Transatlantic partnership to drive innovation

A Yorkshire health innovation body has formed a transatlantic partnership aimed at accelerating growth opportunities for health and life sciences businesses.

Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber has signed a collaboration agreement with BioSTL, the organisation at the heart of the life sciences and healthcare innovation ecosystem in St Louis, Missouri.

The partnership creates a formal framework to support innovators across Yorkshire and the Humber, providing access to BioSTL’s network of investors, healthcare providers, research institutions and industry partners.

A delegation from St Louis visited the region to formalise the agreement and begin planning future collaboration. 

During the visit, representatives met NHS, academic and industry leaders in Leeds and took part in activities linked to the Propel Healthtech scale-up programme.

The partnership will focus on practical support for health and life sciences businesses, including market entry guidance, mentorship, investor readiness and connections with potential US customers.

Joint initiatives are already being planned, including trade missions, delegations and knowledge-sharing activities aimed at helping innovators expand internationally.

Richard Stubbs, chief executive at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, said: “The benefits that health innovation brings to patients go beyond borders. 

“Collaborating internationally in this way helps to bring the best global innovation into Yorkshire faster, as well as helping us to support our vibrant local companies to expand into new markets such as St Louis and the wider US system.

“It’s been fascinating to uncover the cultural, geographical and economic similarities between Yorkshire and St Louis, and I’m delighted to be cementing our relationship with the superb BioSTL team in this way.”

St Louis is recognised as one of the United States’ leading health innovation hubs, with strengths in medical research, healthcare delivery and life sciences commercialisation.

Vijay Chauhan, global lead at BioSTL, added: “The idea for this collaboration started a year ago when Richard and I met at NHS ConfedExpo in 2025 when he was chair of the national Health Innovation Network. 

“He had that vision and we said, ‘let’s test drive this idea’.

“We are both regions that are punching way above our weight and we really believe that the wonderful work that’s happening right now can be taken to the next level through this collaboration.

“Also, we both have a vision for health and economic vitality as two sides of the same coin. 

“Richard and team are actually way ahead of us on this topic with the ten years of wonderful, trustful convening that's been going on with the mayoral combined authorities, with the health care organisations and with the innovation support that is a model for us to learn from and leverage.”

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