11 September 2008 - Article by Nottingham Evening Post
A NEW facility has been launched at BioCity in Nottingham to help entrepreneurs in the healthcare and bioscience sectors.
The Healthcare and Bioscience iHub has been designed to support innovation in the East Midlands.
It provides office accommodation, meeting facilities and exhibition space to help businesses develop and grow.
The iHub operates as a home for the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet set up by East Midlands Development Agency (Emda) as the heart of an innovation network in the sector.
Launched in April this year, it is a partnership of businesses, universities and public sector organisations set up to exploit and develop innovative ideas.
The iHub base has cost £225,000.
Project director Ian Barr said the service was open to anyone in the healthcare or bioscience sector or those wishing to enter it.
He said advice was professional and independent and staff were able to help identify possible solutions to problems. It will also advise on how to take an idea forward. "We look at a project, not the company," said Mr Barr.
At least 20,000 people are employed in the healthcare and bioscience sector in the East Midlands and a further 100,000 in the NHS.
iNet estimates that there are up to 600 companies operating in the region in healthcare and bioscience.
Over £20m is being invested in the iNets and in addition to the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet, others have been established in Food and Drink and Sustainable Construction, while the iNet for Transport Equipment will become operational later this year.
One of the aims is to improve the competitiveness of firms.
The Healthcare and Bioscience iNet is managed by Medilink East Midlands, set up four years ago to help address the needs of the region's healthcare and bioscience sector.
Its chief executive Darren Clark said: "The iHub is an invaluable resource for the iNet, as it will provide a permanent base from where our advisers can carry out their work, providing a programme of support that will deliver significant benefits."