Swindon’s important life sciences sector is to be boosted by the creation of a new consortium to take over the franchise for Medilink SW, the membership group tasked with stimulating the growth of the region’s life science industry.
Business West, the organisation behind the Swindon initiative, has formed the consortium with new company Medilink South West Ltd. It will develop strong links to the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and the Academic Health Science Networks of the South West and West of England. 
These networks bring together providers of NHS care universities, industry, NHS commissioners and a range of other organisations to put innovation at the heart of healthcare and improve patient care.
Medilink SW is part of the national Medilink UK network, which not only provides specific support services to businesses and academia but also acts as the voice of the vital sector to Government.
It will stage networking events, technology showcases and put in place business support packages.
Life sciences businesses in the South West employ around 20,000 people while the sector is worth an estimated £9bn to the regional economy – some £8bn from the NHS, which has 136,000 staff in the region. Businesses in the sector tend to be highly innovative and range from university spin outs and start-ups through to multinationals in the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors.
Swindon is a major hub for the industry with large employers such as US-Canadian pharma giant Patheon, which makes antibiotics at its Covingham plant, US firm Catalent which makes fast-dissolving tablets at Blagrove, and French-owned medical supplies firm Vygon at Blagrove.
Swindon was recently hailed as an innovation cluster by life sciences minister George Freeman on a visit to the town.
Director of UWE’s Institute of Bio Sensing Technology Professor Richard Luxton will chair the new company and the board will be made up of senior representatives from some of the region’s leading businesses and organisations.
Prof Luxton said: “This is an exciting time for the life science and med tech sectors in the South West as the Medilink South West franchise will provide new opportunities for businesses to expand and develop.
“This is enabled through a range of activities such as networking events, technology show cases, a wide range of business support packages and other events designed to build new collaborations with academic, clinical and industrial partners.”
Business West managing director Phil Smith, pictured, added: “Biomedical and health care issues will increasingly dominate the future of the UK and in this region we have a large number of innovative micro, medium and large organisations that have a significant role to play in addressing the challenges we all face.
“So we’re delighted to be part of the consortia that will run Medilink South West. Business West is one of the most influential business leadership organisations in the UK and represents more than 16,000 businesses in the South West.
“We can provide the expertise, specialist advice and skills that businesses in this sector need to improve their commercial position, engage with local and national Government and thrive in this vital sector.”
