City Region�s Healthcare Ambitions Highlighted at European Congress

This is the message attendees at the first European Alliance for Personalised Medicine Congress in Belfast (27-30 November) are receiving as the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) leads a delegation to the European event in order to highlight the region�s strong heritage and capability within the healthcare and life sciences field

Attendance at the event aims to showcase the opportunities and talent in the UK�s largest City Region outside London and the South East. The region�s presence at the congress is supported by key academics including Dr Mike Messenger from the University of Leeds who is taking part in a session entitled, �Accelerating Personalised Medicine and Health � A Whole System Approach�, alongside other representatives from the region. The event follows the launch in September of the Leeds City Region Science and Innovation Audit which focused on the region�s specialisms in the high growth sector of Med Tech and follows the Industrial Strategy announcement on Monday which saw Leeds named as the home of a new digital health cluster, and reports that the government is looking to �move further health functions to the city�.

Kersten England Chief Executive of Bradford Council and the LEP�s Lead Chief Executive for Business Innovation and Growth commented:

�Leeds City Region has a long tradition of invention and innovation within the medical field and I'm delighted that this will be demonstrated at this year�s European Alliance Congress, Our region has been at the forefront of new medical practices for generations from the crucial role Charles Thackray played in the development of the Charnley Hip Replacement in the 1960s, to investing in game changing technology such as Konnektis to support patient centred care at home. This ability to adapt coupled with our world class academic institutions is why we remain a leading centre for healthcare and life sciences. I hope that the international audience attending this event will see the opportunity the region provides to support and develop the health care systems, practices and technologies of tomorrow, today.�

Leeds City Region�s attendance at the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine Congress builds upon the success of the region in attracting new investment. In April 2017, leading global life sciences company Covance Drug Development part of the Laboratory Corporation of America� Holdings expanded its biopharmaceutical chemistry, manufacturing and control capabilities by leasing additional space at the National Agri-Food Innovation Campus in York.

This is backed up by investment in world-class infrastructure to support the development of healthcare talent. The Northern Dental Education Centre, a new state-of-the-art dental training and education centre at Bradford College, opened in September and was claimed at the time by MP Judith Cummins as �no doubt destined to become a centre of national importance�.