Embed, Build, Accelerate – Manchester BRC Director’s blog – October 2025

Why should we be thinking of commercialisation and co-development?

We have seen a recent shift in priorities across the sector towards an increased focus on the commercial relevance of health research. The NHS 10-Year Health Plan, the Life Sciences Sector Plan, and the NIHR’s strategic shift towards ‘health, wealth, and economic growth’ all point to a future where commercialisation and co-development are not just desirable – they are essential.

Commercialisation and partnering with industry for collaboration and co-development, creates fit-for-purpose NHS tests and interventions to drive advancements in patient care. The mission of the NIHR is to improve health and wealth through research – and through commercialisation we have a route to wider uptake and socio-economic impacts.

At Manchester BRC we have a strong track record of working with industry to co-develop and deliver innovative research to improve treatments. In 2024/25, we worked with 237 partners across the Pharma, Biotech, MedTech, in vitro diagnostics and digital sectors. You can read more about our work with industry over the last year in our Annual Report Summary.

We appointed a Co-Lead, Dr Gareth Kitchen, and Deputy Lead, Mr Adam Haque, to drive the development of our commercialisation plan across the BRC.  We are strengthening strategic alignment with The University of Manchester (UoM) with dedicated support provided to us from the UoM Innovation Factory to perform audits of our research for commercially attractive Intellectual Property (IP) outputs, and developing links with Unit M, established to create a globally leading innovation ecosystem in the region.

Manchester is already a leader in this space. According to HESA data, The University of Manchester ranks in the top 5 nationally for spin-out creation and commercialisation, and recent Manchester BRC successes include:

Collaboration

• Ovarian cancer blood test, developed by AOA Dx and evaluated by global academic teams, demonstrated high accuracy and potential for NHS adoption.

Co-development and commercialisation

• Pharmacogenetic point-of-care tests co-developed with NHS partners and Manchester based company genedrive, showcased how translational research can lead to real-world solutions for stroke patients and critically ill newborn babies needing antibiotic treatment.
• VitaloJAK cough monitor, a wearable digital recording device and AI algorithm, co-developed with company Vitalograph is now widely used for the evaluation of cough symptoms in commercial trials. The monitor was instrumental in the development of the first therapy to be licensed for patients suffering from refractory chronic cough in the UK and European Union in 2023.

These are incredible examples of how commercialisation can create and accelerate meaningful impacts. It is fantastic that we continue to prioritise this approach which demonstrates the real-world difference research makes to the lives of so many people.

A recent independent review of university spin-outs concluded that the sector needed to do more to make it attractive to inventors to pursue commercialisation activity including Inventor/Creator Rewards, and recommended that a significant portion of any revenue or equity is dedicated to the inventors or creators to incentivise them. As a result, UoM updated its IP Policy to increase the share for inventors in spin-outs and commercialisation activities and NIHR clarified its IP and revenue share agreements.

Our soon-to-be launched Spotlight On film, aimed at the Life Sciences industry, will introduce our Innovation and Partnerships (I&P) Team and talk about the benefits of partnering with Manchester BRC.

I would also recommend our Innovator Insights blog series showcasing partnership working and commercialisation:

• Advancing dermatology research through industry partnerships with Dr Ali Al-Janabi
• Uniting industry, NHS and academia in respiratory innovation with Dr Gareth Kitchen
• Integrating digital innovations in mental health care with Professor Sandra Bucci

And look out for Research Associate Melissa Perry’s blog coming soon on collaborative co-design between clinicians, patients, and industry partners for the RAD-PIT study.

If you have a commercially attractive idea, or if you are looking to collaborate with industry partners, please contact brc-crfpartnerships@mft.nhs.uk

Thank you

Professor Anne Barton

Director of the NIHR Manchester BRC

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We have a wealth of resources to support our researchers.

IP identification, protection and commercialisation:

• The UoM Innovation Factory supports their academics, researchers and post grad students to commercialise their innovations. Contact them if you have an idea to explore.
• If you are not UoM employed and you would like to explore commercialising your research through your employing organisations, contact the I&P Team for support.

Training:

• Bite-sized learning through the UoM Innovation Factory
• Innovator Training Scheme offers guidance on working with industry partners to develop innovations, exploring routes to clinical impact and exploiting research for patient benefit.
• Training and funding through the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre

Toolkits:

• The Pankhurst Health Technology Translation Toolkit supports the translation of health technologies from research to patient benefit, for academics, industry professionals, and NHS staff. Manchester BRC researchers feature as case studies: Non-invasive Medical Devices, and Invasive Medical Devices.