There has been a rise in the number of medical clusters being developed throughout the world, and in the UK a new medical device campus is being promoted in Essex.
The pan-Essex project, which is a partnership between Chelmsford City Council, Harlow District Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Anglia Ruskin University, aims to grow the UK medical technology sector by £1.2bn and generate some 12,500 jobs across three sites in Chelmsford, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea.
A £6m building – The Anglia Ruskin University Medical Business Innovation Centre (MedBIC) – is being built on the Anglia Ruskin MedTech Campus in Chelmsford to help develop medical technology companies. With an opening date of April 2014, it will be mainly used by companies in the medical technology world and could see the design of new hospital devices and software programs.
Our aim is that the Anglia Ruskin University MedBIC, combined with the Anglia Ruskin MedTech Campus, will help Essex become a world-renowned centre of excellence for innovation, specialising in near-market developments in the medical technology sector,” said University Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Thorne.
Inside the structure will be engineering research laboratories, 1,000m2 of office and meeting space, business support services and a student enterprise incubation space.
Enterprise Medical, a spin-out company from Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, is one of the first to relocate to the Anglia Ruskin MedTech Campus as soon as the site is up and running. It will provide flexible endoscopes sterilised with hydrogen peroxide gas to healthcare organisations. It will also offer scope hire services.
