Regional healthcare innovation agency begins work

The new director, Alan Barrell (right), said at the launch of HEE at Newmarket racecourse: "Many of us who have been privileged to work in the NHS and to work in support of them through the health care industry have long believed that they are exemplars in patient care. However, much of this wonderful innovation is either not being discovered by or shared with the whole world of the NHS.

“HEE is here to change that, and by making full use of new ideas, HEE also aims to spin out new businesses for the regions economy."

The agency, which has built up its management team over the past year, was set up after a £500,000 grant from the Public Sector Research Exploitation (PSRE) initiative. It is designed to help scientists and clinicians who have good ideas that will benefit healthcare develop a business plan so they can sell the concept on or manufacture their innovations.

One subject in particular that will benefit from the new area is biotechnology research. Firms in the area covered by the EEDA, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, and East Anglia, include research partnerships and boards in Cambridge. One such research company is Babraham BioConcepts, which was designated an Enterprise Hub by the EEDA last year.

“In the current investment climate, promising healthcare concepts have to be developed increasingly further before they can attract funding,” said Dr David Hardman from the Institute. “Providing that an idea fits our criteria, we offer independent operators a supportive environment in which to prove that their idea is viable at the pre-company stage."

The EEDA cites an extremely early use of e-health, dating as far back as 1996, when a physicist and radiologist in Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, developed software to allow cardiac angiograms on an ordinary PC.  The product was licensed to Kodak, and returns from the use of the software and intellectual property were used to fund further R&D.

Earlier this month, the Health Innovation Task Force (HITF) reported that a Health Innovation Centre was to be set up to share ideas across the NHS, and that pilots were start on Healthcare Technology Co-operatives to pioneer and research new methods of using technology in healthcare.

Health Minister, Lord Warner, who jointly chaired the task force, said: “HITF had a challenging agenda and the outcome has been very positive. The ambitious work programme has been very successful in delivering practical measures and strategies to help accelerate the adoption of innovative medical technologies for the benefit of patients."

East of England Development Agency