Life sciences firms in the West Midlands can apply for a share of £50m in funding from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to help develop and scale their near to market products and services.
Expressions of interest (EOI) can be submitted for the research and development funding support allocated via the government.
Led by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is designed to support high-potential, existing and emerging innovation clusters across the UK.
These projects will support the West Midlands Growth Plan, helping to unlock more than £200m in private capital and create a £700m long-term economic legacy for the region. They will also support the Growth Plan’s ambition to grow GVA by £17bn by 2035 and create 100,000 high-quality jobs.
West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, who announced the latest funding, said: “Our track record of investing in the right ideas at the right time has already created hundreds of jobs and attracted millions in private investment. Government is now backing us to do even more through this record innovation funding deal.
“These research labs and tech studios are as important to our economy today as the factories of previous generations that made the West Midlands the ‘workshop of the world’.
“We’re determined to cement our role as a global leader in the industries of the future by backing a new generation of innovators and pioneers to turn their big ideas into commercial success.”
LIPF is open to innovative organisations of all sizes based in the West Midlands, including startups, scale-ups, SMEs, large companies, and research organisations.
Eligibility is driven by the active role the organisation plays in developing, commercialising, or scaling technologies within the three priority sectors.
Businesses must also be part of a “triple helix” partnership – a collaborative network between private industry, academic research partners, and the public sector.
Funding will be delivered across three flagship innovation programmes, including the Clinical Trials Catalyst for Health and Life Sciences.
Led by the University of Birmingham, the WM Clinical Commercial Catalyst strengthens regional expertise in clinical trials, and near-to-patient biomanufacturing and regulation, leveraging regional strengths into global markets.
Initiatives must involve academia, industry and government, and deliver real growth.
The other projects focus on advanced manufacturing and creative industries.
Professor Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKRI, said: “The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund exists to ensure that world-class research gets into the hands of local organisations and businesses to create real economic value in communities across the UK.
“The West Midlands is demonstrating exactly how that works: taking deep scientific expertise in areas like health and life sciences, and advanced manufacturing and connecting it directly to industry and global markets.”
In the West Midlands, LIPF builds on the success of the £43m West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, which supported over 1,500 local businesses and generated more than a 2:1 private co-investment rate within three years.
The initiative supported business such as the Global Nano Network, FuturEnergy, Osmium, and MICA Biosystems.
Following the announcement, Lord Vallance, Minister for Science, formally opened the new laboratory for the Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME) at Aston University, which explores how membrane research from biological to materials science can be harnessed for breakthroughs in drug discovery, biomanufacturing and industrial processes such as water purification.
The unique design of the new AIME laboratory brings together chemistry and biology research in one space, fostering collaboration and removing scientific barriers.
He also visited the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC) and met with the leaders of the University of Birmingham and local MPs to discuss the critical role of Birmingham’s Health & Life Sciences District, a square mile with a £1bn five-year cycle of new R&D awards, in attracting inward investment and scaling SMEs within the UK.
Businesses can register an expression of interest for funding and partnership opportunities at Business Growth West Midlands – Local Innovation Partnerships Fund.
