A health tech innovation hub has been launched in Birmingham by Deloitte.
The aim of the Health Tech Catalyst is to accelerate health tech innovation in the Midlands and beyond, to help improve people’s health and wellbeing.
While regionally-based, the Catalyst will also engage with local, national and international partners to bring together researchers, industry and the NHS to create more commercial opportunities for innovators.
The project has been led by Gus Miah, partner and head of healthcare at Deloitte in the Midlands, and supported by a team of more than 100 experts from across the company.
Miah said: “This year we have seen just how vital digital solutions are for organisations and individuals. Whilst the digitisation of healthcare isn’t a new concept, we know from experience how difficult it can be to develop and deploy new innovations quickly and safely into frontline health care.
“We wanted to identify a way in which we could help accelerate that process, overcome barriers to growth for health tech companies whilst also helping support healthcare providers. The Catalyst is our way of using our experience and connections to bring all the different components together in order to benefit all.”
It will provide a programme of virtual events, insights from industry experts, and workshops; on areas including procurement, funding and sustainable supply chain management.
Matt Henderson, UK regional lead for life sciences and healthcare at Deloitte, added: “Accelerating the adoption of digital health technologies could ultimately improve quality of life for citizens, and improve the productivity of the healthcare ecosystem.
“Deloitte works closely with public bodies and private sector businesses in the health tech space, from SMEs to global organisations. Access to funding, talent and developing clinical partnerships are all common challenges for growing health tech businesses.
“By bringing technology, healthcare and public sector organisations together, the Catalyst aims to empower these organisations to create and scale new digital solutions.”
The news of this latest health tech hub follows a £22 million competition which was launched in May 2019 to help set up five “Digital Innovation Hubs” connecting regional healthcare data with genetic and biomedical information across the country.