Taking MedTech to market
A Yorkshire, UK-based accelerator is designed to bridge the gap between primary research and clinical implementation.
The UK’s health and life sciences sector is built on the strength of its materials technologies. Biomedical materials are used extensively to manufacture the full range of healthcare technologies, including medical devices, specialist packaging, consumer health products, through to drugs and advanced therapies such as living cell products.
Our national competitive advantage in this field is built on a mature, integrated, innovation ecosystem – one that bridges the gap between university expertise and spin-outs, NHS clinical expertise and commercial innovation.
Crucially, taking these materials from the lab to the patient depends on more than just successful synthesis. It requires a high-performance value chain of experts in intellectual property, regulatory affairs, clinical trials, manufacturing and supply chain optimisation.
By aligning materials innovation with this specialist support, the UK has created a powerhouse sector that now employs over 350,000 people, according to the UK Government report Bioscience and Health Technology Sector Statistics 2023 to 2024.
Valued at more than £140bln and projected to continue to grow rapidly over the next decade, this is a sector where materials science is not just improving quality of life – it is driving the UK’s modern industrial future.
However, the UK’s pre-eminent global position should not be taken for granted. The US, China, India and many EU states have strong and competitive biomedical materials industries.
To remain competitive, the UK must continue to innovate.
Successful innovation is a complex phenomenon, but a critical element is the effectiveness of de-risking research emanating from our leading universities. It is within these institutions that the greatest volume of novel biomedical research emerges. The real challenge for all advanced nations is how best to harness this knowledge to grow economies and manufacture products that add to the quality and longevity of life.
Economic growth creates satisfying jobs that are well remunerated, while increasing the tax revenue that pays for national infrastructure. The UK Government recognises the opportunities in its 2025 Life Sciences Sector Plan.
One proven mechanism is to build strong, sustainable relationships between academics and business. While universities have taken some of their most innovative technologies to market via spin-outs, partnering with businesses to develop products remains an integral vehicle for generating real-world impact.
In the medical and life sciences sector, it is important to use healthcare professionals’ expertise, and reflect the views of patients and the public to ensure innovations are fit-for-purpose and satisfy a genuine unmet need.
The sector also needs to work closely with local and regional government. This is partly due to boundaries between health and social care becoming increasingly blurred, and regions having demonstrable industrial strengths.
These are specifically supported with targeted and place-based investments to drive vital growth. In the government’s investment into 22 industrial strategy zones, emphasis is placed on the role of devolved governments in supporting regional prosperity and growth.
A case study of such a regional ecosystem is Yorkshire. The region has proven strengths in medical devices and health technology manufacturing, with more than 30 years’ experience of successful academic-industry collaboration across the sector, and wider relevant expertise in patent law and investment.
To bolster this impact, the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield, UK, have formed the Yorkshire MedTech Place-Based Impact Accelerator.
Valued at £5.2mln, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and with strong support from Mayoral Combined Authorities, this initiative has already enabled over 70 projects focused on translating knowledge into medical products in partnership with Yorkshire businesses or via a spin-out, with licence deals and employment opportunities on the horizon.
By fostering collaborations with regional businesses and developing the next generation of academic entrepreneurs, Yorkshire MedTech is in lockstep with the priorities of regional government to boost Yorkshire’s productivity and growth.
The programme’s success in de-risking novel technologies is apparent in the quadruple helix of universities, businesses, the NHS, and local, regional and national government working together.
Over 50 funded projects at Yorkshire MedTech have clinical partners from 15 different NHS organisations, with many including Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement activities to ensure products meet the needs of users.
The portfolio also includes collaborations with over 30 industry partners, providing highly valued commercial expertise. Technologies supported to-date include in vitro diagnostics, implantable medical devices, simulation models, imaging techniques and sensors, which match to areas of regional industrial sector strength.
The path from the laboratory to patient bedside is rarely linear, yet it is one the UK is uniquely positioned to navigate. With collaboration across the public, private and higher education sectors, as well as investment in translational infrastructure, the UK can secure its future as a global leader in biomedical innovation, ensuring that the materials science of today becomes the life-saving technology of tomorrow.
