Al Carns, MP and Govt Minister, visits PHTA
The Precision Health Tech Accelerator (PHTA) is part of a big and growing cluster of businesses which is fast turning Birmingham and the West Midlands into the epicentre of UK life sciences.
Al Carns, MP for Birmingham Selly Oak and Government Minister for Veterans, was given an exclusive tour of the PHTA and his excitement was palpable – as seen in our video report below.
Perfect space for medical startups
“We’ve got five million SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) across the country and this provides perfect space for those medical startups to come in, set up, test, trial, develop and expand,” Carns, in conversation with PHTA chief executive Professor Gino Martini, told WM News.
“There’s two things – SMEs, small and medium enterprises, and then there’s subject matter experts. There’s two meanings of that acronym. And here in Birmingham you’ve got subject matter experts all over the place and you’ve got small and medium enterprises who’ve now got the space to grow. What a great combination.
“The University of Birmingham has a strategic goal to be one of the world’s top 50 universities, and is on track to have the biggest pharmacy school in the country. Everything that is going on in this cluster of buildings – right here on our doorstep in Selly Oak – places Birmingham up there on the world stage in the field of Health and Life Sciences.”
The new PHTA facility – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Birmingham – is based at the new No.1 BHIC (Birmingham Health Innovation Campus) building, and has the dual purpose of improving health outcomes and driving economic growth.
The campus, where there are ambitions for up to five buildings, is a joint venture between the UoB and Bruntwood SciTech.
Prof. Martini said there is space for up to 100 businesses within the PHTA’s new base.
‘Make people live longer, create jobs and grow the economy’
Among the PHTA’s first resident organisations is the Clinical Immunology Services (CIS), run by Professor Alex Richter of the University of Birmingham (UoB).
Prof. Martini said: “SMEs are a driver for growth. And what a great industry: make people live longer and healthier, create fantastic jobs for high-skilled people and at the same time grow the economy.”
‘Clean room’ needed to create injectable drugs including vaccines
A 5,000 sq ft space within the PHTA has been set aside for a much-needed “clean room” – a sterile environment in which to conduct clinical trials and create new injectable drugs including vaccines.
Prof. Martini said: “We’re on a mission to install this critical infrastructure and that will be transformational across the whole region and, in fact, across the UK.
“It will help drive our initiative to increase clinical trials in the UK. More clinical trials, more innovative medicines, better outcomes for patients.”
Birmingham is perfect geographically and demographically
The clean-room would require up to £12m of public funding.
Birmingham is the perfect location for this facility geographically, with its central position in the UK, and demographically, with its diverse population that collectively speaks up to 100 languages.
