The Landing MediaCityUK hosts new health tech innovation programme

A new programme launching at The Landing, MediaCityUK, is hoping to kickstart the North West’s medtech sector. PwC Start-up Growth Programme in collaboration with UP ventures group, is running a 12-week programme, focusing on employee wellbeing, connected healthcare and long term care.

Through a mix of sector-focused coaching from PwC, UP and their clients, The Future of Health programme will enable 12 start-ups to grow their business and change the face of health.

The Future of Health connects fast growth scale-up businesses and large organisations in the North West to help drive innovation and create new business opportunities within the health, medical and life sciences sectors. The programme will be hosted at The Landing, MediaCityUK’s digital and technology enterprise hub which is home to over 100 tech start-ups and scale-ups.

Participating companies will receive privileged access to executive-level mentors and sponsors, and will leverage PwC’s and UP’s extensive network of thought leaders, industry executives and health-tech specialists. Through the programme’s private events, hosted in both Manchester and London, the start-ups have a great opportunity to pitch their business to potential investors and industry leading healthcare organisations, who themselves engage with the latest innovative products and can collaborate with the cutting edge technology.

Being based at The Landing will also give successful applicants, mentors and sponsors access to some of the most advanced UX, IoT and VR testing facilities in the UK. Future of Health participants can enjoy all the amenities and benefits of The Landing’s recently opened Launch co-working space, where the programme will be based for its three-month duration.

Iwan Griffiths, PwC’s North West regional chairman said: “PwC has launched The Future of Health in order to continue our support of entrepreneurs and small businesses. Healthtech will significantly change the way health services are delivered and is key to solving the challenge of providing better services to an ageing population at a reasonable cost.”

“Collaborating with innovative health businesses and connecting them to our client base provides great opportunities for all involved as well as the wider population who use health services.  Greater Manchester and the North West are at the forefront of health reform and have a thriving start-up community which we are keen to support through The Future of Health programme.”

Danny Meaney from UP commented: “UP specialises in building businesses that have the ambition and potential to transform industries by connecting corporates seeking to create real impact through more effective innovation, with later stage start-ups that are ready to scale up their businesses.”

“For us, Manchester is the ideal location for such a project, given its rich ecosystem of industry-leading corporates, NHS Trusts, university research institutes, successful health and life science businesses, and an appetite for investment in the health and medtech sectors.”

Maya Dibley, head of programmes and partnerships at The Landing said: “Hosting The Future of Health is great news for The Landing and the whole of the North West. Health and medtech are some of the most dynamic sectors in the world currently, and the commercial potential for any successful business in this space is massive.”

“This programme will also help put Manchester on the global map for health technology innovation.”

Companies interested in applying for The Future of Health can register interest by February 17th: https://www.f6s.com/futureofhealthprogramme