The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has launched a new programme to help local businesses become market leaders in health, wellbeing and care.

UCLan is collaborating with the Innovation Agency and Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership on the three-year programme Health Matters, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Health is one of the biggest and fastest-growing sectors in the world, valued at £400 billion globally. The programme aims to encourage the development of new products, services and solutions within this area.

By working with the £2.4 million Health Matters programme, businesses can take advantage of knowledge and expertise in areas such as intellectual property, commercialisation, investment readiness and product design.

Over the three years of its delivery, the programme aims to provide support for 86 businesses. To be eligible, businesses must be looking to commercialise products or services within the health and care sectors and be based within Lancashire.

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Professor StJohn Crean, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Clinical, Health and Research) at UCLan, said: “The project will support the establishment of a med-tech cluster to rival Manchester and Liverpool. It will provide the key interface between industry, science and medicine for the design, realisation, adoption and spread of innovative medical technologies into the NHS within Lancashire.”

Dr Liz Mear, Chief Executive at the Innovation Agency, said: “The Lancashire Health Matters project will support innovative Lancashire businesses capable of moving into, or growing within, the health and care sectors with new or existing services or products.”

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What do you think of the programme? Let us know in the comments.