Why real estate investors are focusing on life sciences

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Ahead of MIPIM, this blog explores why real estate investors are focusing on life sciences.

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Radically changing the way we think about health at work

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In this short blog, CEO Colin Sinclair makes the link between health and productivity in the workplace.

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New testing facility targets Liverpool’s health challenges

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A specialist unit has opened at the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital which will perform clinical trials aimed at tackling some of the region’s most common diseases. 

The opening of the new Liverpool Clinical Research Facility (CRF) unit follows a £5.3m funding award from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).  

A significant proportion of the local population will benefit from the advanced testing at the CRF, as it will explore new treatments and vaccines for a range of diseases prevalent in Liverpool’s communities. This includes research into cancer and heart disease as well as neurology and neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.  

The old Royal Liverpool University Hospital had previously housed the CRF since 2009, where researchers have been investigating high priority health problems for the Liverpool area. Moving to the state-of-the-art Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which was opened in October 2022, will significantly enhance the Liverpool CRF’s capabilities. 

Key benefits of the new site include increasing the number of beds from 12 to 26 and being one of only two NHS units in England that holds M accreditation, an industry standard benchmark for medical trials.  

The unit has been designed with the team’s research needs in mind and is laid out in a bespoke manner to facilitate medical trials, such as having open bed bays and areas for volunteers to relax. This design means the unit can conduct phase one human trials, which is the first step in testing a new treatment in humans.  

To speed up research, sample handling labs and specialist facilities for procedures including bronchoscopies have been created onsite. Operating in alignment with one of the region’s major NHS hospitals means that the CRF has easy access to relevant experts and medical support without adding to NHS workloads and waiting lists.  

The NIHR Liverpool CRF has worked closely alongside Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUFHT), which runs the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, since it was first hosted by the Trust. Its achievements in this time have seen it awarded the funding to set up a new site as well as establish partnerships with key regional organisations such as the Infection Innovation Consortium (iiCON), The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (CCC) NHS Foundation Trust, and the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. 

iiCON acts as a catalyst for the CRF to filter trials in the infection space. Established in 2020, iiCON is a world leading centre for infection innovation and R&D based at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, which works in partnership with Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT). 

The first phase one clinical trial is currently underway at the new facility in partnership with iiCON and Alderley Park based Infex Therapeutics. This trial will progress a novel therapeutic treatment to treat dangerous multi-drug resistant infections into clinical trials over the next 12 months as part of a programme supported by iiCON. The RESP-X programme targets serious recurrent respiratory infections in patients with damaged lung functions. 

Richard Fitzgerald, Consultant in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Director of the CRF at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: 

“The research benefits of the new NIHR Liverpool CRF facility will significantly boost our efforts in tackling a range of local healthcare challenges. Thanks to this work taking place within the Royal Liverpool Hospital, one of the region’s major healthcare hubs, many patients will be able to access some of the most advanced medicines and therapies available. 

“Right now, teams are already hard at work on ground-breaking studies into a number of diseases. This activity is a great testament to the world-class medical research taking place in Liverpool and I’m excited to see what advances are going to be made thanks to our new facility.”  

To increase the pipeline of new trials, iiCON is planning to expand its collaboration with LUFHT and the NIHR Liverpool CRF moving forwards.  

Janet Hemingway, iiCON Director, said: 

“The Liverpool CRF has been at the cutting edge of innovative drug discovery for some time and its site at the new Royal Liverpool Hospital will supercharge the capabilities of this exceptionally talented team. 

“The work that’s underway on Infex’s RESP-X programme illustrates the fantastic collaborations our region is capable of. Bringing together advanced researchers with leading industry specialists and clinical experts is at the heart of iiCON’s mission, as it is vital to delivering the next generation of treatments for infectious diseases.” 

The Liverpool CRF at LUHFT played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, by working in partnership with the University of Liverpool and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to test and develop vital vaccines and medicines. 

KQ Liverpool launches suite of Innovation and Growth Services

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Liverpool City Region businesses to benefit from a wide range of free business support

Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) has today launched a suite of Innovation and Growth Services, which are available for all businesses located within its world-leading innovation district to access. 

The eight programmes are designed to support businesses at every stage of their growth journey, in addition to inspiring the next generation of innovators. 

Dr Carol Costello, Chair of KQ Liverpool, said:

“We measure our success upon the achievements of the businesses that are located within KQ Liverpool, and helping to nurture and grow those businesses is of utmost importance to us. 

“That is why we have developed a range of wrap-around support services for each and every business that makes up this thriving ecosystem.

“The programmes are designed to support start-up creation, accelerate scale-up growth, and encourage inward investment into Liverpool City Region, as well as creating tangible aspirations for local students to develop STEM based careers right here on their doorstep.”

Today’s announcement builds upon the existing KQ Base soft landing programme and KQ Grow business support service, which have already seen a number of organisations benefit from. 

Cleo Cosens, Sales & Marketing Manager, at Pulse Systems, said:

“Having the option to access a range of complementary support services has been invaluable for us. We attended a KQ Grow drop-in event last year and were subsequently introduced to a number of local experts who have been able to guide us on our growth journey.”

Now forming part of an extensive suite of support services, KQ Liverpool is prioritising the inclusive innovation agenda and is helping to grow a network of advocates for its dynamic innovation district.

Rachael Patterson, Policy and Marketing Manager at KQ Liverpool, added:

“The KQ Liverpool ecosystem thrives thanks to its collaborative outlook and partnership networks. 

“Our dedicated KQ Liverpool team works to facilitate these connections, make referrals to our expert advisory partners, and run a series of events, which is all provided at no cost to the businesses that benefit from them.”

The newly added Innovation and Growth Services have a strong focus on culture, connections and careers, helping to bring together the people that make the place. Initiatives include Sixth Form Into Science, KQ Culture and KQ Connect.

Colin Sinclair, CEO of KQ Liverpool said:

“With culture playing such a crucial role in the regeneration of Liverpool City Region, it is key that we continue to nurture our cultural offering across KQ Liverpool through a range of community initiatives, in which the people that live, work and learn in our innovation district can have a direct impact on its development.”

You can find out more about the full range of KQ Liverpool Innovation & Growth Services here.

KQ Liverpool – A Year In Review – 2022

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As we return to the office after the festive break, we can’t help but reflect on the connections made, knowledge shared and the unique developments launched across the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) innovation district during 2022.

We didn’t see our bid to become an Investment Zone progress with the Government, but we have seen other partnership bids within KQ Liverpool succeed, proving alignment of the City Regions strengths with the vital importance of health and life sciences, materials chemistry and manufacturing technology to the UK economy. 

It was an honour to host almost 80 delegates throughout the year, who were visiting Liverpool City Region via Trade Missions, research visits and international conferences. We welcomed visitors from all over the world, including the Federation University in Ballarat, Australia, the US Embassy, and the Department for International Trade in China, and showed them around the fantastic facilities within our world-leading Innovation District. 

Our team also travelled the country representing KQ Liverpool, both as speakers and delegates, at many launch events, conferences and roundtables, including The Convention of the North, Real Estate Live, Digital Manufacturing Week, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce’s Innovation in Business Awards, LSTM’s 125 Campaign Launch at the House of Commons, and the LCR Mental Health and Work Summit.

It was rewarding to give back to our innovative community by hosting a series of free drop-in sessions, in which our business support programme expert advisors gave organisations bespoke guidance for business growth. 

We also engaged with hundreds of young people in Liverpool City Region through our newly launched school’s programme, Sixth Form into Science, inspiring the next generation of innovators, creators and researchers, and via our cultural programme, KQ Culture, helping to establish a long lasting legacy for our innovation district. 

Other key highlights throughout the past 12 months include:

  • Supporting the rapid progression of Paddington Village, including the completion of Novotel Liverpool Paddington Village and the granting of planning permission for the site’s next new build, Sciontec’s HEMISPHERE.
  • Welcoming many new businesses into our innovation district, including Elida Beauty, Cashplus Bank and Pierian Biosciences.
  • The landing of the second High Value Manufacturing Catapult into KQ Liverpool at Liverpool Science Park, the CPI, alongside MTC’s expansion, helping businesses, researchers and government deliver industrial transformation in the UK.
  • The official completion of the University of Liverpool’s Digital Innovation Facility, and Liverpool John Moores University’s Student Life Building, as well as the successful launch of Sciontec’s All Inclusive (AI) workspace at The Spine.
  • The opening of the new Royal Liverpool Liverpool University Hospital, which marked the beginning of a new era of healthcare in the city, and Pembroke House, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine’s new state-of-art home for Research & Development, innovation and education.
  • Continuing to support the world’s first end-to-end response to pandemics as a Steering Group and Founding Member of The Pandemic Institute, alongside six other partners.
  • Ongoing involvement with the UK Innovation Districts Group and Connected Places Catapult, including attending the launch of the UKIDG and CPC Research Commission on Inclusive Innovation and policy roundtable in Belfast.
  • Congratulating our partners Liverpool John Moores University,University of Liverpool, and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine for leading the way in the latest Research Excellence Framework.
  • Enhancing our innovation services by onboarding new partners iiCON and Arete Zero Carbon to our business support programme, KQ Grow.

As we now look to the year ahead, we can’t wait to launch some exciting  additional business support programmes, host more community events and continue to push the inclusive innovation agenda across our world leading innovation district. 2023 is set to be busier than ever!