NIHR North Biomedical Research Centre showcase is a resounding success
Over 150 delegates gathered in Manchester last week to hear about the work of the four northern NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs).
Representatives from the life sciences, pharma and medtech industry came to find out more about the four BRCs in Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, at an event organised by the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) and sponsored by the NIHR.
Companies including Microsoft, Amgen, Abbvie, Genetech, DebioPharm, GSK, Life Arc, GeneData, SAP, Benevolent AI and Heptares heard about industry and BRC collaboration opportunities at Citylabs in Manchester.
Dr Hakim Yadi CEO of the NHSA said: “The North’s Biomedical Research Centres are world-leading and offer a huge number of collaboration opportunities for those working in the health science industry.
“We were thrilled with the great turnout and the excitement of delegates as new relationships were formed and potential new industry engagement partnerships created.”
The NIHR BRCs in the North support commercial and investigator led translational and experimental medicine research in five areas: Ageing and Long-Term Conditions (including dementia, hearing health, liver disease and neuromuscular disease), Cancer (advanced radiotherapy, prevention and early detection, and precision medicine), Musculoskeletal Diseases (including inflammatory arthritis, osteoarthritis and connective tissue diseases ), Inflammatory Conditions (including respiratory, dermatology and skin and oral disease) and Translational Neuroscience (neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular neurology and neurodegeneration).
The showcase was a fantastic opportunity to not only show the capability and strengths of the Manchester BRC, but how as a northern partnership we collaborate and work together across the four northern centres. We hope that those who attended went away with a real buzz about what we are doing in experimental medicine in the North of England and that there is huge potential for investment and industry collaboration in this area.
Professor Ian Bruce, Director of the NIHR Manchester BRC
The Northern BRCs are among 20 NIHR BRCs providing nationally leading expertise in clinical trials, health economics, informatics, data science, imaging and biomarker discovery platforms.
Shirley Hannan, Research Coordinator and Funding Development Manager for the NHSA, led the event. She said: “This showcase gave industry a unique opportunity to speak to the Northern NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and leading universities, on how they can support translational research through: funding partnerships, clinical research projects, access to clinical research, facilities and expertise and evaluation and testing of products.
“The success of the event is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of the North BRC Centres and we are very much looking forward to seeing the outcomes of the showcase in the coming months.”