networking opportunities. This support will ensure that SMEs benefit from cutting edge technologies, identified clinical needs, and early incorporation of regulatory and IP management strategies. All of this will lead to improved commerciality of products, reduced product development timescales and the creation of potentially ground-breaking healthcare innovations.
ACTIS follows two similar projects launched in 2016; SoLSTICE, which runs in the Leicester & Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) and INSTILS, serving the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire (D2N2) LEP. These are also part-funded by ERDF and will run until late 2018. The three projects combined will allow Medilink EM to deliver a raft of support across the whole of the East Midlands, and two new advisory roles at the company have been created as a result.
Medilink EM is the Life Science support organisation for the region and brings together business, university and NHS communities across the sector. The ACTIS project is being launched in collaboration with partners; Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and The Open University.
Chief Executive of Medilink East Midlands Dr Darren Clark commented;
“The launch of ACTIS is fantastic news, as it will allow companies in the South East of the region access to support already provided by Medilink EM in other parts of the East Midlands. Through the project, we will assist companies and individuals with their innovations by providing our own expertise, signposting to relevant partners and in many cases, awarding grant funding. We hope that, as well as continuing to support existing clients, we can engage with new companies in the SEMLEP region that perhaps hadn’t previously encountered Medilink EM or the support available through the ERDF programme.”
About ACTIS: Advanced Clinical Technology Innovation Support
ACTIS is an initiative, which is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Medilink East Midlands. The key aims of ACTIS are to deliver high quality innovation support, work alongside emerging Life Science technologies, enable transfer of technologies between sectors and increase Research & Development investment.
About the European Regional Development Fund
The project is receiving up to £649,782 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
About Medilink East Midlands
Medilink East Midlands is the region’s life science industry association, whose aim is to help companies establish, develop and grow. Its network of more than 4,400 contacts in over 1000 organisations represents all aspects of the sector, including private and public institutions; from multinationals to high potential start-ups, as well as the NHS and universities.
Medilink East Midlands is a founding member of Medilink UK; a national network supporting over 3,000 companies across the entire UK. Medilink provides specialist support to boost the region’s economic output from life sciences by overcoming barriers to growth. Medilink’s highly knowledgeable team is a proven and trusted source of expert assistance.