Health Enterprise Hub – Innovation Exchange is being funded through the European Regional Development Fund to help develop health-focused products and services

Businesses across the Liverpool city region operating in the healthcare sector are being urged to make use of a £3.5m support project.

Health Enterprise Hub – Innovation Exchange is being funded through the European Regional Development Fund and is aimed at SMEs developing health-focused products and services.

The project, which will run for three years, builds on collaborations that have been established across business, university and NHS communities, bringing together key stakeholders in the life science sector.

As part of the Liverpool city regions’ Local Growth Hub (localgrowthhub.com), SMEs will be able to access healthcare professionals, universities and other relevant businesses to help them throughout their innovation processes, connecting them to relevant expertise and assisting them in taking their innovation and services from concept to market.

Dr Andrew Rose, sector manager, Life Sciences and Health for Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) said: “Liverpool city region is particularly strong in Health & Life Science and we are positioning ourselves as the best place in the UK for healthcare innovation.

“To ensure we capitalise on this we need to provide support, guidance, opportunity and time for businesses to develop in this growing sector.

“The Innovation Exchange Programme will, though our Local Growth Hub, offer companies and entrepreneurs the sector-specific support they need.”

Events (including hackathons), meetings and focus groups will also take place to bring the needs of health and social care professionals and patients, carers and members of the public together with SMEs to develop solutions and scale-up existing solutions to healthcare.

Businesses can access the Local Growth Hub at localgrowthhub.com or on Twitter @localgrowthhub and LinkedIn Local Growth Hub.