Manchester Announces Major Investment Drive To Accelerate Life Sciences Growth

Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, MIDAS, has launched a new life sciences prospectus showcasing the city-region’s position as one of the UK’s most dynamic health innovation ecosystems.

The prospectus, which has been produced by Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, MIDAS and the Oxford Road Corridor, was officially unveiled yesterday (26th June) at an exclusive event at Sister, the £1.7 billion innovation district and neighbourhood.
Highlighting Manchester’s position within the UK’s £120 billion growing life sciences market and the leading role the city-region can play in the future of life sciences, it will delve into the city-region’s strengths in data, genomics, oncology, and real-world evidence clinical trials.

The unveiling follows the government’s publication of its Modern Industrial Strategy – a 10-year plan to drive business investment, encourage innovation, and grow the industries of the future across the UK, including the life sciences sector.

The Government’s National Industrial Strategy included plans to make it easier for innovation to be adopted by the NHS through the streamlining of procurement, the introduction of a rules-based process for medtech devices, and NHS Innovator Passports. Recognising the enormous potential of city-regions like Greater Manchester in delivering growth, Manchester will lead the way as the permanent home of the Industrial Strategy Council, an independent, statutory body that will play a key role in advising the Government on the plan’s implementation.

The city-region stands at the forefront of the government’s ambition to establish the UK as a global life sciences superpower, positioning Manchester as the UK’s key growth opportunity for life sciences investment and innovation.

In the past month, there has been major Government investment in innovation and research, including nearly £5 million for an innovation partnership between the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge.

This forms part of the Government’s £86 billion commitment to science and technology outlined in the recent Spending Review, which included up to £500 million for regions across the UK, with local leaders set to play a key role in decision-making. This builds on the success of the Innovation Accelerator programme, which was piloted in Greater Manchester along with the West Midlands and Glasgow City Region.

Manchester is expected to attract even further investment as IQVIA, a leading global provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries, has completed a major investment in the Medicines Evaluation Unit (MEU) in Wythenshawe, Manchester – the MEU is a UK leader in early phase clinical trials.

Working with the leadership team at MEU, IQVIA has plans to grow the Wythenshawe site – which is part of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) campus – boosting economic growth and creating high-value job opportunities for Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester’s collaboration across healthcare, public and private sectors, and trials and real-world evidence infrastructure, which will be boosted by IQVIA’s investment, puts the city-region in a strong position to capitalise on the new measures outlined in the government’s Industrial Strategy.

The investment will see the company integrate the MEU into its clinical trials offer to include first-in-human testing for novel therapies, supporting breakthrough discoveries across a range of disease areas.

This early research investment complements existing Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials IQVIA is delivering on behalf of global life sciences partners, across Greater Manchester hospitals. These studies not only attract inward investment to the city-region but also enable patients to have early access to innovative new medicines for many therapeutic areas.

UK Science Minister, Lord Vallance said:

“As home to world-leading genomics research and with expertise in emerging healthcare, Greater Manchester offers life sciences companies offers a great environment in which to grow. Our ambition to make the UK a life sciences superpower relies on championing the strengths of places like the North West by supporting close collaboration between industry, academia, healthcare systems and local and national government.”

IQVIA’s investment is further welcome news for our wider life sciences ecosystem. Their plans to expand will create jobs while allowing patients to access innovative treatments.

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:

“We’re seeing ambitious life sciences companies choose Manchester for our unique combination of world-class research, industry partnerships and direct access to the NHS. Our collaborative ecosystem provides the perfect environment for businesses to accelerate from discovery to delivery.

“The investment from IQVIA is exactly the kind of high-value investment we want for Manchester – creating skilled jobs, boosting our innovation economy, and strengthening our position on the world stage.

What sets us apart is our ability to translate cutting-edge research into real-world applications that improve people’s lives while creating sustainable, high-skilled employment opportunities for our residents. This prospectus demonstrates why Manchester is the ideal location for companies looking to scale their operations and make a global impact.

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, said:

“Greater Manchester is becoming a globally significant hub for the life sciences sector. Our unique ability to link universities and research institutes, industry, and our regional NHS trusts helps us take discoveries from lab to life faster and at a larger scale.”

“The strength of these partnerships is a key reason we can attract companies like IQVIA, whose investment in Wythenshawe will deliver better outcomes for our patients while providing jobs and opportunities for our residents.”

The prospectus we are launching clearly sets out our proposition. By providing a supportive ecosystem, talent and connectivity, we’re creating the ideal environment for businesses to collaborate and grow.

Tim Sheppard, IQVIA SVP & General Manager, Northern Europe, said:

“The Medicines Evaluation Unit strengthens IQVIA’s ability to offer its global life sciences sponsors a seamless and efficient development pathway from early phase trials to regulatory approval and patient access to innovative new medicines.

“By combining capabilities and expertise, IQVIA aims to drive further economic growth in Manchester and deliver health data enabled research to life sciences sponsors, so that they can in turn make a meaningful impact on patient outcomes.

“Manchester is the ideal life sciences ecosystem to locate the facility based on its proven track record of forming public-private collaborations to accelerate health research and innovation uptake on a global scale.”

The MEU facility is co-located at the Wythenshawe Hospital campus – part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). Mark Cubbon, Trust Chief Executive of MFT, said:

We welcome this investment and the opportunities it will bring for people across Greater Manchester to benefit from cutting-edge research and innovation.

“We look forward to building on our existing relationship with IQVIA, and the Medicines Evaluation Unit, delivering research and economic growth that makes a real difference to people’s lives.”

Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive of Health Innovation Manchester, said:

“IQVIA’s investment is a powerful endorsement of Greater Manchester’s growing global reputation as a destination for life sciences investment and innovation. It highlights our ability to bring together clinical excellence, data-driven research, and commercial collaboration to accelerate health impact, economic growth and job creation.”

The prospectus has been supported by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Oxford Road Corridor, Manchester City Council, Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, MFT, University of Manchester and Bruntwood SciTech.