The Precision Medicine Catapult has announced the initial locations for its regional centres of excellence network.
Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Oxford will host the centres, which will act as a hub for regional precision medicine activities within the UK-wide network, co-ordinated from the Cambridge headquarters.
The centres of excellence will work on locally-driven programmes and use the Precision Medicine Catapult network to harness UK expertise, developing new medicines and technologies for broader use across the country’s healthcare sector.
John McKinley, CEO of the Precision Medicine Catapult, said: “We’re delighted to announce the location of these centres of excellence, each with access to a unique blend of regional expertise.
“Project development work has been ongoing across the UK and we will be launching offices and related programmes over the coming months. As well as growing the UK’s strong position in precision medicine, we believe our network will deliver health and economic impact at a local and national level.”
Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson added: “The UK is a world leader in the life sciences and that’s in no small part thanks to innovative firms and academics across the country. These centres of excellence will join together a network of researchers to develop precision medicine technologies that will save lives and support growth in our world-class life science industry.”
A physical presence will be established at each centre, with local recruitment to build teams. The centres will work collaboratively with local, national and global stakeholders including government, academia, health systems and SMEs, with industry engagement to identify and resolve barriers to building a leading UK precision medicine industry.
Expertise in core areas such as data analytics, clinical trials, regulatory affairs and health economics will be based at the Cambridge head office, along with business services. Activities across all centres will include support of major clinical and data programmes, such as testing of new clinical trial models and the development of NHS adoption routes.
The Catapults are a UK Government initiative, established and part-funded through Innovate UK.
