Business Growth Hub secures £172k boost for region’s life sciences sector

Manchester-based Business Growth Hub has secured £172k in funding to support local life sciences firms.

The six-figure cash boost, which could help the region’s companies develop new health products and gain access to European markets, will be delivered over the next four years.

The funding forms part of Boost 4 Health, a project launched by the EU to develop the life sciences across northern Europe. In Greater Manchester, around 40 companies will receive one-to-one mentoring with a life sciences specialist and be given the chance to visit other Boost 4 Health centres in Europe, where they can tap into local knowledge and learn about entering new international markets.

Business Growth Hub, part of the Manchester Growth Company economic development organisation, will deliver the fund through its innovation service and new sectors team.

Elsewhere, the project is expected to strengthen the Growth Hub’s links with a number of organisations in the area, including the NHS’ healthcare innovation firm Trustech and the Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network.

Chris Greenhalgh, the Business Growth Hub’s head of innovation and programme development, said: “Greater Manchester is leading the way in life sciences.

“We have Europe’s largest clinical academic campus, Europe’s biggest cancer treatment centre and the largest clinical trials unit in the world.”

He continued: “This funding will help innovative local life science companies bring their own ideas to market.

“By offering mentoring and a chance to meet international experts it will help them grow, generate jobs and attract new investment.”

Funded by the Interreg Europe programme, which forms part of the European Regional Development Fund, Boost 4 Health is seeking to drive £20m in sales for the companies involved.