Manchester continues to expand its health innovation centre
| 23rd October 2019
Manchester has become a hub for health innovation largely because of Citylabs. The health innovation campus has become an international hub for genomics and precision medicine and is attracting more funding than ever.
With the recent funding by Manchester Science partnerships and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) has submitted plans to develop Citylabs 4.0, a 125,000 sq ft extension to the already existing Citylabs campus.
The innovations have become the most sought after commodity. It’s the newest thing guaranteed to launch the country into a privileged position and all the funds and authorities are doing their best to promote innovation in all fields.
The importance of Innovations across industries
The trend has reached all industries and mediums. Technology and medicine are two of the distinguished fields where innovation has become the most valuable asset. As the world is moving on to a more digital era, and all the services and now accessible through online platforms it has become essential to incorporate this digital aspect into every industry.
We’ve seen the rise of the food delivery services, rise of financial technologies and the shift towards an online presence in the majority of traditional businesses. We see that in entertainment, online gaming and other fields. Countries across the globe have changed their business models to suit the demand for online presence.
The adoption rate varies but we have the fintech boom in Africa, Oceania and Southeast Asia, we have seen the rise in New Zealand casino games, and there is an open goal for China to achieve innovation leadership over the world.
The topic is clearly relevant and is heavily intertwined with the innovations in MedTech, which is less talked about than fintech, but equally important.
What will the Citylab 4.0 offer?
The Joint Venture partnership between MSP and MFT is the first of its kind. MFT is the UK’s largest NHS provider Trust and is already a home for MedTech, digital health and genomics businesses.
According to the chair of Manchester Science partnership, Rowena Burns, there has been a huge development and significant growth in the life sciences and digital technology sectors over the last five years. Manchester has managed to create a lot of pioneering solutions to tackle the most pressing health challenges. This is why the Team behind MSP decided to invest in this particular project and to harness the opportunities created by the growth in these sectors.
What sets Citylab apart from other similar establishments is that companies and researchers work side by side and are located on Europe’s largest clinical academic campus.
According to the project managers, the Citylabs 4.0 will be built at the south of the MFT Oxford Road campus and will have seven floors of office and lab space. Citylabs is the place where innovations happen and then they get adopted by Manchester’s health care systems seamlessly.
Businesses at Citylabs have access to clinical and academic projects that happen on the campuses and they get additional support and advice on funding sources, new markets, and professional services.
The potential of MedTech
A lot of doctors are choosing to abandon traditional practices and dedicate their time to innovations in medical technology. Not only is this business way more profitable than taking individual patients but it also offers the doctors and scientists to make a much bigger impact on the world. In this Forbes interview, Justin Saliman, MD who trained for more than 10 years to be an orthopaedic surgeon decided to abandon the cause and founded Ceterix Orthopedics. Saliman realized that he could put his skills to much better use by putting his energy into Medtech space.
Just like the entertainment industry and business ventures, the medical sphere is also becoming more tech-based and focuses on improvement and innovation. It has proven to be a successful tactic for Saliman and has the potential to do the same for other doctors looking to contribute more to the society and its development. It must be said that it takes a special talent to combine medicine with technology and even more talent to make that profitable. It takes a certain entrepreneurial touch to make it work and that’s why maybe some people shy away from in that direction.
But as the recent Manchester funding would suggest the importance of such innovations is growing rapidly. The impact of these sorts of tech inventions is far greater than a doctor could achieve by following his profession in a traditional way. Manchester has become a local leader in this sphere and the funds and investors are already trying to capitalize on it as much as possible to increase the impact and innovation as well.