Medilink East Midlands, the Life Science Support Organisation for the region, alongside partners, has launched a new project which will provide regional medical technology, pharmaceutical and bioscience organisations with funding and support to help develop their new innovative projects and products.

The project - entitled INSTILS: Inspiring Networking to Stimulate Technology Innovation in Life Sciences – is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and follows on from Medilink’s highly successful Healthcare and Bioscience iNet project. This ran from 2008-2015, supported over 1000 companies to develop innovative new products and services, and was also part funded by ERDF.

The INSTILS project will run until September 2018 at a total cost of £4.9 million with almost £2.5 million coming from the ERDF funding allocation of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Partners in the project delivery consortium are to invest an additional sum of almost £2.5 million.

The project builds on collaborations that have been successfully established across the business, university and NHS communities bringing together all the local key players in the life science sector.

Through the project, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), in the D2N2 LEP region, across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, will be able to gain access to a raft of support. This will include grants for innovation development, sector relevant events and support and advice from highly skilled individuals within the life sciences, business, NHS and university community. Additionally, entrepreneurial support will be available via BioCity’s DEVELOP accelerator programme.

Darren Clark, Chief Executive of Medilink East Midlands, commented:

“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. INSTILS will allow Medilink and its partners to continue to work with SMEs and individuals throughout their innovation processes, connecting them to relevant expertise and assisting them in taking their products and services from concept to market.”

Other partners in the INSTILS project include BioCity Nottingham, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Derby Teaching Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust, Nottingham City Council and the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network.

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