Archive for category: The Knowledge Quarter

A new Innovate UK-funded Microbials (Microbiome, Biofilms & Phage) Accelerator is now accepting applications from SMEs for a programme of support to help scale their businesses and secure funding for the commercialisation of innovative microbial technologies.

Funded as part of the Biomedical Catalyst, the programme consists of a unique package of business support and access to clinical, scientific, technical and commercial advice at no cost to the company. Applications for the microbial accelerator programme close at midday on June 6^th.

The accelerator is co-led by LYVA Labs and Bionow, with support from a dynamic consortium of partners including iiCON, University of Liverpool (UoL), CPI, and the Innovation Agency (IA).

The scope for the accelerator includes technologies, products, processes, and services that have the potential to impact microbial communities or biofilms related to health, including new technologies to protect beneficial microbiomes or to control harmful microbial communities or biofilms.

Please note that developing new antibiotics to combat AMR and microbial diagnostics is out of scope.

The Microbials Accelerator partnership offers a programme of developmental courses and mentorship opportunities. The programme is designed to give businesses the knowledge and support they need to move products and services from the development stage to market readiness. To be successful in their application, businesses must:

• Be a UK-based SME (small or medium-sized business), or an academic in the early stages of forming an SME.
• Have an innovative idea to develop a novel product/technology/process/ or service, which is in scope and can be evidenced to impact a sizeable healthcare challenge positively.
• Be developing a technology/product/process/service with a clear and obvious route to market that will lead to a commercial opportunity.

The accelerator programme, funded by Innovate UK as part of the Biomedical Catalyst, comes in two phases. An initial 20 organisations will take part in an online ‘pre-accelerator’ course that will cover topics including market research, commercial analysis, market exploitation, finance and clinical trials. For phase two, 8-10 of these organisations will be selected for the full accelerator programme and will receive bespoke support. Industry mentors will be matched to the cohort and guide them through their accelerator journey.

The phase two cohort will also be supported to draft a ‘mock’ Biomedical Catalyst grant application, which will prepare them to apply to the closed Biomedical Catalyst Feasibility call, later in the year. SMEs will end the programme with a final pitch session to a panel of early-stage investors.

Companies not selected for phase two will get an action-planning session with Bionow, which may include referrals to experts in their network who can support them with their onward progression.

Commenting on the programme, Lorna Green, CEO of LYVA Labs, said:

“The Liverpool City Region has a key strength in microbial research and development. This new microbial accelerator will help us capitalise on the unique academic research, facilities, industry partners, and growing ecosystem in our region, enabling us to incubate and support upcoming talent and real-world solutions.”

Geoff Davison, CEO of Bionow, added:

“Research into the relationship between microbes, their hosts, and the environment, could hold the key to vital solutions to some of society’s biggest health challenges.

This programme will help SMEs and startups to get their innovations to market with the potential to transform treatments and health outcomes across a wide range of health sectors.”

Janet Hemingway, Founding Director of the Infection Innovation Consortium (iiCON), an LSTM-based collaboration which works with industry to bring new therapeutics to market, said:

“Exploring new technologies and creative collaborations that will deliver next-generation treatments is at the heart of iiCON’s mission. We’re therefore delighted to be collaborating with LYVA Labs on this targeted support programme, which will give SMEs and those with new ideas access to a variety of really impactful benefits, such as the ability to upscale and unlock product development obstacles.”

Professor Steve Paterson, University of Liverpool Director of Microbiome Innovation Centre, and Professor Rasmita Raval Director of the Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces and Co-Director, National Biofilm Innovation Centre, said:

“University of Liverpool has world-leading expertise and unique facilities in the analysis of microbiomes and biofilms, which we study from the nanoscale to microbial communities. New technologies have revolutionised the microbial field and so we are excited by the opportunity to use these insights to support emerging businesses in Liverpool and nationally.”

Applications for the microbial accelerator programme close at midday on 6^th June. You can apply on the Bionow Website and completed applications should be sent to microbialsaccelerator@bionow.co.uk.

A recent RCP & KQ Liverpool Roundtable brought together local leaders from the public, private and education sectors to discuss the current strengths and future opportunities for enhancing Liverpool’s innovation district.

On Tuesday 28th February, key Liverpool City Region stakeholders gathered to discuss the importance of health and wellbeing at the heart of the regeneration of Liverpool, in addition to affirming their collective drive to inclusive growth, removing the barriers to work and increasing productivity across the City Region.

The strategic importance of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) as an Innovation District was also at the forefront of discussions, bringing the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) together with the local NHS Trusts, Universities, City and Private Sector, to create something even greater than the sum of its parts.

The event began with a warm welcome from Dr Ian Bullock, CEO of the Royal College of Physicians, explaining how this roundtable provided an ideal opportunity to build on the momentum first started back in 2028/19, when the RCP announced plans to set up their northern home in The Spine in KQ Liverpool. He explained,

“With the vibrancy of Liverpool’s culture playing an important part in bringing inward investment into the region, it also encourages innovation in the city, addressing societal issues with job opportunities, equality and access to health.”

Ian hoped that today’s event would spark new conversations which led to, perhaps unlikely, partnerships. With something new happening in our city all the time, he strongly believes in the ‘better together’ principle.

Dr Carol Costello, Chair of KQ Liverpool, agreed that the importance of all KQ Liverpool partners working together to knock down barriers, cannot be underestimated.

“We have a great opportunity to combine our wishes and brains to make us hugely attractive to lots of private sector organisations, to come in and work with our talented community.”

She also strongly urged attendees to not think in individual silos, but to ask our wider network for support in working together to make a difference. 

The work undertaken to date by the KQ Liverpool partners was praised by Mayor Joanne Anderson at Liverpool City Council, explaining that the resulting positive impact on economic productivity in our region shouldn’t be underestimated. She also emphasised that we all play a vital role which can impact direct investment into health and life sciences greater in the north, than London. 

The KQ Liverpool innovation district has grown significantly since its inception in 2016, and there are a number of future projects in the pipeline that will help it to develop further. 

Professor Mark Power, Vice Chancellor at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), said,

“Our new 7 acre Faculty of Health at Copperas Hill will be a driver and powerhouse, which places Liverpool on the map for NHS workforce development. Recognising that KQ Liverpool is a partnership of the city, not just in the city, will bring in high quality jobs and graduate talent, and provide our local community with a choice of staying or leaving upon graduation, and not automatically having to leave for better opportunities elsewhere. We must open our doors to the population on our doorstep to achieve a forward thinking and inclusive agenda.”

These sentiments were echoed by Professor Tim Jones, Vice Chancellor at the University of Liverpool, who agreed with this university perspective.

“We need to get out and showcase what we’re really good at, to make sure Westminster and leading businesses know about our specialisms, so they too can be great advocates for Liverpool.” 

By joining up our key messages and animating partnerships, we can both encourage inward investment and upskill the local community. Programmes such as KQ Liverpool’s Sixth Form Into Science are a fantastic example of this. The programme works with local secondary school pupils, demonstrating what innovation assets are located right on their doorstep, and encourages young people to learn about the innovation, science and technology career opportunities available within KQ Liverpool, with an aim of creating tangible aspirations.

Councillor Liam Robinson, added:

“KQ Liverpool is an expert cluster where innovation in health and life sciences is very important, let’s not hide our light under a bushel. That said, how can we build on this?”

He went on to acknowledge the growth of The Spine and its huge importance for the city, in addition to the exciting rapid transit network plans which will provide enhanced transport links for the region.

“As a world leading innovation hub, we have a huge opportunity to be better understood across the country, ensure a high level of graduate retention and make sure that neighbouring communities get to benefit from the growth of the Paddington Village site.” 

Paddington Village is a new, innovation-led destination for businesses to thrive in the KQ Liverpool Innovation District. Owned by Liverpool City Council and with funding support from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Paddington is an urban village that has Science, Health, Education and Technology, within its DNA. Plans for the next development, Sciontec’s HEMISPHERE – the first operational net zero carbon new build in the Liverpool City Region – is next in line.

Providing a commercial perspective to this conversation was Dr Kath Mackay, Director of Life Sciences at Bruntwood SciTech.

“I have a holistic view of how the UK is doing across health and life sciences, and Liverpool is certainly credible for infectious diseases and health data. One challenge is that all innovation clusters claim to be good, so it can be hard to promote exact specialisms. The Liverpool City Region however has a true identity, and with public and private partnerships really starting to work, they will be a magnet for small businesses to grow.”

The recent Science and Innovation Audit (SIA) mapped LCR’s research and innovation strengths as Infection Prevention & Control, Materials Chemistry, and AI Solutions & Emerging Technologies, resulting in a real global competitive advantage. Net Zero & Maritime was also evidenced as an emerging capability. 

Professor Iain Buchan, University of Liverpool, then discussed the importance of advocacy, ambition, culture and the drive to innovate.

“Liverpool has always had an attitude of begging for forgiveness rather than asking for permission. Health tech is booming, but a lot of innovation goes into end of life care in the US, rather than helping those locally in direct need. A civic approach is needed to better coordinate care, and I admire how the RCP has spoken up for those underserved.” 

There is no doubt that AI is changing medicine and healthcare, and with evidenced, world leading capabilities in this field, Liverpool is already ahead of the curve in creating valuable solutions to these challenges.

Dr Ian Bullock, confirmed that the RCP has been developing a digital strategy over the last three years and is already closely connected with Prof Iain Buchan.

“The power of data and the use of technology can help move us forward and be part of the solution. The management of chronic diseases is something we are already proactively part of, having brought 200 organisations together to focus on health inequalities. With regards to helping the city region to improve access to health, this can be done by joining the primary, secondary and tertiary care, using AI as an enabler.” 

One of the most recent additions to the KQ Liverpool business community is Elida Beauty, a new Personal Care Business Unit within Unilever, who moved into Liverpool Science Park to set up their Global Product Development Hub. Tom Gibbons, Elida Beauty expressed his enjoyment of the authenticity in what people are doing here, as well as the level of ambition observed within KQ Liverpool. On AI and the implementation of technology, he said:

“The foundation required for success in this field is a critical mass of skills. There’s a lot we can do to contribute to and educate businesses and funders, and having the skills required will enable the technology to land firmly and be sustained.”

He finished by emphasising that Elida Beauty were looking for partnerships to leverage R&D capabilities and would be keen to explore any collaboration opportunities within KQ Liverpool.

KQ Liverpool’s ethos is to encourage collaboration and partnership working between the organisations located within the dynamic 450 acre innovation district. In addition to this being clearly witnessed within the health and life sciences sector, Liverpool also has an aim to be known as the destination for digital manufacturing.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, is a leading organisation in this sector and its Digital Manufacturing Accelerator is located within Liverpool Science Park. Dr Charlie Whitford, Director of North West and Regions at the MTC, said:

“We are moving into a world where there is more and more cross fertilisation of sectors, so collaboration is fundamental. We are working with the FMCG sector and also do a lot of work with central government departments across the UK, and we’re seeing that government procurement is now based on value driven outcomes, such as shared inputs and shared outputs. Collectively, we can come together as leaders to demonstrate this value to drive investment into Liverpool.”

Alex Cousins, Director of Local and Devolved Government, at Connected Places Catapult, agreed, saying:

“I wanted to level up as soon as I came into this role. I am keen to form partnerships in all regions and have an ambition to take space in Liverpool, to enable us to run more projects here.”

 

Another strong advocate for the Liverpool City Region, already based in the Sciontec AI space at The Spine, is Lorna Green, CEO of LYVA Labs.

“We were a start up in January 2022, and have now expanded to 8+ team members, and were recently awarded the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Cluster Manager role for Liverpool City Region, as part of Innovate UK’s ground-breaking Launchpad programme. We’ve had so much support from the KQ Liverpool team, which we are extremely thankful for.” 

Colin Sinclair explained:

“The RCP has allowed Sciontec to use The Spine as an incubator for so many businesses within our Sciontec AI (all-inclusive) serviced workspace floors. We now have a fantastic mix of customers based here who are working within the health and life sciences, digital technology and professional services sectors, which are all adding to the growing innovation ecosystem with Paddington Village.”

Dr Ian Bullock concluded:

“Our original plans for The Spine included wanting to create a space for innovation, bringing important people together for multidisciplinary conversations. The Spine is a beacon of hope for the city, developed out of a baron piece of land and designed to create a true sense of wellbeing for its occupiers and the surrounding community. Today is all about celebrating where we have got to in our journey, but let’s keep the conversations going.”

Many thanks to all who attended.

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

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.

There is a sense of ambition in the Liverpool City Region over its massive potential in new industries and ground-breaking technologies.

A prestigious round-table of high profile business and public sector leaders spoke of their hopes for the region in the latest Invest North conference organised by TheBusinessDesk.com at the recently-opened Paddington Village Novotel in the heart of the city’s burgeoning Knowledge Quarter.

John Leake, business growth director at Sci-Tech Daresbury, said:

“There’s a focus around the areas of strength within the city region, whether that’s around infectious diseases, around materials development. investments at Sci-Tech Daresbury, around high performance computing and AI and quantum computing.

“A number of things have been put into place, setting up Lyva Labs, the Seed Fund and the Angel Network, which are really important to getting those companies moving, but then actually seeing those companies grow and scale and making sure that they do that in the city region. I think we’ve now got the story and the opportunities for companies to do that.”

Investment is the keystone for developing new industries and technologies, and Tim Newns, managing director of the Government’s Office for Investment, said his main role is looking at how to win transformational investment for the regions.

He said:

“Part of that is about working with some of the regions across the UK to take the internationally significant propositions that the likes of Liverpool has in scenarios like net zero and also life sciences, and take them further on the international stage.

“But also with some of the investors that are looking at the UK just making sure those propositions are really getting to them beyond just the Golden Triangle propositions in life sciences, for example. So we’re also working with some of the big capital funds globally, as well.”

He has struck a deal over the past 12 months with the likes of Abu Dhabi, creating a strategic investment partnership with Qatar. He said: “The Abu Dhabi fund is £10bn, of which £800m is life sciences-orientated. So, great opportunities for how we try and get some of that capital into the city region.”

Tom Sumptser is head of private markets with Phoenix Group which boasts 13 million customers, equivalent to £270bn-worth of pension funds. He said he works with Tim to find the right opportunities in regions like Liverpool to make vital investments.

“We spend a lot of time with Tim and the Department of Trade to understand how we can be crowded in to the various regions. We’re also a sponsor of this event, because we strongly believe that if we can hear where those pipeline of opportunities exist within the various regions, how we can form greater relationships that we and our industry can use the billions that we have available and put it to good use, as opposed to just finding that economic return – which of course is a big focus of ours and people’s pensions in the end – but do it with a social purpose.”

Prof Janet Hemingway, director of the iiCON Consortium, which brings together industry, academia and the NHS to accelerate products and innovations linked to infection control, said the region is now poised to play an even bigger world role in areas like life sciences. She said:

“What I’ve seen over the 20 years I’ve been here now is we’ve moved from a fragmented sort of set up to now we’ve got a story, we’ve got a strategy, we actually need to deliver that strategy, but the bones are all there and everybody is getting behind it.

“And I think you’ve only got to look around the table here and see the group of people who pull together to see that that is something that we need to now deliver on. So we haven’t yet delivered, we’ve started to deliver, but there is a huge sort of big step that we should take.

“Sometimes people think too small and want to take baby steps. I think we’re now ready for some of those bigger steps. And we ought to be grabbing those, because if we don’t, then we’ll run out of momentum if we’re not careful. So I think there’s there’s opportunity here.”

Tom Le Quesne, special adviser with Lloyds Bank, pledged his support to help support transformational change for the region, saying:

“We’re really keen to understand where we can partner further with others. We’re really up for challenging, stretching conversations to take that further.”

Neil Murray, chief executive of Impact Data Metrics, also heads a biotech and infectious disease company, and he stressed the importance of growth funding: “Getting seed capital is easy. It’s the next stage that enables companies to grow and prosper and develop into businesses that will employ hundreds of people, not the two or three or four or 10. And that’s the real challenge that we have.”

Alongside life sciences and tech, the region could also be poised to play an important role in the development of quantum computing, which utilises the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations.

Tim Newns said:

“There are a number of companies globally, looking at quantum at the moment, a number of them looking at the UK and interested but not having quite worked out yet what the funding proposition is for that. So we’ve just really got to push to make sure that the infrastructure investment is going in, as well as these extra initiatives that will support levelling up properly, and commercial investment properly, so that propositions that are here can absolutely thrive.”

John Leake, from Sci-Tech Daresbury, added:

“Tim’s right in terms of quantum computing – massive opportunities. There will be some exciting news coming forward on that next year.”

Colin Sinclair, CEO of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, picked up on the links between forging new opportunities with the right funding:

“Lloyds have a mandate for regional regeneration. If we tried to get anything that we do in Liverpool through a normal credit committee, it’s a bit tricky, but if Lloyds and others can take that regeneration role, we can be transformational.

“So those partnerships, public, private sector, university, are critical. For me taking risks, moving fast, you know, it’s a kind of Liverpool thing really that. Let’s take some risks. Let’s move really quick. Let’s be opportunistic, but as we do it, let’s gather evidence.”

Prof Hemingway threw down the gauntlet to the round table, saying:

“I’m going to throw a challenge in to everybody, because nobody’s thinking small.

“So, we are globally leaders in infection control R&D. We do that in digital. We do that in the lab side. I think there is the opportunity to take that next big step and have something that is sitting around an infection R&D Super Cluster that has a nucleus, sitting here, but actually brings in a lot of the North West and the different bits we’ve got there.

“I think it needs some of the lab facilities. I think that lab facility needs robotics, and AI so we’ll do the sort of chemistry activities that you can’t do at the moment by sitting people in labs and doing them, and we’ve got the skill base from the university and the robotic system that’s there. And that links up with supercomputing and the AI, and we market the hell out of it as a consortium.

“We’ve actually got a base to be able to do that with iiCON, with the consulting partners, in terms of the NHS, academia, and industry already working together. We’ve demonstrated to central government we can make that work. So they gave me £18.6m – we’ve already turned it into £205m in two years and brought 500 companies to work with us.

“Build the hell out of it, and let’s get everybody around this table saying, how do we take that next big step?

“Because when I set this up two years ago, I said what it was meant to do was turn the dial, so rather than to spend £2bn on R&D for infection across the this bit of the North West we were going to go for £3bn. Well, I can do £3bn on what we’re doing at the moment, but I think if we all get together and move this, we can actually move that from being £2bn a year to actually £5bn a year much quicker.

“So this challenge, I’ll throw it out, but it needs all of the different components to really step up and have the confidence to take that next big step.”

Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, responded, citing the opportunities to improve the ailing health sector which has been under such intense pressure since the pandemic. He said:

“If we did it, as well on the health dimensions of this, just imagine what digital connectivity can do for health?

“The worst place you can go at the moment, and unfortunately I’ve been there, is A&E. Don’t get sick at the moment. It’s the wrong time for you to get sick and health, now, you can probably diagnose things better from home.

“So if you had the connectivity to homes, put your hands in a glove, or on a mat, or whatever, it would take all of those vital signs for you. And you don’t even need a GP because, all of those things, you can probably have an algorithm on AI that will tell you what it is that you need to do or what’s wrong with you.

“All that could happen as part of a real strategic health innovation in the city region. All of the different bits could come together.

“Government would be interested in that because it takes pressure off the NHS at the moment, using data in a different way so that we can predict some of these things and prevent it, and that will take the pressure off the NHS.”

John Lucy, director of Liverpool Freeport, outlined how the newly-set up organisation could help support the kind of clusters that could give the region a world-leading role in new technologies. He said:

“There’s a real opportunity in life sciences, and the way the Freeport model works is regeneration to create a cluster. So if you’re saying there’s a need for a cluster in the life sciences area, collectively, it’s just a case of putting the business case there. The Government really want to see these things come to the fore and we’ve got opportunities for funding.”

Andrew Ruffler, Professional Liverpool CEO, drew the panel’s attention to another area that Liverpool excels in, and can gain even more traction in, which is electronic gaming.

He met recently with a team from Sony who moved in to the city centre. It boasts a 450-strong headcount, which recently swelled by 350 following an acquisition. Mr Ruffler said:

“You total those up and you start to realise that gaming, and Sony in particular, is probably one of the biggest private sector employers in the city.

“Yet nobody talks about it. It’s a massive, massive industry, it’s a phenomenal sector, but we don’t tell the story well enough. It’s an example of how these opportunities, these strengths, exist, and how we tell Tim (Newns), for instance, to get these messages out there – I think we need to get much much better.”

The North is full of investment opportunities and world-class economic strengths. Accelerating progress and unleashing its full potential can rebalance the national economy and change the lives of the people who live and work here.

Invest North is being led by TheBusinessDesk.com, in partnership with Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Squire Patton Boggs, Phoenix Group, and Lloyds Bank. It is also being supported by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, Curveblock and Influential.

Through a series of round tables, research and interviews it will identify the investment opportunities and policy requirements that can make a significant difference to the economy of the North.

Visit investnorth.thebusinessdesk.com to find out more.