A Charnwood Campus Cluster Business Support event, and the only dedicated life science day of the Leicestershire Innovation Festival 2025. This event was delivered by the partnership that has run the hugely successful Leicestershire Innovation Clinics, Charnwood Campus, Medilink Midlands and The Institute for Precision Health, University of Leicester. The event celebrated the achievements of local companies and outlined the fantastic support ecosystem within the region.
Over 100 delegates including life sciences business leaders, innovators, clinicians and academics gathered to celebrate the achievements of the innovation ecosystem in the region. Delegates were also able to book 1-2-1 mini-innovation clinics to discuss next steps with experts and engage in an innovation marketplace covering all aspects of commercialisation, including regulatory, intellectual property, material choice, supplier choice, funding routes, Medtech design, and NHS access and adoption.
The day was an outstanding celebration of how our innovators, companies, clinicians and academics are all working together to improve lives! Matthew Press, from Kimal, gave a fantastic presentation showing how collaboration drives innovation and growth. Dr Maggi Tebrake, highlighted the innovative materials for medtech applications and the depth of expertise SME’s and start-ups can access at Solventum. Kate Pym, helped the delegates to demystify market access for UK Healthcare, and David Hawkins, Sotas, helped us all understand AI in healthcare a little more! The panel session focusing on what would make our regional innovation landscape even better was expertly chaired by Al Mills and our entrepreneurs Prof Paul Thomas, Bioxhale, Gemma Poole, The Essential Baby Company Ltd, Dan Lane, ValidateLabs and the University of Leicester, Tara Marshall, RGN MA Patient Safety, These Hands Academy Ltd, covered areas such as breath tests as diagnostics, equitable care in maternity services, new ways to validate clinical sampling speeding up the diagnostic process and delivering in-home care that helps the patient to get on with their lives.
Gosia Khrais, Commercial and Marketing Director, Charnwood Campus commented: “Our innovators today have showcased some exceptional new products and innovations that are already improving quality of life. It is an absolute privilege to be instrumental in the support ecosystem that enables that growth, and our continued collaborations are essential for further expansion of the life sciences in the region. The development of our knowledge economy is accelerating, please reach out to us if you would like to join us on Campus or if you would like to know more about our business support programme, details can be found on our website Charnwood Campus UK Science Park.”
Dr Lynne Howells, Operations Manager, Institute for Precision Health, University of Leicester, said: “Once again I feel privileged to be a part of such a vibrant and talented community, who are all willing to share their experiences and expertise for the greater good of our local innovation ecosystem. Huge thanks to Charnwood Campus for bringing us all together again to educate, inspire and reinvigorate!”
Victoria Patel, Innovation Manager, Medilink Midlands, added: “Medilink Midlands is proud to have supported this brilliant celebration of life sciences innovation in Leicestershire. Events like this bring together the full spectrum of our health and life sciences ecosystem – from entrepreneurs and academics to clinicians and commercial experts – and reminds us what’s possible when we collaborate with purpose. We’re especially proud to play our part in supporting companies on their innovation journey, helping them to overcome barriers and seize new opportunities. Leicestershire continues to be a driving force in life sciences innovation, and we’re excited for what’s next.”
Kirsty Wilkins, Marketing Manager, Weiss Technik, commented; “Weiss Technik UK are proud to continue to sponsor and support Charnwood Campus with the work that they do within the local community.”
Matt Press, CEO, Kimal, said: “Over our 60-year history at Kimal of working with healthcare innovation then we have realised that the revolutionary idea might come from a single source but the breakthrough to changing patient pathways and impacting patient outcomes is most successful when borne of collaboration. Therefore, really excited to be part of this day where we will look at our regional ecosystem and explore how collaboration across the diverse strands can ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes.”
Dr Maggi Tebrake, Application Engineer, MedTech OEM, Solventum said: “This event was an excellent way to find out what is going on regionally and being able to connect with like mind individuals and companies is essential for continued growth and development.”
Prof. Paul Thomas Co-Founder and CTO of Bioxhale commented: “It was an honour to be invited to participate in the Leicestershire Innovation Festival at Charnwood Campus today. This comes at an opportune time as we at Bioxhale are reaching out to new potential investors and partners to join us in the next phase of our growth and development … It’s exciting.”
David Hawkins, CTO, Co-Founder and Principal Consultant, SOTAS said: “Bringing AI-driven and software health technologies to market requires more than innovation, it demands trust, evidence, and clear regulatory pathways. Events like this play a vital role in aligning regional talent, funding, and expertise to ensure promising ideas become safe, effective solutions for patients.”
To find out more on how the cluster can support or work with you, please contact: info@medilinkmidlands.com