Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, MIDAS, has launched a new life sciences prospectus showcasing the city region’s position as one of the UK’s most dynamic health innovation ecosystems.
The prospectus has been produced by MIDAS and the Oxford Road Corridor.
Highlighting Manchester’s position within the UK’s £120bn growing life sciences market and the leading role the city region can play in the future of life sciences, it will delve into the city region’s strengths in data, genomics, oncology, and real-world evidence clinical trials.
The unveiling follows the Government’s publication of its Modern Industrial Strategy – a 10-year plan to drive business investment, encourage innovation, and grow the industries of the future across the UK, including the life sciences sector.
Recognising the enormous potential of city regions like Greater Manchester in delivering growth, Manchester will lead the way as the permanent home of the Industrial Strategy Council, an independent, statutory body that will play a key role in advising the Government on the plan’s implementation.
In the past month there has been major government investment in innovation and research, including nearly £5m for an innovation partnership between the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge.
This forms part of the Government’s £86bn commitment to science and technology outlined in the recent Spending Review, which included up to £500m for regions across the UK, with local leaders set to play a key role in decision-making. This builds on the success of the Innovation Accelerator programme, which was piloted in Greater Manchester along with the West Midlands and Glasgow City Region.
Manchester is expected to attract even further investment as IQVIA, a global provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries, has completed a major investment in the Medicines Evaluation Unit (MEU) in Wythenshawe, Manchester – the MEU is a UK leader in early phase clinical trials.
Working with the leadership team at MEU, IQVIA has plans to grow the Wythenshawe site, which is part of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) campus, boosting economic growth and creating high value job opportunities for Greater Manchester.
The investment will see the company integrate the MEU into its clinical trials offer to include first-in-human testing for novel therapies, supporting breakthrough discoveries across a range of disease areas.
UK Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said: “Our ambition to make the UK a life sciences superpower relies on championing the strengths of places like the North West by supporting close collaboration between industry, academia, healthcare systems and local and national government.
“IQVIA’s investment is further welcome news for our wider life sciences ecosystem. Their plans to expand will create jobs while allowing patients to access innovative treatments.”
Cllr Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “The investment from IQVIA is exactly the kind of high value investment we want for Manchester – creating skilled jobs, boosting our innovation economy, and strengthening our position on the world stage.”
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, said: “Greater Manchester is becoming a globally significant hub for the life sciences sector. Our unique ability to link universities and research institutes, industry, and our regional NHS trusts helps us take discoveries from lab to life faster and at a larger scale.
“The strength of these partnerships is a key reason we can attract companies like IQVIA, whose investment in Wythenshawe will deliver better outcomes for our patients while providing jobs and opportunities for our residents.”
Tim Sheppard, IQVIA SVP and general manager, Northern Europe, said: “By combining capabilities and expertise, IQVIA aims to drive further economic growth in Manchester and deliver health data enabled research to life sciences sponsors, so that they can in turn make a meaningful impact on patient outcomes.
“Manchester is the ideal life sciences ecosystem to locate the facility based on its proven track record of forming public-private collaborations to accelerate health research and innovation uptake on a global scale.”
Bruntwood SciTech is a partner of MIDAS and a contributor to the new prospectus.
Dr Kath Mackay, chief scientific officer at Bruntwood SciTech, said: “The launch of this prospectus marks an exciting moment for the city and recognises the ambitious scale of our plans and aspirations for the life sciences sector here.
“It reflects the strengths we already have and makes a compelling case for why Manchester is so well placed to lead the next chapter of UK life sciences growth.”
Pictured L-R at the prospectus launch (above): Ben Bridgewater, Duncan Ivison, Cllr Bev Craig, Joe Manning; Andrea Winders, Rick Body, Russ Shaw