A £2.49million investment by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership will ensure that new and established life science companies receive the support they need to innovate and grow.
Medilink East Midlands – an organisation which supports new and existing life science businesses (like Chalice Medical of Worksop, pictured) – will work with its partners on the £4.9m ‘Inspiring Networking to Stimulate Technological Innovation in Life Sciences (or INSTILS) project, providing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the LEP’s area (Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire) with support and advice, to innovate and create new products.
INSTILS will run until September 2018, at a total cost of £4.9million – £2.49m of which will come from the D2N2 LEP’s allocation of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) monies.
D2N2 is the private-sector led Partnership of business, local authorities, further and higher education providers, and community and voluntary organisations which promotes jobs creation and economic growth across its area. It has been allocated €251million in European funding, including £97million in ERDF funding which the INSTILS project will now share in.
INSTILS will provide SMEs in the D2N2 area with support including:
- grants for innovation development
- holding life science events
- advice from sector specialists in businesses, the NHS and universities.
INSTILS will follow on from a similar project called the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet, also run by Medilink, which ran from 2008 to 2015, and supported over 1,000 companies in developing innovative new products and services.
Darren Clark, Chief Executive of Medilink East Midlands, said: “The launch of the INSTILS project is a significant further development for Medilink and the Life Science sector, and we are extremely pleased that we can not only offer companies and entrepreneurs the sector-specific support they need, but can also once again provide them with access to vital funding.”
Peter Richardson, Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “Life sciences are one of the D2N2 LEP’s eight key sectors. Our area has major employers such as Alliance Boots in Nottinghamshire and Pennine Healthcare in Derbyshire, and the sector here represents an attractive offer for prospective investors.
“We also need to provide space, opportunity and time for new companies to develop in this growing sector. D2N2 is making a major investment in the INSTILS project, to ensure companies have the opportunity and capacity to grow.”
To find out more about Life Sciences in the D2N2 area, click here
To find out more about Medilink East Midlands, click here
For more information on the above release, please contact Sam Burbage, Social Media and Marketing Officer at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, on 01159 578254, or by email: sam.burbage@d2n2lep.org
