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The HealthTech & Medicines Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is built on the foundations of the original Health Technologies and bioProcessUK KTNs, and is funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board (an executive non-governmental public body).

The KTN is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge transfer and innovation within the key application areas of medicines, associated bioprocessing and health technologies (medical devices and diagnostics, including imaging), addressing needs across SMEs to large multinationals. It supports its members through building networks to address knowledge-transfer issues securing funding for innovation.

The HealthTech sector covering medical devices, diagnostics and assisted living is both a large market for industry (£120bn globally) and a sector impacting directly on quality of life and UK wealth generation. Within the medicines sector, there are around 300 biological medicines, including vaccines and blood products, on the market worldwide generating revenues of over $80bn a year. Biological medicines make up about 10% of all drugs on the market. These biological medicines range from simple proteins such as insulin, for treating diabetes, to complex monoclonal antibodies such as Herceptin, used to treat a specific type of breast cancer. The Technology Strategy Board has identified the Health and Medicines sector as a strategic market and sponsors the KTN to connect all key players in the sector and to provide mechanisms to catalyse and accelerate new innovations into the marketplace.

Strategically, current topics include:

• Ministerial Medical Technologies Strategy Group – jointly led by Dawn Primarolo, Minister of State for Public Health, and John Jeans, Vice-President International, Life Sciences and Chairman UK, GE Healthcare. This group is addressing issues such as SME Competitiveness, NHS Procurement and adoption of new technologies and regulations.
• The Bioscience Innovation and Growth Team (BIGT), Bioscience 2015 report, recommendation 4 outlined a need to establish a strong bioprocessing subsector within UK bioscience. The recent 2009 review and refresh of thisreport have recommended that there be continued support to deliver the bioprocessing agenda original set out.
• National Institute for Health Research Medical Devices Clinical Research Working Group – ensuring the UK environment for clinical investigations for medical devices is attractive to UK and overseas businesses.
• NHS National Innovation Centre – defining un-met clinical need to stimulate demand-led innovation and supporting proof-of-concept projects.
• Joint government Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) – the TSB and Department of Health have launched a new programme to stimulate innovation in key clinical areas, covering such topics as hospitalacquired infections.

Operationally, the HealthTech & Medicines KTN is active in the following:

• Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in key clinical or issueled topics such as Advanced Wound Management, Assistive Technologies, Clinical Trials, Drug Delivery, Orthopaedics, Regenerative Medicine, Biopharmaceutical Formulation, Bioprocessing Advance Therapies and Operational Excellence. These bring interested parties together, across government, industry, academia and the clinical base, to identify issues and opportunities, leading to new partnerships.
• Statement of Clinical Need (SOCN) – a key part of the innovation cycle is ensuring that technologies are developed that meet a clear clinical need.
• Events – working in collaboration with other KTNs, professional institutions, trade associations and commercial organisations, an annual programme of events (physical and online) is run to ensure different parts of the community can meet and develop new areas of collaboration or make the right connections to speed up current developments.
• Portal – as with all KTNs there is an active portal which enables share of information and knowledge, as well as tools to share confidential and nonconfidential documents, and to run online open and private meetings with colleagues anywhere in the world – www.healthtechktn.com and www. bioprocessuk.org.
• Access to finance – innovation requires finance from the earliest stage to prototyping and initial manufacture and trials. The KTN advises on the various public grant schemes, public contracts and contacts into private venture for later-stage developments. In particular, the KTN supports programmes funded by the Technology Strategy Board (Collaborative R&D, Innovation Platforms) and the National Institute for Health Research (Invention of Innovation (i4i)).

For more information, contact:
Dr Tony Bradshaw, Co-Director
HealthTech & Medicines Knowledge Transfer Network
E-mail: bioprocessuk@bioindustry.org
Tel: +44 (0) 20 75657143
Website: www.bioprocessuk.org
Sue Dunkerton, Co-Director
HealthTech & Medicines Knowledge Transfer Network
E-mail: healthtechktn@twi.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 899000
Website: www.healthtechktn.com