Medilink Midlands launched to provide support to region's life sciences

A new initiative designed to support life science organisations in the East and West Midlands has been announced by industry association group, Medilink.

Medilink Midlands will bring together the thousands of contacts that have been created over the last 15 year by Medilink in the East and West midlands. Combining the two groups gives Medilink  Midlands access to a network of over 8,000 contacts in over 1,700 life science organisations,  including the NHS, the AHSN network, major universities and a range of multi-nationals and high value start-ups.

Through the partnership, Medilink will strategically focus on influencing Midlands-wide initiatives that affect the life sciences industry, such as the Midlands Engine, as well as wider national initiatives such as the Accelerated Access Review.

Medilink hopes that by working alongside the Midlands Engine and other strategic alliances it can help stimulate the growth of the Midlands as an exciting hub for life sciences.

Lord Henley, business Minister, said: “Through our Industrial Strategy and the Life Sciences Sector Deal, we are committed to ensuring the UK is at the forefront of this burgeoning field and we will build on the strengths of our established clusters of excellence.

The new alliance formed through Medilink Midlands will play a vital role in delivering this vision in the Midlands, ensuring that the region plays a leading role in the life sciences revolution while bringing together the collective expertise of the NHS, the huge number of life sciences SMEs and universities in the region.”

Dr Darren Clark, director Medilink Midlands, said: “The UK’s medical technology sector is the third largest in Europe and 98% of the sector is made up of SMEs, the largest regional cluster of which is located in the Midlands. The Midlands is also home to a wide supply chain serving the Medical Technology, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology sectors. In recent years, Medilink East Midlands and Medilink West Midlands have been increasingly working together, and the formal establishment of Medilink Midlands is a natural extension to continue to help the sector grow on a pan-regional basis.”