North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has joined clinicians and scientists from across the region to learn more about ideas which potentially could save the NHS millions by bringing the benefits of cutting-edge healthcare technology to patients faster.
The four-day Health Innovation Programme for health professionals, hosted by SETsquared and the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), provided 17 healthcare research groups with an intensive course in taking innovations to market.
SETsquared is a long-standing partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey which specialises in growing high-tech start-ups through its incubation programme and other business acceleration services.
The group provides mentoring, access to investors and corporate innovators and a wide range of industry experts through its network and training programmes. Its business incubation programme is ranked by the University Business Incubator Index as the best in the world and has helped over 3,500 high-tech start-ups to develop and raise more than a £1.5 billion of investment.
Independent research carried out by Warwick Economics estimates the economic impact of SETsquared member companies to be £8.6bn to date, with the creation of 20,000 jobs.
The programme, which is now into its fourth successful year, covered topics such as how to conduct effective market analysis, develop funding strategies and build a compelling business case for potential investors. Among the 17 innovators that took part this year was Dr Chen Mao Davies, founder of LatchAid, a breastfeeding support app that uses Augmented Reality to help new mothers learn and improve their latching-on skills.
The final day culminated with an opportunity for delegates to pitch to a panel of investors and healthcare experts. This was followed by a prize giving led by Justin.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I was delighted to attend the last day of the programme and to get an opportunity to speak to the participants and learn more about their pioneering ideas. Congratulations to SETsquared and the West of England Academic Health Science Network for continuing to deliver a course that goes from strength to strength and supports innovators who are looking to make a fantastic contribution to many different areas of health and social care.”
Dr Chen Mao Davies, founder of LatchAid, said: “When starting out in business there is so much you need to think about that often it is easy to get wrapped up in your idea and forget the other things needed to make it a success. Getting the chance to speak to individuals experienced in launching and running a successful business was extremely helpful. I found the whole experience really invaluable.”
Karen Brooks, Programme Director at SETsquared, said: “Once more the quality of innovators continues to impress. I’m delighted that after four years this world class training programme continues to make a real difference to healthcare entrepreneurs.”
Lars Sundstrom, Innovation and Growth Director at West of England AHSN, added: “We’re delighted that through the Healthcare Innovation Programme we have been able to help create new partnerships between companies and healthcare providers. Some of the ideas we’ve seen today really do have the potential to change people’s lives and revolutionise areas of the healthcare industry.”
For more details about the partnership, visit: http://www.setsquared.co.uk/start-support/support-healthcare-innovators
