Medilink Midlands

WEBINAR: Using data and AI to help tackle obesity in Leicester
2022-12-15 10:00 - 11:00 (Europe/London)
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) and Leicester City Council have been working with local communities and stakeholders to look at ways to make physical activity and a healthy diet easier across our local population.
Join us for this webinar, organised in partnership with De Montfort University. Our expert panel will share how artificial intelligence and machine learning have supported the analysis of local health data to find “hidden trends” in the lifestyles of people across Leicester.
The project team includes experts from psychology, sport, AI and public health, alongside senior leaders from the university and Leicester City Council – who you will hear from during the event.
Plans to continue this work will provide business opportunities for local partners and providers through the need to inform, design and develop interventions that help to maximise nutrition and physical activity for the future.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE
This webinar will cover:

The importance of working collaboratively to tackle the health challenges that we face as a community.
Project outcomes and the impact so far (working closely with local providers to share the data and findings of this project).
The future of digital health research and its role in informing public health planning.

This webinar will be chaired by Stuart Hilton, and will feature speakers from De Montfort University’s Digital Health research team and Leicester City Council. Our panel will include:

Prof Ivan Browne, Director of Public Health, Leicester City Council
Prof Bertha Ochieng, Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, De Montfort University (DMU)
Dr Mario Gongora, Associate Professor, School of Computer Science and Informatics, DMU

This free-to-attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the Leicester/Leicestershire area and is open to all.
Speaker Profiles

Stuart Hilton, Head of Commercial Partnerships, De Montfort University
Stuart has more than 30 years’ experience working with businesses and universities, across a range of industries and business sectors, building connections and spotting opportunities for companies to work with academic to support innovation.

Professor Ivan Browne, Director of Public Health at Leicester City Council
Ivan Browne is the Director of Public Health at Leicester City Council and has been spearheading the local response to COVID 19 in the City. He is a professor of public health practice with De Montfort University and has a particular interest in the potential of digital technologies to improve population health and wellbeing.

Professor Bertha Ochieng, Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, DMU
Bertha Ochieng is Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University. A key aspect of her research is in examining digital solutions that support development of integrated models of health and social care and community engagement.

Dr Mario Gongora, Associate Professor, School of Computer Science and Informatics
Dr Mario Gongora is the Faculty Enterprise Lead and a senior member of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media. Dr. Gongora is a leading researcher in the subject of applied computational intelligence, particularly in the fields of Data analysis in large and complex datasets and modelling Natural Phenomena, including identification, simulation, and optimisation.

WEBINAR: So you want to make a digital medical device? beginners guide
2023-01-10 10:00 - 11:30 | Online
This event is part of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) industry event programme, aimed to support the West Midlands innovation ecosystem, and to make the West Midlands healthier, more productive and deliver the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.
The following course has been devised and presented by AcclaimBiomedical Consulting, Medilink Midlands and the WMAHSN to offer a rich and rewarding training experience.

Software is playing an increasingly important role in the medtech sector, we see developments in smart devices, embedded software and wearable healthcare technology. We also see that European Regulations are developing to address this technology with increased scrutiny and specific requirements for these products .
This webinar training session is aimed at all companies developing and maintaining these types of products and explores the pathway to compliance .

The top 10 tips
The course will cover the following focus areas

Planning is Critical
Understand thoroughly the intended use, user and use environment
Risk Classify your product
Consider local requirements (GSPR)
Follow a documented process for product development IEC62304
Appropriate selection of development environment
Consider user interface (Usability)
How will this be maintained
Connections
Cyber security

Learning Objectives

Working with quality and regulatory teams including demonstration of design process control:
Study the application of recognised standards and good practice as well as documentation expectations.
Explore the need for risk management and human factors engineering in this product sector.

CLICK HERE TO SECURE YOUR FREE PLACE
Speaker Profile:

Richard Young, Managing Director, AcclaimBiomedical Consulting Ltd
Richard has an extensive background in regulatory affairs in addition to GMP (quality assurance), GLP (laboratory testing), and GCP (clinical). Spanning over two decades, these core skill areas have been developed with experience in products ranging from class 3 devices such as Orthopaedic implants (IIb) neurological robots, through electromedical devices such as infusion systems and cardiovascular products.
Richard brings a blend of pragmatism and experience to these disciplines that facilitate insightful problem-solving approaches as well as solid solutions.
Richard’s skills and experience includes such areas as the development and implementation of effective quality management systems, auditing to ISO and FDA QSIT standards, and operating at national and international level through industry associations including Eucomed, ABHI, and ABHI Technical Policy Group.

Medical Japan, Osaka
2023-01-18 - 2023-01-20
Japan’s leading medical B2B trade show!
With an ageing population and vast healthcare expansion, Japan has become the World’s 3rd largest medical market. This means that, combined with a free trade agreement with the UK, it is a great time for British companies to export to this region.
Medical Japan is a B-2-B exhibition and conference, covering a wealth of products, services and technologies from the healthcare sector.
The 2023 event is expected to attract 500 exhibitors from 21 countries and almost 15,000 global visitors, with a strong percentage from Asia. Visitors include distributors, importers, hospitals, nursing and elderly care facilities and pharmacies. The event is also supported by many industry organisations, including the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Japan.
For more details and to book, click here

WEBINAR: Maximising Impact through Academic and Industry Collaboration
2023-01-18 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
The next in our series of events organised in partnership with Arise Innovation Hubs, part of Anglia Ruskin University, focuses on the key role that academic and industry partnership can play in maximising the impact of your research and/or innovation.
The benefits are, of course, considerable for both sides of the partnership. This online webinar explores these benefits, providing tangible guidance for those keen to collaborate, as well as case studies from those who have already established successful partner projects.
BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE TODAY
The session will open with a talk from Caroline Sykes from the Medilink Midlands Innovation Adviser team. Drawing on her extensive experience across the sector, Caroline will be highlighting both the reasons and routes for establishing, developing and making the most of academic and industry collaborative opportunities.
We’ll also hear a joint presentation from Jenny Murray, CEO of Life Science Group (LSG) and Abhimanyu Bose, Knowledge Exchange Executive for Coventry University, who will be sharing the story of their successful Knowledge Exchange Partnership (KEP), through which they co-developed CellShip, a cell transport system without a cold chain requirement. The project was ratws ‘Outstanding’ by the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) – the highest rating – and also secured them a finalist spot in the in Medilink Midlands Business Awards 2022.
Our final presentation will be delivered by Joe Lillis and Jorge Madeira Marques Pinto, lead researchers on a collaborative project between Anglia Ruskin University and Italian company, La Fattoria la Vialla, exploring the potential health, performance and sustainability benefits of olive oil products developed at their organic-biodynamic farm.
As well as an opportunity to showcase current successful projects, this session lays the foundations for a series of support sessions that Medilink Midlands will be running in partnership with the Arise Innovation Hubs and will be your opportunity to find out more information.
Click the link above to secure your place for this practical and informative online session.

WEBINAR: Grant Funding for your Innovation
2023-01-24 10:00 - 11:30 | Online
This event is part of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) industry event programme, aimed to support the West Midlands innovation ecosystem, and to make the West Midlands healthier, more productive and deliver the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.
The WMAHSN, Medilink Midlands and TBAT Innovation invite you to attend this free Grant Funding webinar.
TBAT Innovation Ltd provide an in-depth look at the Grant Funding landscape, to fund the development of new technology in the Health & Life Sciences sector.
Grant Funding is available through many funding bodies – including Innovate UK, NIHR and SBRI Healthcare – to accelerate innovation in the UK by de-risking highly innovative research and development projects.
Current opportunities have up to £25 million available for businesses to apply for, but the competition can be fierce – knowing how to apply is essential.
In this webinar, we will cover:

Grant Funding Landscape
Regular competitions for Health & Life Sciences technology
How to find funding
Application best practice
Top Tips
How TBAT can help

Following the presentation, TBAT will be available for an open forum Q&A session, and the opportunity to book one-to-one consultations, for any follow-on or confidential questions about applying for Grant Funding.
CLICK HERE TO SECURE YOUR PLACE
Sam Stephens – Director

Sam founded TBAT in 2002, evolving the business over a five-year period into the innovation-driving consultancy it is today.
With a passion for engineering, as well as a background as an Aerospace engineer, Sam’s deep experience within innovation has played a huge role in growing various businesses, as well as TBAT.

TBAT Innovation
TBAT Innovation Ltd are a value-led independent consultancy with over 19 years’ experience working with technology & research and development organisations all over the UK to fund their innovation. Their innovation support services include; Grant Funding, R&D Tax Credits, Video Game Tax Relief, Capital Allowances, SEIS/EIS and Patent Box.

IN-PERSON EVENT: Health Data Science: The Real-World Opportunities and Challenges
2023-01-26 09:30 - 13:30
Our next event organised in partnership with the Leicester Life Sciences Accelerator (LLSA) at the University of Leicester focuses on the sector’s hot topic of 2023 – health data science. The event will be held at Space Park, Leicester and brings together academics, clinicians and industry to explore the breadth of opportunities in this field, as we move increasingly towards digital solutions. Yet the session also unpacks the significant challenges in this area, considering the barriers to gaining access to health data and utilising this data to develop successful digital solutions or service improvements in the real world.
Our first panel will include researchers and decision makers in this area, who will outline the latest academic and clinical health data science contexts. The second panel of presentations will feature talks from companies working in and with health data science, to extend our discussion of its real-world applications and opportunities for industrial and commercial partners.
Programme
09:30 – Delegate arrival, registration & refreshments
09:55 – Introduction to the LLSA from Professor Toru Suzuki, Academic Lead for the LLSA and Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, University of Leicester (Video)
10:00 – Panel 1 – Professor Tim Coats, Dr Rob Free, Dawn Plummer + Q&A and Panel discussion
11:00 – BREAK – Refreshments and networking
11:30 – Panel 2 – SME Showcase – Methods Analytics (Richard Oakley), iethico (Debra Ainge), Vuit Online (Clare Higgins), CheckUp Health (Fungai Ndemera) + Q&A and Panel discussion
12:30 – Lunch and networking
13:30 – Close

Speaker Profiles

Professor Tim Coats, Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Leicester
Presentation Title: “NHS Data: What, Where and How”
Tim Coats trained in Emergency Medicine in Leeds and London, developing a particular interest in pre-hospital trauma care, and completing an MD thesis in 1996 on using AI methods to incorporate of patterns of change in physiology in a predictive model of outcome following injury. He trained in prehospital care with the London Helicopter Emergency Medical Service from 1990 to 1996
Following appointed as a Senior Lecturer at Barts and The London in 1996 with consultant responsibility for the London HEMS service, he moved to the University of Leicester as Professor of Emergency Medicine in 2003. He is a past Chair of the College of Emergency Medicine Research Committee, past Chair of the NIHR National Specialist Group for Injuries and Emergencies, and currently Chairs the Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN). In 2022 he became a NIHR Senior Investigator. His research interests are changes in coagulation following major trauma, artificial intelligence in healthcare ‘big data’ applications, and non-invasive monitoring in the diagnosis of sepsis in emergency care.

Dr Rob Free, Lecturer in Health Data Science at University of Leicester and Director of Informatics at Leicester Biomedical Research Centre
Presentation Title: “Data Science Opportunities in the Leicester BRC”
Rob Free is a Lecturer in Health Data Science at the University of Leicester and the Director of Informatics for the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). His own research focuses on the use of advanced data science (including artificial intelligence and machine learning) to develop and translate models and technologies into data-driven approaches for improving healthcare outcomes. As Director of Informatics, he is overseeing the BRC’s new Health Informatics Platform which endeavours to facilitate and develop exciting multi-disciplinary collaborations and partnerships.

Dawn Plummer, Digital Lead, East Midlands Academic Health Science Network
Presentation Title: “EMAHSN – Who we are, how we support innovators and current digital trends in local NHS”
Dawn Plummer is the Digital Lead at the EMAHSN, working within the Innovation Pipeline Delivery team, seeking to match innovations with known needs in our local networks. Dawn has experience supporting innovators to partner with NHS organisations to trial solutions, with an overall aim to support embedding innovations as ‘business as usual’ whilst collecting evidence and data to support adoption and spread into other local Trusts. The digital team deliver EMAHSN’s Digital Health Accelerator programme, which for 2023 is focussing on workforce innovations as a key focus locally, based on conversations with key stakeholders.

Richard Oakley, Director of Data Science and AI, Methods Analytics
Presentation Title: TBC
Richard is Director of Data Science and AI at Methods Analytics. By background a technical architect with over a decade’s experience in the public and private sector, overseeing all of Methods Analytics’ data science and AI work including that in health & care.
He specialises in healthcare improvement projects that utilise or advance data-orientated decision-making, architecting solutions in a variety of open-source and proprietary technologies. He is an advocate for greater application of data science in health & care, working to promote the use of machine learning, predictive modelling, simulation and population health management techniques in forms that are accessible and sustainable within the NHS.
He has worked with central, regional and local health organisations across primary, secondary and tertiary care across the UK and internationally. His recent project work incorporates the full suite of information science from helping to implement and embed new data science functions within large organisations through to ontology creation, semi-clinical NLP classifiers, risk modelling and capacity & flow simulations.

Dr Debra Ainge, CEO, iethico
Presentation Title: Drug Shortages: A Global Crisis
Debra combines broad international experience in the healthcare industry in R&D, Technology, and the pharmaceutical service sector across UK and internationally, with a record of delivering growth both organically & through M&A. She has led organisations from start-up to +5000 staff and has an extensive industry network built through the development of strong relationships across pharma, biotech & technology. Debra is a certified member of the Institute of Directors, holds several non-executive roles and has a PhD from Newcastle University.

Clare Higgins, Marketing and Sales Manager, VUIT Online
Presentation Title: Actionable Insights – A Rare and Precious Thing
For many years, Clare enjoyed a successful career in the drinks industry, working up from PA to the MD through to Operations Manager, leading a team of 7 staff rising to a maximum of 450 staff over the period. Clare joined VUIT in May 2021 as Marketing and Sales Manager, tasked with commercialising the platform and developing the company structure. To date, VUIT has received considerable interest and recognition within the sector, and continues to open new sales channels.

Fungai Ndemera, Nurse, Multi-entrepreneur, Health Tech Disruptor and Founder, CheckUp Health
Fungai is the tech founder of CheckUp Health, the only health AI-driven NHS approved hybrid multilingual care delivery platform combining remote monitoring in-home offering connectivity points to clinicians and professionals. Empowering the patient to take control with a culturally competent secure app for personal health tracking and monitoring​ and ​BAME engagement metrics, helping healthcare organisations, from GP practices to corporate organisations, monitor proactively and effectively support patients from various backgrounds by offering multilingual options​.​ She is the creator of the ‘all dots’ digital transformation model.
Her health tech brand, CheckUp health, received £43k support from the UK government’s highly competitive sustainable innovation fund. Through this company, Fungai helps individuals have access to a user-friendly app and desktop versions for all ages to start managing their health and reduce the need to see a GP. Some of her initiatives were supported by the president’s office of the Zimbabwe Ministry of Information. Fungai’s goal is to improve digital healthcare knowledge transfer with CheckUp Health UK.

IN-PERSON EVENT: Designing DNA: Exploring the Possibilities of the BioXp 3250
2023-01-31 09:30 - 13:30 | Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF), Clifton Campus, NTU, Clifton Lane, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG11 8NS
If you were able to print genetic code, what opportunities would be open to you? How could you use this technology to further develop your innovation and improve future health outcomes?
These are the questions we’re inviting you to consider at our latest event, organised in partnership with the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF). Join us on-site at MTIF , located on Nottingham Trent University’s Clifton Campus, where the MTIF team, alongside the BioXp’s developers at Telesis Bio, will introduce you to their latest piece of kit, the BioXp 3250. This state-of-the-art machine, in the words of its developers, “supports applications ranging from building, cloning, and amplifying gene fragments to constructing DNA“.
This free-to-attend morning event aims to bring together innovators, researchers and facilitators to explore the potential applications of this equipment. An invaluable asset for the life sciences community in our region and beyond, the BioXp 3250 is available now for collaborators looking to push the boundaries of the possible – let’s open those conversations!
This is intended to be an open forum and you are welcome to propose potential applications for the BioXp 3250 in any field. However, we’re particularly keen to hear your ideas relating to the following areas:

mRNA as vaccines
mRNA as cancer treatments
DNA code for genetic modification

BOOK YOUR FREE SPOT NOW
The event will begin with a tour of the facility including a showcase of the BioXp 3250. This will be followed by a couple of short presentations providing an overview of its capabilities and highlighting some of its current applications. Then it’s over to you, as we open a discussion of the opportunities the device opens up, aiming to spark collaborative connections that develop beyond the session.
Secure your place today for an event that will not only consider the potential of the BioXp 3250, but will also further strengthen the collaborative networks within the region.
Event details

09:30 – Registration and refreshments
10:00 – Welcome and introductions from Medilink and MTIF
10:05 – Tour and BioXp 3250 demo
11:00 – Networking and refreshments
11:30 – Presentation from Telesis Bio on current applications of the BioXp 3250
11:45 – Q&A + Break-out sessions + Group discussion on potential future applications
12:30 – Lunch & networking
13:30 – Close

Life Sciences Legal Forum: Competition Law
2023-02-07 10:00 - 11:00 | Online via Zoom
Medilink Midlands member company, Mills & Reeve, invite you to attend the first webinar in their Life Sciences Legal Forum series. This first online session provides sector-specific guidance on key competition law (anti-trust) issues relating to the life sciences sector.
The Forum will take place on Tuesday 7 February via Zoom.
Mills & Reeve’s Head of Life Sciences, James Fry will be joined by Kate Newman who heads their Competition Law Practice to discuss:

Enforcement activity by the UK and EU competition authorities – what types of conduct have been scrutinised and what will the authorities focus on next?
The expanding reach of merger control and what it means for the life sciences sector
National Security and Investments Act – sector themes we’re seeing
Horizon scanning – what’s coming up?

To book your place, please click here.
Upon confirmation of your place, you will have the opportunity to send questions to the speakers so they can be covered if possible, during the webinar.

Beginner's Guide to developing and releasing a new Medical Device or IVD
2023-02-09 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
This free-to-attend event is part of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) industry event programme, aimed to support the West Midlands innovation ecosystem, and to make the West Midlands healthier, more productive and deliver the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.
Medical devices and IVDs are a highly regulated industry, and the regulatory considerations should be considered at the earliest stages of your strategic planning to help ensure that your products can be successfully approved and commercialised.
The webinar will provide a high level overview of the critical considerations and overview of the key steps needed from initial planning through to successfully selling the product after regulatory approval.
The webinar will cover the following focus areas;

Regulatory planning as part of your product get-to-market strategy
Considerations for product design and development
Navigating the regulatory approval process
Commercial launch and beyond – demonstrating continuing safety, performance and compliance to keep your product approval.

CLICK HERE TO SECURE YOUR PLACE
Target audience

This webinar training session is aimed at companies looking to or currently developing a new medical device and explores the critical strategic, operational and industry specific considerations necessary for successful commercialisation of a medical device or IVD product, with a focus on the regulatory and legal compliance environment.
This webinar is aimed at business leaders, product developers, software developers, technical managers, quality and regulatory professionals.

Timothy Bubb, Technical Director, IMed Consultancy
Tim Bubb is a Principal Consultant and heads up the medical device consulting team at IMed Consultancy. Tim specialises in high-risk active therapeutic medical devices, software, digital health, and AI/ Machine learning, such as defibrillators, ventilators, and clinical decision support software. Tim has a wealth of experience in medical device quality, regulatory, clinical, and design engineering fields, having held senior industry positions in both multinational and SME manufacturers with overall responsibility for ensuring product legal compliance from concept through to regulatory approval, and successful commercialisation.
IMed Consultancy is a Medical Device and IVD specialist Regulatory and Quality consulting company, helping manufacturers achieve and maintain regulatory approvals for their products and quality management systems through a variety of consulting and representation services.

ONLINE: The Value of Implementing an ISO 13485 Compliant QMS
2023-02-09 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
SEHTA and IVDeology Ltd a leading regulatory company specifically within the in vitro diagnostic medical device industry, are delighted to offer this webinar to start-up companies who want to know more about quality management systems and how they impact an organisation. The session will be led by Nancy Consterdine, Director of Training and Compliance Services, IVDeology.
Please click here to book your free place today.
Agenda
10:00 – 10:05 Welcome & Introduction
10:05 – 10:50:

Components of and timing of initiating a quality management system
Advantages of early implementation for device development
Global regulatory requirement for a QMS
Measurable value to a well maintained QMS

10:50 – 11:00 Q&A
11:00 Close

IN-PERSON EVENT: Innovation, Resilience and Productivity: New Methods to Future Proof your Business Growth
2023-02-14 09:30 - 13:00 | Charnwood Campus, Bakewell Road, Loughborough, LE11 5RB
The next Charnwood Campus Cluster event, sponsored by Weiss Technik UK, is focused on how innovation can drive productivity, something very important in the current business climate. You may already be focusing on ways to improve your productivity by looking at operations optimisation, distribution of work, automation and rationalisations, however harnessing the power of innovation can make a real difference. Join our local leaders and experts to explore how to increase productivity in new ways by focusing on innovating and building resilience in your business at an organisational, social and mental health level.
Speakers already confirmed include:

Professor Dean Fathers, Centre for Organisational Resilience
Jennifer Turner, Founder and Director, JT Rehab
Michael Watts, Managing Director, Blum Health
Malcolm Youll, Managing Director, Weiss Technik UK

To book your ticket, click here.

Midlands Meet-Up Networking Event
2023-02-15 18:00 - 20:00 | Lost and Found, Birmingham, B2 5RS
We are delighted to announce details of the OBN Midlands-focused networking evening on 15 February 2023, organised in collaboration with our sponsor Penningtons Manches Cooper​ and co-promoted by ourselves and The West Midlands Healthtech Cluster.
The purpose of the evening is to showcase the West Midlands’ strong and growing life sciences ecosystem and get to know some of the most innovative R & D companies in the region.
If you would like to find out more and build your Midlands network, please click here to book your complimentary ticket. The event starts at 18.00, with a drink on arrival and Pizza during the evening.

WEBINAR: The Future of AI in Life Sciences
2023-02-16 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
This online event is part of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) industry event programme, aimed to support the West Midlands innovation ecosystem, and to make the West Midlands healthier, more productive and deliver the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.
AI is firmly on the agenda within the life sciences sector, whether it’s mining data for new drug/target interactions, or collaborating to improve the diagnostic capability of HealthTech solutions.
In this ever moving landscape innovators need to keep ahead of the legal landscape and know whats coming.
Join James Fry, Head of Life Sciences and Partner, Mills & Reeve on how we are seeing Artificial intelligence (AI) being applied within the life sciences sector and what’s on the horizon.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE
This session will cover:

How we are seeing advanced technologies e.g. AI, being applied within the life sciences sector;
The legal landscape e.g. IP and regulatory issues; and
Horizon scanning (what’s coming up).

Following the presentation, you will have the chance to put your questions to James.
DURATION: 1 hour
Speaker Profiles:

James Fry, Head of Life Sciences and Partner at Mills & Reeve
James heads the firm’s fast growing, multi-disciplinary life sciences practice and focuses exclusively on this sector. The practice supports clients in the pharma and biotech, medical device, diagnostic, medtech and digital health sub-sectors. James’ own practice focuses on intellectual property, commercial contracting and regulatory work.

Energy-Smart Places: Delivering Net Zero
2023-02-28 09:00 - 17:00 | Manchester & Online
Innovate UK and the EPSRC are holding a one-day hybrid event, taking place in-person in Manchester and online.
The Prospering from the Energy Revolution programme, delivered by Innovate UK and EPSRC, has invested over £100m in developing and demonstrating local approaches to energy, with over 80 projects involving hundreds of organisations.
This one-day conference and exhibition will help tell the projects’ stories and give insight into what has been learnt and achieved. The event will bring people together from across the energy landscape, to look at how the potential of local smart energy systems can be realised on the journey to net zero.
Joining this event will be a great way to learn more about the opportunities and issues around place-based approaches to energy, to share experiences with others to take inspiration and key insight back to your area’s net zero delivery plans.
To register for this event, click here.

WEBINAR: A Practical Guide to Achieving Net-Zero – What it Means for the Healthcare Supply Chain
2023-03-07 09:30 - 11:30 | Online
This online event is part of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) industry event programme, aimed to support the West Midlands innovation ecosystem, and to make the West Midlands healthier, more productive and deliver the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.

Following on from the face-to-face event held in December, this online event will continue to examine the ambitious sustainable goals set out by the government and the NHS, and how you, as a life sciences or health care organisation, need to adapt to meet the requirements of the customer (NHS). Plus, it will explore how you can lead the way to achieving net zero and a sustainable organisation.
Attend this free session to find out:

Overview of NHS needs
Support available from the AHSN
Examples of innovation driving greener healthcare
How to measure and reduce your own emissions and save energy costs
How to reduce emissions and save energy costs.

Our panel of guest speakers include:

Helen Black, Transformation and Net Zero Delivery Lead, NHS England – Midlands
Pete Waddingham, National NetZero Lead, The AHSN Network
Olivia Simpson, CEO & Co-Founder, SymbioTex
David Abosch, Director, Cognition Cloud
Adam Wright, Chief Operating Officer, Zellar

To secure your free place click here
Speaker company profiles:
The AHSN Network
Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) bring together the NHS, industry, academic, third sector and local organisations. Our collaboration ensures innovations, improvements and best practice benefit more patients faster.
Our national innovation pipeline features more than 1,200 proven technologies ready to be matched to local health and care challenges.
SymbioTex is a west midlands based company started by two university of Wolverhampton students. It focuses on utilising seaweed and waste biomass to produce home compostable semi ridged bioplastics – with the goal of producing class 1 medical devices such as inhalers, pregnancy test and other diagnostic tests.
Cognition Cloud helps organisations to understand the environmental impact of their Information Technology and provides services to help them mitigate it.
Cognition Cloud is able to provide organisations a baseline measurement of the embedded GHG emissions in their desktops and laptops. Their services then help them to significantly cut these emissions over time.
Zellar is the UK’s leading sustainability platform, helping businesses on their journey to Net Zero in the fastest, most efficient and cost-effective way.
Reducing energy usage in the current climate, even by 20%, is likely to have a significant impact on businesses’ bottom line. Every business needs to become sustainable; their customers, employees and stakeholders will be demanding it.
The Midlands is leading the way, hear how the Zellar platform can support your business and the planet.

Selling into the NHS & Understanding your Market
2023-03-14 09:30 - 11:30 | Online
This online event is part of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) industry event programme, aimed to support the West Midlands innovation ecosystem, and to make the West Midlands healthier, more productive and deliver the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE
This webinar will provide you with an overview of the fundamental steps you need to take to understand your market, and your customer (NHS). Our guest speakers will share their expert knowledge in selling and preparing businesses to gain access to and sell into the NHS and health care providers. Offering advice and guidance on what is required by the NHS and others to initiate and make a sale of medical innovation.
Hear from Kate Pym, Managing Director of Pym’s Consultancy Ltd who will cover:

Timeline considerations

Market evaluation and assessment
Customer discovery
Funding
Marketing
Sales
Product development pipeline
Exit strategy

Understanding Your Market

Structures and services within the NHS
Integrated Care – ICS
Market entry points
Competitor analysis
Market size
Market value
QoF, CQUINS, PbR, national strategies
Internal market competition (NHS vs private work)
“it’s different here” – working at a trust level

Understanding Your Customer

Focusing on a point of access
Position of product/service in clinical pathway
Identifying buyers and stakeholders
Incentives and drivers for stakeholder
Budgets and autonomy

Our second guest speaker, Bob Roopra, Managing Consultant of Roopra Medtech Consulting, will expand on this subject, and offer real life examples and re- affirm, ‘it’s all about the plan!’
Including:

Preparing a business to sell its new innovations into the NHS
Key items a company must consider
Examples of big and small medtech business – their success and lessons learnt, and how the correct approach and preparation can lead to benefits, such as funding and investment.
Steps to successful launches and sales.

Speaker profiles:
Kate Pym AMIHM (mid), Managing Director of Pym’s Consultancy Ltd
Pym’s Consultancy Ltd is an independent consultancy providing services for SMEs and universities supporting grant applications, responses to tender and commercialisation
Kate has over 25 years’ experience of working in Health and Social Care for companies, including Allergan Inc., AstraZeneca, Mitie and Baxter Healthcare. With a focus on innovative products and services. She has worked across the NHS, public, private and third sectors to produce patient-centred, high quality, outcome based services and facilitate the market entry and growth of new products.
Kate’s experience covers: Product launches, writing winning bids, working with commissioners to model population outcomes, designing, selling and mobilization of new health, social care and integrated services. She has a clear focus on outcomes and what is required to demonstrate them, with a view to market entry, extension and expansion of constructive innovation.
Bob Roopra MBA FCMI, Managing Direcor of Roopra Medtech Consulting Ltd.
Bio/photo to follow.

WEBINAR: The State of the Nation Cyber Webinar Series Part 1 - Cyber Risk Quantification
2023-03-16 10:00 - 11:00
Join Gallagher for part one of this year’s State of the Nation Cyber Webinar Series – Cyber Risk Quantification – Measuring the Cost of Cyber Risk Exposure.
How much should we invest in a new security control? What level of cyber insurance coverage do we need? Are we reducing the amount of cybersecurity risk within our business, and if so, by how much?
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE TODAY
These are questions that boards around the world are struggling to answer in the current environment. Traditional qualitative methods of measuring the level of cyber risk within an organisation currently do not provide accurate enough information to answer these questions. A more robust, probabilistic and scenario-driven type of analysis is required. That’s where cyber risk quantification comes into its own.
In this webinar, Gallagher cyber specialists will discuss this burgeoning field of risk quantification, and explore:

Why traditional Cyber risk ‘heat maps’ are not up to scratch.
What Risk Quantification involves, and the methodology that it employs.
How small amounts of information and data can still provide key insights.
How Risk Quantification can help guide business decisions, including control investment and insurance limits.

The key takeaways from this session will include how business leaders can use risk quantification to aid in their decision-making and leverage the Gallagher Cyber Risk Quantification service to provide key insights into the level of risk they face, and where investments could make the biggest difference.

Speakers

Johnty Mongan, Head of Cyber Risk Management at Gallagher
John Clarke, Consulting Manager, Cyber Risk Management at Gallagher

Format

Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A.

Medilink Midlands Business Awards 2023
2023-03-16 19:00 - 23:00 | The Great Hall, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TN, United Kingdom
With thanks to our Headline Sponsors, the University of Birmingham and the Precision Health Technologies Accelerator.

The Medilink Midlands Business Awards will once again provide a stage to showcase the very best collaborations between industry, academia and the NHS across the Midlands.

We come together each year to celebrate the achievements of life science companies, which for 2023 will be hosted in the Great Hall, set in the grounds of the University of Birmingham. A truly outstanding venue, to complement our outstanding finalists.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the Midlands life science community to gather together, celebrate and network.
Ceremony & Dinner
The awards ceremony will be held at the Great Hall, University of Birmingham on Thursday 16 March 2023.
Tickets
CLICK HERE TO SECURE YOUR TICKETS
Member individual: £99 / Member table*: £850
To receive the discounted Medilink Member rate, you will need to enter the promotional code at checkout. If you have not received your code, please contact info@medilinkmidlands.com
Non Member individual: £135 / Non Member table*: £1,200
*table of x 10
plus VAT.
Hotel Accommodation
Medilink has a small allocation of bedrooms secured at The Edgbaston Park Hotel. Please get in touch if you would like to secure your bedroom(s) at info@medilinkmidlands.com.

WEBINAR: Selling To The NHS: How Procurement Operates
2023-03-23 09:00 - 10:00
This online event is part of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) industry event programme, aimed to support the West Midlands innovation ecosystem, and to make the West Midlands healthier, more productive and deliver the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE
Our second in the series of procurement focused webinars, this one-hour session will be delivered by Simon Clarke, Managing Director, BSOL Procurement Collaborative (Procurement lead – Birmingham and Solihull ICS). Simon will share his wealth of experience working with the NHS and innovators to sell to the NHS and how the NHS procurement system operates.
Topics covered will include:

Who are BSOL Procurement Collaborative, what do they deal with and what do they require?
Overview of the NHS procurement operation and where BSOL Procurement Collaborative sits amongst the range of Procurement entities.
How should industry approach NHS procurement and what should they present to get their attention and time.
Where do Frameworks and National procurement fit with the BSOL Procurement Collaborative?
Who should industry approach first and why?
Where does industry go wrong? Common errors and faux pas when selling to BSOL Procurement Collaborative / NHS as well as several ‘must dos’.
Regulatory considerations
Do BSOL Procurement Collaborative evaluate / try products? Or get engaged with Health Economics for companies?
Plans for sustainability and net zero.
Selling to an ICB
Other opportunities

ONLINE EVENT: TBAT Innovation Challenge 2023 - Workshop 1 - Finance
2023-03-23 13:00 - 17:00 | Online
Join TBAT Innovation, Shakespeare Martineau and Modus Accountants, along with other partners for the first of the Innovation Challenge workshops to discover all you need to know to fund your business growth and innovation. They will discuss problems, challenges and highlight opportunities to reduce the effects of funding barriers – supporting on the journey to commercialisation and being a disrupter in the marketplace.
For more details of this first workshop, click here.
This event forms part of the wider TBAT Innovation Challenge 2023.
The Innovation Challenge is brought to you by TBAT Innovation with headline sponsor Shakespeare Martineau and has been designed by our expert team to stimulate and support innovation in SMEs. It leverages the expertise of our unique partner network while seeing our partners come together to deliver four free to attend, vibrant and informative workshops.
Once our final workshop has concluded in June, the final stage of The Innovation Challenge will open. We will invite applications for businesses to submit a full business plan to be considered for our exciting prize package.
The winner will receive a £5,000 cash prize and support packages from partners involved in The Innovation Challenge, tailored to their needs. Furthermore, two runners up will receive a free support package from partners involved in The Innovation Challenge.
We will be hosting a final showcase event in October 2023 to announce the winner from 10 finalists who will be invited to pitch their business plan in 3 minute presentation in front of key investors.
The Application window will open March 23rd, with further details on how to apply to be announced.

IN-PERSON EVENT: Health Data Immersion Week: Working With Real World Data
2023-03-27 - 2023-03-31 | University of Birmingham, Winterbourne House, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
The University of Birmingham’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Data Science and AI has partnered with Health Data Research UK to deliver a series of intensive courses (immersion weeks), intended to enable individuals with skills in mathematics and computational science to gain insight into key topics in health data science.
Our upcoming course taking place at the end of March is delivered in collaboration with University Hospitals Birmingham, through the HDR UK supported PIONEER Data Hub. It will be of particular interest to anyone wishing to gain an understanding of the potential and challenges of real-world health data, and practical experience of working with such data.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE TODAY

Course Title: Working with Real-World Data
Dates: Monday 27th to Friday 31stMarch 2023
Location: University of Birmingham (in-person only)
Registration Fee: £400,with a discounted rate of £250 for registered students (small number of stipends available)
To find out more & apply: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/data-science/health-data-training/health-data-immersion-week-real-world-data.aspx

EMAHSN Innovation Academy - Live Q&A - Module I: Considerations for Spread and Adoption
2023-03-28 13:00 - 14:00 | Online – GoToMeeting
PLEASE NOTE: We are aware that some people have recently experienced issues registering for / logging into their EMAHSN Innovation Academy account. We believe this issue to now be resolved, but please email teresao@medilinkmidlands.com if you have any difficulties registering for this module.
The East Midlands Academic Health Science Network Innovation Academy is open to anyone to register. Once registered, participants will have access to a range of modules, each including a webinar, live Q&A session with the experts and online resources. The webinars are on demand, so can be accessed at any time, with the live Q&A session for each module being scheduled throughout 2023.
For further details/to watch the ON-DEMAND webinar or join the live Q&A session please CLICK HERE to Sign up for the Academy and to register for this module.
This module explores innovation, adoption and spread within the NHS. Tony will discuss the key factors which should be considered if your innovation is replicating another or improvement across multiple locations. He will also cover what needs to be thought about if your innovation is new to the NHS and how you can provide evidence that your product significantly improves the quality of health and care.
Tony will also give you the knowledge required for you to put a completely new innovation into practice, all whilst making you think about the logic behind your innovation!
Presenter

Tony Doyle – Managing Director, Qbtech & NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow 2020

Julian Patel, Associate Director (Innovation Partnerships & Business Development), East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN)

Mark Dines-Allen, Senior Programme Consultant, EMAHSN

Tim Robinson, Commercial Director, EMAHSN

IN-PERSON EVENT: From Ideas to Adoption: Marketing and Market Access Strategies for Life Science Innovators
2023-03-29 09:30 - 12:45 | Charnwood Campus Loughborough, LE11 5RB, Charnwood Campus Loughborough, Loughborough, LE11 5RB, United Kingdom
Join us for this workshop hosted by the University of Leicester Life Sciences Accelerator (LLSA). You will learn the key skills and strategies to bring your life science innovations to market and drive adoption in a complicated sector. The workshop will take place at Charnwood Campus, Loughborough on 29 March 2023. Refreshments and lunch will be provided on the day.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE TODAY
The workshop consists of two sessions:

Contextualising your Idea – Marketing Fundamentals:

Helping you to understand how to create and articulate value for your customers by offering them innovations that meet the needs of the customer and end users in the life sciences sector. The session will provide you with skills on how to research your market, position your idea and freedom to operate in a competitive market.

Shaping the Market for Adoption – Market Access Fundamentals:

Helping you to understand how to shape the market opportunity for your idea and navigate the barriers to market access. This session disseminates the skills needed to explore your innovation’s market opportunity by assessing the routes to market, developing effective communication strategies and building advocacy to drive adoption.
Agenda:

09:30 – Arrival, Registration and Refreshments
10:00 – Contextualising your Idea – Marketing Fundamentals (75 mins)
11:15 – Refreshments
11:30 – Shaping the Market for Adoption – Market Access Fundamentals (75 mins)
12:45 – Lunch and Close

The Leicester Life Sciences Accelerator delivers free innovation support to regional life sciences SMEs to increase knowledge exchange between clinicians, academics and local companies to accelerate product development in partnership with the Midlands Engine and is part funded by the European Regional Development fund.

IN-PERSON EVENT: The King's Awards for Enterprise event for Wolverhampton businesses
2023-04-14 08:00 - 10:00 | Wolverhampton Art Gallery
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are a prestigious set of awards given annually to UK-based businesses that demonstrate exceptional achievement in areas such as innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.
Hear direct from Wolverhampton Deputy Lieutenant Professor Martin Levermore MBE and Deputy Lieutenant John Wood, who will outline the process involved and answer any questions you may have.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE
Winning a King’s Award is widely considered to be a hallmark of business excellence and can bring numerous benefits to your business:

Increased brand recognition and credibility
Improved marketing opportunities
Networking opportunities
Access to funding and grants
Improved employee morale

The awards are valid for 5 years. Winners have reported benefiting from worldwide recognition, increased commercial value, greater press coverage and a boost to staff morale. Hear from previous Queen’s Awards winners sharing their experience.
Those who gain an award will be:

Invited to a Royal reception
Presented with the award at your company by one of The King’s representatives, a Lord-Lieutenant
Able to fly The King’s Awards flag at your main office, and use the emblem on your marketing materials (for example, on your packaging, advertisements, stationery and website)
Given a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy

The 2024 awards will open for entries in May 2023 with a closing date early in September 2023.
For more information about The King’s Awards for Enterprise, please click here.

IN-PERSON EVENT: Empowering Women in Biotech
2023-04-18 09:30 - 15:30 | Charnwood Molecular
Taking place on 18th April between 9.30am – 3.30pm, this event aims to bring together likeminded individuals working in the biotech and life science sector, and women looking to pursue a career in this industry. We will have talks from inspirational women in the industry on topics ranging from leadership and the visibility of women in biotech, investment opportunities available, and ways to connect with one another.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE TODAY
Aim of the Event:

Share personal and professional experiences and career strategies from a woman’s perspective.
Help women, wherever they are in the career paths, realise their future goals.
Encourage women to enter and maintain careers in Biotech.
Generate a wider network of professionals working in Biotech.

Who is it for?
This is an inclusive event and all are welcome particularly:
-Women in academia and industry who would like to network
-Women who would like to learn about and explore the opportunities available to them
This event is in partnership with Bionow, Charnwood Molecular, Charnwood Campus, IBioIC, Potter Clarkson, SynBioBeta and WiSB (Women in Synthetic Biology)
A great opportunity for academic and industry colleagues to get together.
For any further information please contact mollie.nolan@bionow.co.uk

WEBINAR: Are Your Promotional Materials Compliant?
2023-04-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
From websites, conference collateral, digital/printed ads, audio-visual material through to prescribing information; promotional copy requires a technical review in order to prevent violations of industry codes and to ensure that legal guidelines are followed.
JensonR+ work with you to make the promotion and launch of your product a success. They provide both medical and regulatory review and certification services for promotional copy through our team of registered copy approvers. JensonR+ can review your promotional literature, advise you on campaign strategy and key messages, and obtain regulatory approval through pre-vetting where necessary.
Join us for this free-to-attend webinar, which gives an overview of the following topics, what copy approval is, and why it is required:

Prescription-only medicines
Over-the-counter medicines
Food supplements

Cosmetics
Medical Devices
Events and conference compliance
Proofreading services

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE TODAY
Speaker Profiles

James Hall, Director, JensonR+
James joined JensonR+ Ltd in 2012 and has over 25 years’ regulatory experience predominantly in the OTC sector of the industry.
His background covers a wide spectrum of areas including regulatory strategy and implementation, borderline products, promotional copy approval, reclassifications, medical devices and pharmacovigilance. James has worked with several major pharmaceutical companies and a wide scope of entrepreneurial clients. He is a board member within JensonR+ Ltd.
James has a degree in Applied Biology and is a fellow of TOPRA.
His role within Jenson covers business development, regulatory strategy and implementation for clients, promotional copy review and regulatory team management.

Mihai Inceu, Senior Regulatory Officer, JensonR+
Mihai is currently based in London and Nottingham for JensonR+ Ltd. While at the Faculty of Chemistry in Cluj-Napoca, Mihai was awarded a research scholarship for a study monitoring pesticide residue in Romanian wines, while also working on developing extraction techniques to enable the identification of fake food products on the market.
After a short spell at Ranbaxy as a Bioequivalence Scientist, Mihai worked for 5 years at Nelsons within quality control, quality assurance, and later Regulatory Affairs, where he focused on food supplements, cosmetics, traditional herbal remedies and homeopathic remedies. He has expertise in regulatory complications relating to uncategorised products

WEBINAR: SEHTA & Psephos Biomedica Taster: MHRA Clinical Investigations: Best Practice and Future Insights
2023-04-20 14:00 - 15:30
SEHTA’s MDR Regularory Partner Psephos Biomedica are delighted to bring you this FREE to attend taster webinar session on MHRA Clinical Investigations to help you get up to to date on the latest developments and understand the approval process plus future insights.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE TODAY

Speaker Profiles

Robin Stephens, CEO & Co-Founder, Psephos Biomedica
Presentation Title: Insights into the future at MHRA / in the UK

Mark Grumbridge, Head of Clinical Investigations, MHRA
Presentation Title: Clinical investigations – approval process and best practice

Why attend?
The UK has always fostered a clinical research friendly environment aiming to advance disease diagnosis, medical therapies and improved patient care. With an increasing interest in medtech clinical investigations this webinar will provide an overview of the UK Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) process for research clearance, advice and support. If you are involved in clinical investigations in the UK at any level this informative webinar is for you.
Who should attend?
Clinical research staff (VP, Director, Manager, Specialist, Associate); medtech entrepreneurs; regulatory staff (VP, Director, Manager, Specialist, Associate); anyone interested in the future of medtech clinical research in the UK.

IN-PERSON EVENT: BIOTRINITY 2023: Catalysing Growth in the Life Sciences Industry
2023-04-25 - 2023-04-26 | 155 Bishopsgate, London, 155 Bishopsgate, London, London, United Kingdom
BioTrinity is an established, must-attend London conference, that catalyses growth and supports in-person engagement across the life sciences industry.
The event is attended by an audience of early stage and emerging life sciences R&D Companies, investors, big pharma, and other valued partners throughout the life sciences ecosystem. The conference features a focused, relevant, and stimulating programme, led by great speakers, who bring their knowledge, expertise, and vision to the fore in exciting, high-quality sessions.
Interacting with new companies each year is something we believe to be a critical attribute of a successful conference and we work hard to ensure that a substantial and fresh line-up of investable opportunities and collaboration possibilities are showcased.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE TODAY
BioTrinity features:

A dedicated ‘Scientific Track’, featuring a focus on eight core therapy areas; Oncology, Neuroscience, Microbiome, Inflammatory Diseases, Rare Diseases, Infectious Diseases, Medtech and Cell & Gene Therapy. Each dedicated session will include an expert update from a key opinion leader, followed by up to 5 showcase presentations from some of the most innovative and interesting R&D companies.
A second ‘life sciences business’ focused presentation track, that will feature discussions and keynotes addressing topics from finance and investment, regulatory, government strategy and tax.
Pre-scheduled live & in-person private partnering meetings during the two-day physical conference as well as a bonus third day of virtual only partnering.
A sponsors exhibition area and plenty of ‘all-delegate’ networking opportunities throughout both in-person day, which are so valuable to share knowledge and unlock future collaboration and new business opportunities.
Option for registered delegates to revisit recorded presentations in the days following the conference.
BioTrinity Investor Drinks Reception 24 April and BioTrinity Networking Party 25 April events open to conference delegates.

For more information click here.

IN-PERSON EVENT: Driving Innovation in Midlands Healthcare
2023-04-25 09:00 - 15:30 | Charnwood Campus Loughborough, LE11 5RB, Charnwood Campus Loughborough, Loughborough, LE11 5RB, United Kingdom
A Charnwood Campus NHS and Academia Collaboration Platform event, part of a series of events and workshops to support the growth and success of the life science organisations clustered around Charnwood Campus Science, Innovation and Technology Park.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE TODAY
Are you developing a new healthcare product, drug or biomarker?
Are you interested in these therapeutic areas?

Respiratory
Cancer
Diabetes and Lifestyle
Cardiovascular

Are you looking for a clinical or academic partner?
Are you looking for new research to commercialise?
Are you considering a Precision Medicine approach for your product?
Would you like to have 1-2-1 discussions with world leading clinical and academic experts?
Would you like to develop collaborative projects to de-risk new product development?
Our event aims to grow and develop research partnerships between Industry and the University of Leicester. To facilitate this, pump-prime funding of up to £5K per project will initially be available to help early-stage project development with potential partners following on from this event.
For further information on the funding available and how to book slots with the speakers, please contact Dr Lynne Howells at lh28@le.ac.uk or iph@le.ac.uk

Agenda
9.00 – 9.20 Registration Refreshments and Poster Exhibition.
9.20 – 10.10 Event Welcome and Introduction to the Institute of Precision Health/Clinical Translation of Respiratory Research.
Professor Chris Brightling, Co-Director University of Leicester Institute for Precision Health, Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician, Respiratory Theme Lead for Leicester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (Respiratory).
10.10 – 10.30 Developing the Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Diagnostics.
Professor Jacqui Shaw, Co-Director University of Leicester Institute for Precision Health, Head of Department Genetics and Genome Biology (Genetics).
10.30 – 10.50 Clinical evaluation and enhancing uptake of MedTech to improve outcomes in diabetes.
Professor Pratik Choudhary, Honorary consultant in Diabetes, Leicester Diabetes Centre. Chair of Diabetes Technology Network UK.
10.50 – 11.20 Refreshments and Networking Break.
Pre-book your 10-minute slot with one of our speakers.
11.20 – 11.40 Introduction to the PROTAC pipeline.
Dr James Hodgkinson, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry.
11.40 – 12.00 Developing Novel Biomarkers for Disease Detection.
Professor Don Jones, Co-Director University of Leicester Institute for Precision Health, Director of van Geest MultiOMICS facility and Dr Jim Langridge, Waters (Biomarkers).
12.00 – 1.40 Lunch and Networking Break.
Pre-book your 10-minute slot with one of our speakers.
1.40 – 2.00 Industry Talk.
2.00 – 2.30 Industry collaborations advancing novel cardiac risk prediction tools to the clinic.
Professor Andre Ng, Head of Department, Cardiovascular Sciences, Professor of Cardiac Electrophysiology, Consultant Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist.
2.30 – 2.50 How Companies can Access Funded Projects.
Dr Lucy Alexander, Head of Business Development, Charnwood Campus.
2.50 – 3.00 – Professor Don Jones. Session close and collaborative opportunities.
3.00 – 3.30 Networking and speaker slots.

Speaker Profiles

Professor Chris Brightling
Professor Chris Brightling’s research focusses on improving the clinical management and understanding the mechanisms of airway diseases such as asthma, chronic coughs and COPD. He has published over 450 peer reviewed articles. Prof Brightling is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, National Institute for Health Research Senior Investigator, Respiratory Theme Lead for Leicester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Director Institute for Lung Health, and Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician. He is Coordinator of the MRC Molecular Pathology Node EMBER and Respiratory lead for the IMI 3TR and was founding Director of the European Respiratory Society Clinical Research Collaborations.
Prof Brightling is the national lead for the post-COVID consortium PHOSP-COVID and local research lead for the COVID-19 pandemic. His main research focus is on improving the clinical management and understanding the immunopathogenesis of the airway diseases asthma, chronic cough and COPD. He is a member of the American College of Chest Physicians’ Cough Guidelines, the British Thoracic Society, American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Severe Asthma guidelines and is on the scientific committee for the Global INitiative for Asthma – GINA. Prof Brightling draws on his experience in research excellence and leadership to coordinate the research teams at the University of Leicester and three Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust sites in their COVID-19 response.

Professor Jacqui Shaw
Professor Shaw is Head of the Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, Co-Director of the Institute for Precision Health and Professor of Translational Cancer Genetics at the University of Leicester. Her extensive expertise in innovative blood-based tests for monitoring breast and lung cancers, known as liquid biopsies, is highly sought after through national and international collaborations in clinical studies and trials. Professor Shaw’s research has found that breast cancer recurrence can be detected by a blood test up to two years ahead of when traditional screening techniques would be able to detect it. This highly impactful work enabled US-based genetic testing company Natera achieve the prestigious ‘Breakthrough Device’ designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019 for their Signatera™ test, which offers patients personalised cancer testing.
Professor Shaw’s research group’s expertise is in molecular diagnostics. This expertise was deployed during the coronavirus pandemic to establish and lead on asymptomatic screening for COVID-19 at the University of Leicester, using a quick antigen test known as LAMP – Loop-mediated isothermal amplification. This screening programme has supported the University in the early detection of COVID-19 outbreaks on campus by detecting staff and students with asymptomatic cases who may have unknowingly spread the virus.

Professor Pratik Choudhary
Professor Choudhary is an honorary consultant in Diabetes with a special interest in type 1 diabetes and technology. He has active clinical and research programs around education psychology and technology in type 1 diabetes. In particular, using neuroimaging to explore mechanisms of hypoglycaemia unawareness and use of different strategies such as technology and behavioural interventions to restore awareness.
Professor Choudhary is currently chair of the Diabetes Technology Network-UK working to improve access to technology for diabetes through training education and advocacy. He has experience in academic and industry-funded early-phase studies evaluating novel glucose sensors and closed loop- artificial pancreas systems to help progress technologies, and multinational randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and Real-World Evidence studies to support implementation and policy decisions that have enabled equitable access to developed technologies across the NHS.

Dr James Hodgkinson
Research within the Hodgkinson Group is focused on the synthesis of novel chemical probes and compound libraries designed to study biological processes otherwise challenging by genetic approaches. We are specifically interested in developing chemical probes for Class I Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes and other protein partners that exist in Class I HDAC multiprotein complexes. Class I HDACs and their associated complexes have been implicated in diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Applications include using our chemical probes to investigate novel ligand-protein interactions and protein-protein interactions within HDAC complexes, and developing heterobifunctional molecules including proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) for the targeted degradation of Class I HDACs and their associated complex partners in cancer cells. Our overall goal and vision is that our validated chemical probes will have direct applications for use by the members of chemical biology and biology communities in revealing new biology, studying disease and ultimately aiding the discovery of new therapeutics.

Professor Andre Ng
Professor Ng is an expert in the management of cardiac arrhythmias especially in catheter ablation and the use of mapping systems in such procedures. He has played a key role in the establishment of an active ablation programme for Atrial Fibrillation since 2002 at Glenfield Hospital and has pioneered the use of a novel robotic system in AF ablation. He has provided proctorship for new ablation technologies at many centres worldwide. He also specialises in advance device implantation including pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) devices.
He has translated important preclinical findings into investigations in cardiac patients with the successful development of a novel technology for sudden death risk stratification, LifeMap, which won numerous prizes including Medical Futures Award 2011 – Best Innovation in Diagnostics and European Heart Rhythm Association Inventors Award 2016, resulting in several internationally granted patents.

Professor Don Jones
Professor Jones is co-director of the Leicester van Geest Multi-OMICs Facility, which is a world-leading centre for biomarker research. Professor Jones’ research involves discovering and implementing novel biomarkers of disease using mass spectrometry techniques, with particular interest in the discovery of biomarkers (proteins, metabolites and lipids) using state-of-the-art analytical techniques in combination with novel data interrogation techniques. From these projects the group are establishing targeted assays for biomarkers and working with pathology colleagues to validate and achieve clinical accreditation for assays.
As Co-director of Institute for Precision Health which helps coalesce precision medicine activity across the University and NHS. All this work helps to underpin the implementation of precision medicine by finding novel tools to personalise diagnosis and treatment in modern medicine.
Professor Jones plays an active role in the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre which allows this research to be translated into clinical use.

Dr Lucy Alexander
Head of Business Development and Senior Business Development Manager of Innovation Centre, Charnwood at Charnwood Campus. I am passionate about research translation to real world product and have been delivering research commercialisation for over 25 years. Before joining the Campus, I led the Leicester Life Sciences Accelerator, focused on developing commercialisation of novel medicines and technologies with start-ups and SMEs.

Making Pharmaceuticals 2023
2023-04-25 09:00 - 2023-04-26 16:00 | Coventry Building Society Arena, Judds Lane, Coventry, CV6 6GE, United Kingdom
The leading UK Pharmaceutical Exhibition and Conference will take place in person on 25 and 26 April at the Coventry Building Society Area. Attend to see 200+ companies exhibiting their latest products and services. network with pharmaceutical professionals and be part of the No.1 event in the UK for Pharmaceutical professional from research to finished product.
There will be 6 Industry Zones:
– Cleanroom & Hygiene
– Laboratory
– Processing and Machinery
– Ingredients & Raw Materials
– Pharmaceutical Building Facilities
– Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Packing Zone
For more information or to book your stand visit www.makingpharma.com
