WEBINAR: The Medicines and Medical Devices Bill - the UK regulatory environment following Brexit
2020-12-01 11:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London)
Join Mills & Reeve for this webinar where we will discuss the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill – the UK regulatory environment following Brexit.
As the end of the Brexit transition period approaches we see UK Government making plans to move forward as a standalone regulatory system. A central plank of these plans is the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill. This was published in February, and is making its way through the Parliamentary process. Although existing EU law will be brought over into the UK system from 1 January 2021, the Bill gives broad powers to the Health Minister to develop the law to fit UK priorities. Promoting fast-track approval of innovative medicines and technologies and reducing red tape, as well as promoting UK-based industry, will take on greater importance.
For medical devices, the situation is made more complex by the forthcoming full implementation of the new EU regulations on medical devices and in vitro diagnostics. Likewise, the EU clinical trials system is yet to be rolled out pending completion of the EMA’s new portal and database. The UK will have to decide how closely to track these systems, while, of course, adopting its own administrative structures to implement them.
During this webinar we will review the latest position, and consider likely outcomes for the UK regulatory environment.
There will also be an opportunity to ask the presenters questions.
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the ACTIS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

James Fry, Head of Life Sciences and Partner at Mills & Reeve
James heads the firm’s fast growing, multi-disciplinary life sciences practice and focuses exclusively on this sector. The practice supports clients in the pharma and biotech, medical device, diagnostic, medtech and digital health sub-sectors. James’ own practice focuses on intellectual property, commercial contracting and regulatory work.

Isabel Teare, Senior Legal Adviser at Mills & Reeve
Isabel Teare is a Senior Legal Adviser at Mills & Reeve. She started her career in molecular biology, and focuses on all aspects of life sciences law and regulation.

WEBINAR: Medtech Regulatory Special Interest Group (SIG) - Keeping Up With The Ever Changing Regulations
2020-12-09 11:00 - 12:00
The next Medtech Regulatory Special Interest Group (SIG) will take place online. Join us as we remove the confusion from the ever changing regulations including MDD, IVDD, AIMDD, MDR, IVDR, UKCA & MRA, and what it means to us in the UK.
The topics being discussed are:
– Really Brief history of the Directives and their resurrected future: MDD, IVDD, AIMDD
– The new MDR – current time line (less than 6 months to go)
– The new IVDR – growing calls for a delay
– The new UKCA Mark – for GB only!
– What regulation applies to me?
– Finding a Notified Body/ UK Approved Body
There will also be an opportunity to ask the presenter questions in a Q&A session.
This free to attend event is held as part of the ACTIS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.

Speaker Profile
Peter Rose, Managing Director, PRQR Ltd
Peter is the founder of PRQR Ltd. With 26 years of experience with Medical Devices and IVDs, Peter has expertise covering Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Sterilisation, Cleanrooms and Contamination Control. He is a Microbiologist, Chartered biologist, Member of the RSB, Practitioner Member of the CQI and a Member of TOPRA.

POSTPONED WEBINAR: Innovation during lockdown – Speak to the Advisers
2021-01-27 10:00 - 11:00
Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances this event has been postponed to Tuesday 13th April. To register please click here.

We remain open for business during the current lockdown and we will continue to support our members, clients and the life sciences community, albeit in a more virtual way.
Delivered by Medilink East Midlands, join this meeting to meet our team of Advisers for a detailed interactive discussion on innovation support and how our projects can help. We will talk through examples of the types of projects we can fund and also what other support is available across the East Midlands region.
During this virtual meeting you will:
– Find out how we can support you to fast-track your innovations and bring your ideas to market
– Have the opportunity to ask questions directly to our team of knowledgeable advisers and find out how you can obtain further support
– Identify who is the dedicated Adviser for your area
– Receive information on the grants we have available to help companies overcome innovation barriers
This is an interactive meeting, where attendees are encouraged to join via their webcam and to ask questions directly to our advisers.
DURATION: 1 HOUR
PLEASE NOTE: The funding and support discussed in this meeting is only available for companies in the East Midlands region.
This free to attend meeting will be held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Click here to be redirected to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Medilink Midlands Innovation Advisers:

Lyndsey Allen

Neil Barnes

Alasdair Gaw

Jo Maltby

Teresa Smith

POSTPONED: WEBINAR: Research location: Where and Why! Selecting and contracting with appropriate clinical research sites in uncertain times
2021-02-03 10:00 - 11:00
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, this webinar has been postponed. The webinar will now take place on Thursday 11th March, to book your free place, please click here.

Join us for the next in the series of our Clinical Trial Special Interest Groups with Afortiori Development at this webinar where we will be discussing research location: where and why!
When it comes to making decisions about your chosen research trial setting, there is much to consider. Join us to learn how to make the right location choice for your product and understand how patient pathways, healthcare setting, institutional policies, geography and costs can affect your trial success.
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Charlotte Culver, Clinical Project Leader, Afortiori Development
Charlotte has a strong project management background in clinical research Phases I-V while delivering both commercial and non-commercial research throughout her career to produce quality results.
She is experienced in both pharmaceutical and device trials across several disease areas throughout the lifecycle of the project, in collaboration with key pharmaceutical and device companies in the industry.
Her proven project management track record provides her with the tools to deliver excellence and detailed delivery in clinical, regulatory, and financial aspects of clinical research.
Throughout her research career, she has worked on projects internationally, as either multicentered or single-centre as lead.

James Fry, Head of Life Sciences and Partner at Mills & Reeve
James heads the firm’s fast growing, multi-disciplinary life sciences practice and focuses exclusively on this sector. The practice supports clients in the pharma and biotech, medical device, diagnostic, medtech and digital health sub-sectors. James’ own practice focuses on intellectual property, commercial contracting and regulatory work.

Life Sciences Marketing Special Interest Group (SIG) :Delivering engaging social media in 2021-how to succeed in B2B Life Sciences
2021-02-23 10:00 - 11:00
Join us online for our very first Life Sciences Marketing Special Interest Group (SIG) event, focusing on the hot topic of B2B social media. Social media marketing is becoming much more prominent for B2B marketers and if used effectively it can become a powerful marketing channel for engagement and lead generation.
Learn B2B social media insights from a leading expert – Mark Saxby, Consultant and Director of Status Social; one of the UK’s first specialist social media agencies. Discover real life examples of how B2B businesses are using social media for success and gain hot tips to help you improve social media engagement and communication.
The event will be hosted by Robin Bodicoat, Marketing Director, Quotient Sciences, who will also share his own insights and provide industry examples.
You can also take part in a live Q&A session.
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Robin Bodicoat, Marketing Director at Quotient Sciences
Robin is the CIM qualified, Marketing Director at Quotient Sciences, a leading drug development services organization. He is also an active Board Member of the BMC (Business Marketing Club), which is the independent voice of the B2B marketing industry. He has 15+ years’ experience in Life Sciences, Pharma and Healthcare, with knowledge in marketing campaign planning and strategy, and brand development. In 2017 he managed the global re-brand of Quotient Sciences.

Mark Saxby, Consultant & Director of Status Social
Mark Saxby is the director of Status Social, a thriving social media consultancy based in Derby. He is a recognised social media expert and when not helping his clients to generate revenue through social, Mark is an in-demand speaker and has presented alongside Google and Mars.

WEBINAR: Reducing Health Inequalities through Digital Health
2021-03-10 10:00 - 11:30
The pandemic has brought about a dramatic acceleration of Digital Health solutions and the requirement to deliver care remotely. Adoption of, and access to healthcare is impacted by many factors including the use of the technology itself.
Join De Montfort University’s Digital Health Team for an insight into the latest developments in this area supporting the future of healthcare.
This webinar will cover:
• Understanding the digital response to Covid-19.
• Examining the application of Digital Health in Covid-19 with a focus on health and social care providers.
• Exploring the adoption of Digital Health and how it is impacted by factors of technology.
• Understanding the user perspective including ‘trust’ in digital, and the practical application.
This webinar is open to all organisations keen to explore and understand the digital health landscape.
This free to attend webinar will be held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. For further details please click here. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants
Speaker Profiles:

Dr Simon Oldroyd, Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Dr Simon Oldroyd became Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor in April 2019. Prior to this he had been PVC/Dean for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences since February 2015 and Deputy Dean to the faculty since October 2011.

Professor Bertha Ochieng, Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care
Bertha Ochieng is Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University. A key aspect of her research is in examining digital solutions that support development of integrated models of health and social care and community engagement.

Professor Barnaby Poulton, MRPharmS FFCI; Hon. Professor of Digital Medicine and Director Digital Health and Care Unit. Digital Health Strategist
Barnaby is a pharmacist by training who has switched his focus to digital health. He has built and led multiple digital health companies and co-founded the Digital Health and Care Unit at DMU to support the evaluation of novel technologies, enabling them to enter market and deliver benefits to patients.

Eric Kihlstrom, Chairman, Centaur Robotics
Eric is Chairman of Centaur Robotics, a leading British inclusive micro-mobility innovator. He is also Honorary Associate Professor of primary care innovation, De Montfort University, Expert Advisory Board Member, Design Age Institute at the Royal College of Art and Aging2.0 UK Ambassador (volunteer roles).
Previously, Eric helped to launch the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund – Healthy Ageing as the Interim Director. He was responsible scoping the challenge and facilitating collaborations with industry, Government, 3rd sector and academia to unlock opportunities deriving from the UK and global demographic shift. The Healthy Ageing Challenge Fund is a £98 million fund to invest in innovations enabling people to live better for longer. He also was co-founder of the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Longevity.
Eric is an established innovation professional with a background in large corporations (General Electric, KPMG and IBM) as well as disruptive new startups in technology and healthcare. Eric studied Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from New York University. He is a Freeman of the City of London at the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. He speaks French, completed the Paris, Berlin and New York marathons and is now an avid swimmer.

WEBINAR: Research location: Where and Why! Selecting and contracting with appropriate clinical research sites in uncertain times
2021-03-11 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for the next in the series of our Clinical Trial Special Interest Groups with Afortiori Development at this webinar where we will be discussing research location: where and why!
When it comes to making decisions about your chosen research trial setting, there is much to consider. Join us to learn how to make the right location choice for your product and understand how patient pathways, healthcare setting, institutional policies, geography and costs can affect your trial success.
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Charlotte Culver, Clinical Project Leader, Afortiori Development
Charlotte has a strong project management background in clinical research Phases I-V while delivering both commercial and non-commercial research throughout her career to produce quality results.
She is experienced in both pharmaceutical and device trials across several disease areas throughout the lifecycle of the project, in collaboration with key pharmaceutical and device companies in the industry.
Her proven project management track record provides her with the tools to deliver excellence and detailed delivery in clinical, regulatory, and financial aspects of clinical research.
Throughout her research career, she has worked on projects internationally, as either multicentered or single-centre as lead.

James Fry, Head of Life Sciences and Partner at Mills & Reeve
James heads the firm’s fast growing, multi-disciplinary life sciences practice and focuses exclusively on this sector. The practice supports clients in the pharma and biotech, medical device, diagnostic, medtech and digital health sub-sectors. James’ own practice focuses on intellectual property, commercial contracting and regulatory work.

MedTech Regulatory Special Interest Group: The UKCA Mark Regulatory Requirements
2021-03-17 10:00 - 11:30
The next Medtech Regulatory Special Interest Group (SIG) will take place online. Join us as we help you to get to grips with the new UKCA Marking requirements in this post-Brexit era. Important new obligations apply for all Medical Device and IVD businesses and it is vital for companies to understand what they have to do and when, the first milestone deadline is 30th April 2021 so you can’t afford to miss this.
The topics being discussed are:
-Trading within the UK and between the UK and Europe just got more complicated?
-The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
-The new UKCA Mark, what are the rules now?
-Product and Company Registrations
-Timelines and Deadlines
-UK Responsible Person & Authorised Representative
-UK Approved Body vs Notified Bodies
-Quality Management Systems
-UK Designated Standards
-Multiple Markets
-Labelling Changes
There will also be an opportunity to ask the presenters questions in a Q&A session.
DURATION: 1 hour 30 minutes

This free to attend event is held as part of the ACTIS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.

Speaker Profiles
Peter Rose, Managing Director, PRQR Ltd (Chair)
Peter is the founder of PRQR Ltd. With 26 years of experience with Medical Devices and IVDs, Peter has expertise covering Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Sterilisation, Cleanrooms and Contamination Control. He is a Microbiologist, Chartered biologist, Member of the RSB, Practitioner Member of the CQI and a Member of TOPRA

Ed Wright, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau
Ed works with clients from all sectors including life sciences and technology, media and telecoms on wide-ranging non-contentious commercial, contractual, IP, ICT, e-commerce, data protection, competition and public procurement law issues. He advises on IP creation, ownership, protection and exploitation, including technology transfers, R&D collaborations and agency, distribution/reselling and franchising arrangements.
Ed has a keen interest in drafting/advising on IP licensing arrangements and, whenever possible, presents and writes on topical commercial and/or IP matters.

WEBINAR: Infectious Diseases Special Interest Group (SIG) - Care Homes and COVID-19: Infection control strategies and innovations
2021-03-18 10:00 - 11:30
Join the next online Infectious Diseases Special Interest Group, this SIG will focus on Care Homes and COVID-19: Infection control strategies and innovations.
This event is in partnership with De Montfort University and led by Dr Katie Laird, Reader in Microbiology and also Head of the Infectious Disease Research Group at De Montfort University. Presentations will be given on:
– Ventilation requirements in care homes – strategies during and after COVID-19
– Infection control and zoning in care homes
– Ozone as an alternative to thermal disinfection of healthcare linen
Please see speaker details and biographies at the bottom of this page, in addition to our main speakers we shall also be hearing a short 5 minute presentation from:
– Paul Lymer, Business Manager PCR & Veterinary of HORIBA UK, as he shares Pockit iiPCR Analyser from HORIBA Medical – On-site Testing for Covid-19
DURATION: 1.5 hours
This free to attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Dr Katie Laird, Head of the Infectious Disease Research Group at Leicester School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University
Katie has a BSc (Hons) in Biology and obtained a PhD in applied microbiology in 2008. During her PhD she developed and patented an essential oil based antimicrobial vapour, whilst her postdoctoral work included the assessment of natural antimicrobials efficacy against post-harvest pathogens.
Her research interests include the use of natural products as antimicrobials in particular to combat hospital acquired infections and biofilms. Her other area of research includes the assessment of healthcare laundry as a potential route of cross contamination in the clinical arena.

Eric Fewster, Water & Environmental Manager, BushProof
Eric Fewster has 24 years of hands-on operational experience as a water supply and sanitation specialist in the design, implementation and evaluation of water & sanitation projects in both emergencies and development situations, with the ability to understand the local context and constraints inherent in low-income countries. In 2005 he co-founded BushProof, an award-winning for-profit business based in Madagascar which is involved in water supply provision. In terms of experience with infectious diseases, in 2011 he set up cholera treatment centres in Haiti and in 2014 was the water/sanitation lead for an Ebola management centre in Sierra Leone. Around the time lockdown began in the spring 2020, when cases in care homes was increasingly evident from other countries like Spain and Belgium, he decided to help produce some pragmatic guidance for care homes on preventing and controlling infection of SARS-CoV-2 in the care home context. Since it first went online in mid-April, it has since informed the advice given by the British Geriatric Society and Care Quality Commission, and it has been continually updated and expanded, using the experience of a wide range of co-contributors with different experiences.

Shrien Dewani, Director, Evolve Care Group
Initially qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Shrien quickly fell in love with Health and Social Care back in 2004. Shrien co leads Evolve Care Group with Eve Carder as well as `Evolve Care Academy and Connections Count Social movement.
Shrien’s interest has long been in creating care packages that recognise the importance of an individuals emotional needs as well as their physical safety needs. This has led to design and implementation of the Evolve Household model of care. The foundation of small group living has been instrumental in the creation of strict zoning within Evolve services, which together with a wider robust infection control strategy has supported containment and elimination of the COVID 19.

Eve Carder, Clinical Director, Evolve Care Group
Having worked in care homes since the age of 16, Eve truly lives and breathes Care Home life. After completing Nursing at Nottingham University, Eve set about challenging the design of the model of care in the settings where she worked. After a short stint at Dementia Care Matters as Deputy CEO, Eve took the post as National Clinical Director at Evolve Care Group.
Under Eve’s Clinical Leadership Evolve Services have designed and implemented a model of care based upon international best practice research and have been recognised for the outstanding outcomes they achieve. At the start of the pandemic Eve’s COVID 19 manual was used by a number of Care Homes in England and Wales to assist in the creation of protective strategies. This work has been used to contribute to Bushproof and British Geriatrics Society and to consult with Public Health Wales on their Care Homes risk matrix.

Jackie Hook, Head Chemist, JLA Ltd
Jackie is a Charted Chemist, Member of the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) and Infection Prevention Society (IPS). She is also a member of the IPS Care Home Specialist Interest Group. Previous to her engaging in the laundry and ozone industry Jackie spent 25 years in Research & Development for the UK Railway Industry in a range of scientific disciplines. She was an active member of a professional forum introducing new technologies into the railway environment. She joined JLA Ltd. in 2004 and is active in laboratory and site testing, and compilation of training and health/safety procedural documentation, coordinating and liaising with leading professional bodies and institutes. Her responsibilities include Investigating and assisting in new developments relating to laundry and ozone technologies. Working closely with microbiologists and healthcare professionals Jackie has contributed to the introduction of ozone laundry systems into the UK. Project managing including wash program development and microbiological investigation at a number of field trials including the QE2 hospital in Welwyn Garden City and Woodend Hospital Laundry, Aberdeen to demonstrate and document the benefits of ozone. Work involving in vitro and clinical studies has led to ozone laundry disinfection finally receiving recognition by the UK’s Department of Health under the guise of the Rapid Review Panel in September 2009. Jackie is also active in promoting training and education within the laundry industry and is passionate in increasing the awareness and importance of adequate disinfection of healthcare linen.

WEBINAR: TeleHealth Technologies for the future
2021-03-25 10:00 - 11:30
This webinar will offer the opportunity to hear from Academics from the Open University who will be discussing their work in developing and studying technologies to enable effective, secure and innovative TeleHealth solutions.
This event is in partnership with The Open University Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. Presentations will include:
– Future trends in engineering design, where telehealth can support
– COVID-19 antibody test/vaccination certification mobile app prototype, based on blockchain technology
– Decentralised Trust and Privacy for Digital Health
– Trends in product development to 2040 and their implications for Telehealth
– Plus we will be hearing from Hospital Services Limited (HSL) a specialist distributor of medical supplies and surgical equipment and consumable products. As we hear about their latest technologies and how they’ve been able to respond positively to the COVID-19 pandemic, as they look at – what is the future of Telehealth?
DURATION: 1.5 hours
This free to attend event is held as part of the ACTIS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Gaynor Henry-Edwards, Research Manager, Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies – The Open University
Gaynor manages the Health and Wellbeing Strategic Research Area at The Open University. The Strategic Research Area supports, coordinates and promotes health and wellbeing research across the university. Open University researchers conduct research in health and wellbeing across various disciplines and areas including healthcare management, ageing studies, reproductive and sexual rights, assistive technologies, patient data management, mental health and biological health sciences. The scope of University expertise ranges from the science underpinning health and disease through to the medical humanities. The Open University is committed to working towards social justice specialising in participative and inclusive research methods with marginalised and vulnerable communities.

Professor Claudia Eckert, Professor of Design, The Open University
Claudia is Professor of Design at the Open University. Her background is Mathematics and Philosophy. She has an MSc in Applied Artificial Intelligence from the University of Aberdeen and a PhD in design from the Open University. She spent nearly ten years in Cambridge in the Engineering Design Centre before returning to the Open University. She carries out empirical studies of design processes in engineering, construction and fashion; and researches on understanding and supporting designers in industry. She also works on theoretical concepts underlying design practise. She has published over 250 papers in reviewed journal and conferences. She is a member of the board of management of the Design Society and a co-chair of the Design Process Special Interest Group of the Design Society.

Dr Allan Third (she/her), Research Fellow with the Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University
Allan (she/her) is a Research Fellow in the Knowledge Media Institute of The Open University, researching the Semantic Web, Linked Data, and Blockchains, with applications to education, healthcare, and the scientific process. She holds a PhD from the University of Manchester, in the logical analysis of the semantics of English, and has worked on various topics within her research areas at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford and the Open University. She has extensive experience in UK and European research projects, as contributor and work package leader, primarily in the fields of digital healthcare (VPH-Share, CARRE) and education (SlideWiki, Up2U, QualiChain, DEL4ALL). She is heavily involved in the blockchain and education components of the ongoing Institute of Coding and QualiChain projects, in which KMi is a partner. She has been a tutor multiple times at the ESWC Summer School, and produced research papers on the impact of Blockchain technologies for the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum. Dr. Third is a member of several related past and current Web standardisation efforts, including the W3C Blockchain and Credentials Community Groups, and the Verifiable Credentials Working Group. As well as her extensive technical knowledge, Dr. Third has a background in Philosophy, and a strong interest in social issues, and the effects of technology on society.

Dr Manoharan Ramachandran – Research Associate and mobile application developer, The Open University
Manoharan is a Research Associate and a mobile application developer at the Open University. Manoharan received his PhD in Intelligent Transportation Safety from Bournemouth University in 2018. After completing his PhD, Manoharan joined the Open University as a Research Associate in 2018. His current research focuses on how Blockchain can be used to store lifelong learning records of students and to create an industry-standard accreditation tool for learners in the UK. His research is funded by the Institute of Coding, which is the UK’s initiative to increase graduate computing skills and employability. Manoharan has also developed several award-winning mobile applications in the field of transportation safety. Particularly for his work on drowsy driver alert mobile application, he has received the Qualcomm developer of the month award in the year 2016 (Qualcomm is the primary manufacturer of Android mobile phone processors). Manoharan developed the COVID-19 antibody test/vaccination certification mobile application prototype on top of iOS/Android platform along with his colleagues at the Open University. He also runs Tamil-language Blockchain news and tutorial Youtube channel with 38,000+ subscribers mainly focusing on the Tamil speaking people around the world.

Sam McMaster, Director of Telehealth, Hospital Services Limited
Sam attended Belfast Royal Academy, he then spent 1 year as a Community Service Volunteer and then went on to attend University at Newcastle upon Tyne. He joined Plessey Telecommunications in Nottingham as a Lecturer. Developed and delivered course work on the digitisation of networks and integrated digital communications systems.
Sam’s career saw him move from Lecturing to Product Development and Management, which is where he was first involved with VC. He then moved into Project Management designed and deployed some of the largest private voice & data networks in existence at the time, including the Government Telephone Network, Whitehall; and the Post Office network across all of the UK.
He then went on to form a telecommunications consultancy company, INTAC, operating out of the University Science Park in Nottingham. Contracts from the Government, the Post Office, European Space Agency, Cisco, Motorola and more. He also formed Questmark (initially in New Zealand but followed quickly in Europe). Owned and managed the business until sale in 2017. Became the premier videoconferencing systems and services supplier in the UK.
In parallel was founder and VP of Technology at Access ISDN Inc in Dallas TX, founded 1993 sold in 1997. Sam joined HSL to head up development of Telehealth business unit in 2018.
He loves his family (now have 9 grandchildren!), football, writing and photography, and much more too much to list. Fundamentally love this precious life we have.

WEBINAR: COVID-19 and beyond, a clinicians perspective
2021-03-31 10:30 - 11:30
Professor Ian Hall, Director, NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre will be joining us 5 months on from our last webinar with Ian where we heard about the launch of a new study platform for the next generation of COVID-19 clinical research: The Nottingham Recovery from COVID-19 Research Platform (NoRCoRP).
NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre are at the front line of national research fighting COVID-19, read more here.
In this webinar, Ian will present on:
– An update on COVID-19 and the vaccination progression
– The latest news from The Nottingham Recovery from COVID-19 Research Platform (NoRCoRP)
– Challenges of managing non COVID work and thoughts on how the system might adjust to working in the future
– How to configure the UK post Brexit to delivery clinical translational research taking advantage of some of the lessons learnt from COVID
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profile:

Professor Ian Hall, Director, NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre
Professor Ian is the Director of the NIHR Nottingham, Biomedical Research Centre. He is a chest physician based at NUH NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham, and has a long track record of research into the mechanisms underlying the development of a range of lung diseases. He currently chairs the national BRC Director’s forum, sits on NIHR Strategy Board, and is a member of UK-CTAP.

WEBINAR: Cell Therapies: Bench to Bedside
2021-04-01 10:00 - 11:30
Cell therapies could be the magic bullet for treating many different and previously intractable diseases. However creating a new cell therapy is fraught with complexities – sourcing, growing, transporting cells and other components for these therapies can be difficult. This event in partnership with the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) brings together speakers from charity, industry and academic sectors to provide considered insights into the different stages of cell therapy development from bench to bedside.
The webinar will address:
• The sustainable and ethical sourcing of human adult derived biological products as starting materials and criteria to consider when selecting the correct starting materials.
• Translating cell therapy into an implantable medical device with the adoption of substrates and scaffolds.
• Understanding cellular interactions with substrates and hence need to evaluate in-vitro biocompatibility.
• Reproducible and robust high throughput in-vitro testing for cell therapy performance validation.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of our presenters in a Q&A session post presentation.
This webinar is open to all organisations seeking insight into cell therapy and the practicalities of development for patient use.
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles
Mike Hannay, Managing Director, Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF)
(CHAIR)

Professor John Hunt, Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF)

Katie Griffee, Business Development Manager, Anthony Noaln Cell & Gene Therapy Services
Katie supports cell and gene therapy researchers and developers access a scalable source of cellular starting material for R&D through to clinical application. Katie has a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and 7+ years’ experience working with pharmaceutical and biotech companies across Europe and the US.

Emma King, Sales Engineer, Hamamatsu Photonics UK Limited
Presentation: High Throughput Screening (HTS) of stem cells using the Hamamatsu FDSSµcell
Emma King studied Anatomy, Developmental and Human Biology at Kings College London, writing her thesis on cancer cell migration.
As part of the Research and Life Science group at Hamamatsu Photonics, Emma is responsible for business development activities for Functional Drug Screening Systems (FDSS) in the UK.

Ann Kramer, CEO, The Electrospinning Company
Ann Kramer is CEO of The Electrospinning Company, an SME with a biomaterial platform with applications in regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Ann spent 20 years in agritech multinationals, then 15 years in UK SMEs including Oxitec, Immunocore and Biosyntha.

VIRTUAL EVENT: Funding your innovation during lockdown – Speak to the Advisers
2021-04-13 10:00 - 11:00
We remain open for business during the current lockdown and we will continue to support our members, clients and the life sciences community, albeit in a more virtual way.
How can our projects help you fund your innovation? Delivered by Medilink Midlands, join this meeting to meet our team of Advisers for a detailed interactive discussion on innovation grant funding and support. We will talk through examples of the types of projects we can fund and also what other support is available across the East Midlands region.
During this virtual meeting you will:
-Find out what grant funding is available
-Find out how we can support you to fast-track your innovations and bring your ideas to market
-Have the opportunity to ask questions directly to our team of knowledgeable advisers and find out how you can obtain further support
-Identify who is the dedicated Adviser for your area
-Receive information on the grants we have available to help companies overcome innovation barriers
This is an interactive meeting, where attendees are encouraged to join via their webcam and to ask questions directly to our advisers.
DURATION: 1 HOUR

PLEASE NOTE: The funding and support discussed in this meeting is only available for companies in the East Midlands region.
This free to attend meeting will be held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Click here to be redirected to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Medilink Midlands Innovation Advisers:

Lyndsey Allen

Neil Barnes

Alasdair Gaw

Jo Maltby

Teresa Smith

WEBINAR: Food Supplements Special Interest Group (SIG) - Has Brexit changed how Food Supplements will be managed in 2021?
2021-04-21 10:00 - 11:00
Join us online for our next Food Supplements Special Interest Group (SIG) to hear about the impact of Brexit on food supplements.
This webinar will discuss:
– What has changed?
– What has stayed the same?
– What is new?
As well as update, we invite our delegates to take part in a question and answer session.
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles
Chair: Janet Worrell, Head of Regulatory, JensonR+
Janet is an experienced regulatory affairs professional, having supported a diverse portfolio of products, for a number of companies across the East Midlands. Janet’s experience covers early concept development, food supplements, over the counter (OTC) medicines, inhaled therapies and clinical trial applications. Janet enjoys collaborating with companies to develop their regulatory strategy to deliver commercial success. Janet is an independent board member of the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network supporting innovation within NHS.

Nick Bennett, Head of Product Development, IVC Brunel Healthcare
Nick is Head of Product Development at Brunel Healthcare
where he is responsible for all aspects of development, regulations and new product introduction. He has worked in the food supplement industry for over 18 years specialising in all matters relating to product development and the health support that can be delivered from appropriate nutritional supplementation. Nick qualified in Nutritional Biochemistry from Nottingham University in 1994 and has been a Registered Nutritionist since 2003. During this time Nick has worked in a variety of food supplement companies of different sizes, most recently Boots for 5 years before joining the UK’s number one food supplement manufacturer, Brunel in 2009.

WEBINAR: Extended reality applications (virtual, augmented & mixed reality) in healthcare and surgery
2021-04-22 10:00 - 11:30
The next Medical Technologies & Systems Special Interest Group (SIG) will take place online, join us as we discuss Extended reality applications (virtual, augmented & mixed reality) in healthcare and surgery.
Attend to hear about:
– Remote surgical collaboration through Virtual Reality
– VR as a tool to bridge the gap between academic and clinical practice. The past, present and the future
– Mixed Reality – The Future of Surgery Starts Now
DURATION: 1.5 hours
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Chaired by: Professor Philip Breedon, Professor of Smart Technologies, Nottingham Trent University
As well as his role at Nottingham Trent University, Philip is also a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered IT professional. He is a member of the Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research invention for innovation funding panel and holds a number of journal editorial positions. His research interests and latest projects centre on new and emerging technologies and materials. This includes wearable technologies, 3D printing of pathological models, additive and subtractive manufacturing for medical applications, surgical robotics, cardiovascular devices, augmented /virtual/immersive technologies and environments, the surgical pathway and investigative research related to the utilisation of ‘smart materials’ for medical applications. Through promoting his work and research activities he now works with a number of surgeons and clinicians across Europe.

Richard Vincent, CEO & Founder, FundamentalVR
Richard has 20+ years’ experience of building international businesses and has throughout his career sought opportunities for positive market disruption through technological application. It was this desire that led him to co-found FundamentalVR to help address an age-old problem for the medical market; how to create safe, realistic, measurable spaces to learn and develop skills. In his role as CEO Richard is responsible for building a world class team of medical, learning and technologist who together can realise the company’s ambition of creating the world’s first global, haptically enabled, low cost ‘flight simulator for surgeons’.

Jan Antons, Business Development Manager, Vertual Ltd
Jan qualified as a therapy radiographer in 1992 and worked clinically in Bristol before working in various roles in the industry, including product specialist, product manager and clinical specialist roles. An MSc in radiotherapy followed in 2008 with a thesis focusing on prostate brachytherapy. After a 2-year placement in the US and experiencing the US Healthcare market, Jan joined Vertual, a Hull-based SME, in 2009 as a product specialist. From 2010 to 2019, Jan managed a large territory and distribution partners within the assigned regions, including the UK and Ireland, the US, South America and Canada. After completing an MBA in 2019, Jan started her current role as business development manager.

Dr Linda Brützel, Product Manager, Brainlab
Linda is a physicist with expertise in biotechnology and medical science, currently working as a Product Manager at German medical technology company Brainlab. Linda has a strong background in data analysis, programming and technical development of experimental setups. After completing her PhD on ‘Structure and Conformational Dynamics of 3D DNA Origami Objects Probed by Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering’ she worked as a Product Manager for PNDetector and as image analysis consultant at Astra Zeneca (formerly known as Definiens).

WEBINAR: Bioprinting: from benchside to bedside
2021-04-29 14:00 - 15:30
Join the next online Additive Manufacturing & 3D Special Interest Group (SIG), this SIG will focus on Bioprinting as we hear from an academic, a clinician and a business as they present what they have learned.
This event is in partnership with The University of Nottingham – Centre for Additive Manufacturing.
The webinar will cover:
– The development of smart biomaterials for bioprinting multi-cellular living tissues
– Translation of bioprinted tissues into clinic, challenges and opportunities
– Entrepreneurship in bio-printing: biohybrid neural devices
DURATION: 1.5 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Chaired by: Laura Ruiz Cantu, Transitional Assistant Professor, Centre for Additive Manufacturing, The University of Nottingham
Laura’s research is focused on the use of Additive Manufacturing technologies for Regenerative Medicine and drug delivery applications. Laura has extensive expertise in several AM technologies including micro extrusion printing, inkjet 3D printing, micro stereolithography and most recently volumetric additive manufacturing. Some of her work includes, developing libraries of photocurabe biomaterials for 3D printing subdermal implants, 3D bioprinting cartilage for facial reconstruction, developing methodologies for rapid screening of inks and 3D printing of long term subdermal implants for chronic diseases. Currently, Laura and team are working on developing smart osteoinductive photocurable biomaterials for inkjet printing and microSLA. Laura is also associated to the smart materials HUB from the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform. As part of the HUB she is working on implementing different 3D printing technologies for the manufacture of scaffolds for bone regeneration.

Dr Sang Jin Lee, Associate Professor, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM)
Sang is an Associate Professor of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), Wake Forest School of Medicine, with an affiliate appointment in the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (SBES). The WFIRM is an international leader in translating scientific discovery into clinical therapies. WFIRM were the first in the world to successfully implant a laboratory-grown organ into humans and today are working to grow more than 30 different organs and tissues in the laboratory. He extensive knowledge and experience in biomaterials science, especially, biodegradable polymers and tunable hydrogels, with specific training and expertise in key research areas for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. His research team has developed various biomaterial systems that improve cellular interactions by providing appropriate environmental cues. These biomaterial systems consist of drug/protein delivery systems, nano/micro-scaled topographical features, and hybrid materials that can actively participate in functional tissue regeneration. Recently, his team is utilizing automated 3D bioprinting technology to manufacture complex, multi-cellular living tissue constructs that mimic the structure of native tissues. This can be accomplished by optimizing the formulation of biomaterials to serve as bioinks for 3D bioprinting, and by providing the biological microenvironment needed for the successful delivery of cells and biomaterials to discrete locations within the 3D structure. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications, 15 patent registrations/applications, 500 scientific presentations, 70 invited lectures and mentored over 160 trainees, ranging from undergraduate students to practicing physicians.

Professor Paolo De Coppi, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)
Paolo is a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Head of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at the UCL Institute of Child Health in London. He has been an Honorary Professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, since 2013, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, since 2009 and an Honorary Assistant Professor in Paediatric Surgery at the University of Padua, Italy, since 2005. He has a special interest in congenital malformations and their treatment using minimally invasive techniques. He has focused his research interests on stem cells and tissue engineering by trying to find new modalities for the treatment of complex congenital anomalies. While working with Anthony Atala, M.D., at the Boston Children’s Hospital (Massachusetts), he identified the possibility of using stem cells from amniotic fluid for therapeutic applications. This finding generated an international patent and garnered the cover story of Nature Biotechnology January 2007. This finding has opened the door to discovery for novel approaches to correct congenital malformations. Recently he was awarded a WellcomeLeap grant that will be focused on engineering human kidneys and urinary tracts in collaboration with Prof David Long and the kidney development and disease group at UCL.

Dr Benjamin Paul, CEO, Neuroloom Ltd
Ben founded Neuroloom Ltd in 2017 to commercialise his neurotechnology inventions and has since won multiple competitions and instigated several University and business consortiums. As the sole inventor of Neuroloom’s core patent Ben has presented to academic, clinical and commercial audiences and has co-authored several academic papers. Before founding Neuroloom, Ben completed an MSc in Bioengineering and a PhD in Manufacturing at the University of Nottingham. Neuroloom’s expertise is coordinating living neurons so they can reliably integrate with living tissue and coordinate the tissues activity, whether in the dish or in the body.

WEBINAR: It's all about the data!
2021-05-05 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for the next in the series of our Clinical Trial Special Interest Groups with Afortiori Development at this webinar where we will be discussing data!
The clinical data you collect on your product will be what is scrutinised by regulatory authorities and payers in order to allow you to access your market. Data must be ethically obtained, appropriate, clean, managed according to regulatory requirements and ready for analysis. Don’t make costly mistakes and learn too late that your data isn’t acceptable.
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Speaker Profiles:

Chaired by: Dr Nicola Wall, Chief Executive Officer, Afortiori Development
Nicola co-founded Afortiori Development after long careers in clinical research within a variety of roles. Nicola has extensive experience and a proven track record in global clinical trial management, quality assurance and process management in the healthcare industry. Afortiori have built an impressive global team of clinical trial specialists, clinicians and biostatisticians with experience in adult, paediatric and neonatal clinical research, and both primary and secondary healthcare settings.

David Baker, Data Management Lead, Afortiori Development
David has over 40 years of clinical experience including 30 years research experience within the pharmaceutical industry, specialising in biometrics and project management. He spent 8 years managing a biometrics department at one of the world’s foremost contract clinical research organisations and has worked as a Global Project Manager overseeing the processes and deliverables on programmes and studies in Asia, Europe, Australasia and the Americas for a variety of clients across a wide range of therapeutic areas including respiratory, diabetes, oncology, neonatology, transplantation and medical devices.

Elizabeth Ralph, Chief Operating Officer, Afortori Development
Elizabeth has a proven track record spanning 20 years in global clinical trial management, quality assurance and process management in the pharmaceutical industry. She is the co-Founder and operational leader with Afortiori Development supporting clients who need to obtain clinical evidence for their healthcare product.

Webinar: Getting it Right: Med-tech Product Design
2021-06-01 10:00 - 11:30
The physical embodiment of a medical technology and its interaction with the healthcare professional or patient end user can make or break its adoption by the wider market. At the same time med-tech product design is carried out in a highly regulated sector where demonstration of compliance to international standards is critical to achieving market authorisation. This event in partnership with the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) brings together speakers from the NHS, industry and academia to provide considered insights into the area of Med Tech product design.
The webinar will address:
-Balancing safety, function and form – how using professional design services can save project time and costs
-The role of human factors in assessing med-tech product design
-The value of obtaining end user acceptance data though expert clinical evaluation
-Design and Achieving Regulatory compliance
This webinar is open to all organisations seeking insight into medical product design and the particulars of clinical evaluation and human factors assessment.
There will also be an opportunity to pose your questions to our presenters in a Q&A session after the presentations.
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the INSTILS programme, this event is not restricted to those in the D2N2 area.
Speaker Profiles

Professor Mike Hannay, Managing Director, MTIF (CHAIR)

Professor Peter Ford, Professor of Design, Design Matters MTIF
Peter Ford has over 40 years of experience in designing a wide range of products and medical devices for companies that include Pfizer, Huntleigh Healthcare, 3M and Inspiration Healthcare. Peter currently directs the Design Matter product design research group at NTU.

Dr Robert Reisel, Technical Director, MTIF
Robert has been Technical Director at MTIF since June 2020.
For the last 8.5 years he developed Class I, II and III medical devices for global wound and incontinence management from bench to bedside working in the UK and Germany.
He is responsible for Operational, Product Development, Quality, Regulatory, HSE and a Technical Team of 5 people.

Professor Daniel Clark, OBE , Director, CHEATA
As head of a large Clinical Engineering service and over 35 years working in healthcare technology, Dan has huge experience of technology in healthcare, particularly the NHS. He also has considerable expertise in innovation of healthcare technology and the adoption of new technology into clinical applications.

Alex Mariou, Surgical Solutions Project Manager, STERIS Solutions Ltd
Alex is a Project Design Manager at STERIS UK. STERIS is a global leader in the design, manufacture, sale and support of Infection Prevention products, Operating Room equipment and Endoscopy Devices. Alex has 10 years’ experience in the healthcare equipment industry and has specialised in designing and providing solutions for Integrated Theatres using cutting edge technology and equipment. Working across the UK, Alex provides surgical equipment for operating rooms and clinical care areas and is responsible for preparing proposals for projects and managing the process from order to installation.

Food Supplements Special Interest Group (SIG)- Concept to Launch of your food supplement
2021-06-10 10:00 - 11:00
Supplements and nutrition is one sector that continues to grow. Innovation and new concepts are key drivers for the increase in consumer spend in this area. Have you ever wondered what you need to consider to create your own food supplement and drive new business into this sector and for your company?
Join us online for our next Food Supplements Special Interest Group (SIG) to hear about what you should consider. We will cover the nutrients, additives, container closure (your pack), your claims (what you can and cannot say), pilot scale manufacture, validation, commercial scale manufacture, stability and customer complaints.
As part of this brief overview, you can take part in a question and answer session, with the panel, Nick Bennett (Chrysalis Health & Beauty) and Janet Worrell (Jenson R+ Limited).
DURATION: 1 Hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the INSTILS programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the D2N2 region and is open to all.
Speaker Profiles:

Chair: Janet Worrell, Head of Regulatory, JensonR+
Janet is an experienced regulatory affairs professional, having supported a diverse portfolio of products, for a number of companies across the East Midlands. Janet’s experience covers early concept development, food supplements, over the counter (OTC) medicines, inhaled therapies and clinical trial applications. Janet enjoys collaborating with companies to develop their regulatory strategy to deliver commercial success. Janet is an independent board member of the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network supporting innovation within NHS.

Nick Bennett, Technical Director, Chrysalis Health & Beauty
A registered Nutritionist since 2003, Nick joined Chrysalis Health and Beauty as Technical Director in May 2021.
His extensive career spans over 25 years in the supplement industry including time spent in combined technical, regulatory and development roles in both small manufacturers as well as some of the world’s largest organisations.
Nick started his career after completing a BSc in Nutritional Biochemistry at Nottingham university where his final year project explored how nutrition affects behaviour. Most recently, Nick helped to lead the industry for 5 years as chair of the Council for Responsible Nutrition UK.
Nick values the benefits of appropriate supplementation and is always keen to help choosing legally compliant supplements become easier for the average consumer.

WEBINAR: The Application of Digital Technology in a Pandemic
2021-06-16 10:00 - 11:30
Digital Health solutions are understandably now at the forefront of health care initiatives. Join De Montfort University’s Digital Health Team for this webinar to discuss the latest research, innovation and developments in technology which supports the future of health and social care.
This webinar will cover:
-Digital technologies in the public health response to Covid-19: contact tracing and communication with communities
-Digital technologies used by individuals and groups to promote wellbeing
-The effects of using digital technologies with diverse communities during the pandemic
-Artificial intelligence and Covid-19 vaccination process.
This webinar is open to all businesses keen to explore and understand the digital health landscape.
This free to attend webinar will be held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. For further details please click here. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participant
Please note: Whilst this event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the LLEP area.
DURATION 1 hour 30 minutes

Speaker Profiles:

Stuart Hilton, Head of Commercial Partnerships, DMU
Biog to follow

Professor Bertha Ochieng, Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, DMU
Bertha Ochieng is Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University. A key aspect of her research is in examining digital solutions that support development of integrated models of health and social care and community engagement.

Professor Ivan Browne, Director of Public Health at Leicester City Council
Ivan Browne is the Director of Public Health at Leicester City Council and has been spearheading the local response to COVID 19 in the City. He is a professor of public health practice with De Montfort University and has a particular interest in the potential of digital technologies to improve population health and wellbeing.

Q& A Panel

Dr Fabio Caraffini, Associate Professor in Computer Science, DMU.
Fabio Caraffini is the programme lead for the MSc Intelligent Systems/Intelligent Systems & Robotics and the institute head of research students for the Institute of Artificial Intelligence. He has extensive research experience in designing and applying heuristics for optimisation, Computational Intelligence for classification problems, and their joint use to optimally address real-world problems.

Dr Mario Gongora is Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science and Informatics at De Montfort University (DMU), he is the Faculty Enterprise Lead and a senior member of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media. Dr. Gongora is a leading researcher in the subject of applied computational intelligence, particularly in the fields of Data analysis in large and complex datasets and modelling Natural Phenomena, including identification, simulation, and optimisation.

Professor Francisco Chiclana is a Professor of Computational Intelligence and Decision-making with the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K. Prof. Chiclana is currently a Highly Cited Researcher in Computer Sciences (according to Essential Science Indicators by Clarivate Analytics). He is an Associate Editor and a Guest Editor for several ISI indexed journals. His research interest includes fuzzy preference modelling, decision support systems, consensus, recommender systems, social networks, rationality/consistency, and information fusion.

Dr Raymond Moodley is currently a visiting researcher at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence, DMU. He is an expert in Applied AI with a primary focus on AI for Societal Enhancement and has led research, developed AI algorithms, and published papers in several aspects of societal enhancement including in Education, Health, Crime Prevention, and Consumer Retail. Dr Moodley also has over 20 years of commercial experience including in business strategy and in the design and implementation of large-scale IT projects.

Webinar: How well are you conducting your virtual meetings and webinars?
2021-07-07 10:00 - 11:00
In a world where the majority are working remotely, the ways we present ourselves has changed. But whether we are talking about delivering client-facing webinars or meetings, or even internal team meetings via video software, it is vital that we continuously improve our approach and performance in order to deliver an inspiring and engaging experience for our audience.
COVID-19 has changed so much in our business lives and online communication has become the norm. From a business perspective we are now spending much of our day talking to colleagues or customers online, and from a marketing perspective, webinars have replaced conferences, and even were conferences are taking place, the virtual partnering platforms often require online video conferencing.
The Life Sciences Marketing Special Interest Group will cover best practice for delivering brilliant presentations and conducting excellent meetings to help you promote yourself and your business. This webinar will be of value to all who have to, or might have to, create and deliver business presentations, webinars or hold meetings as part of their current role – and who want to be the best at it!
The webinar will cover:
-The types of virtual meetings and webinars
-Current industry challenges
-The best approach for delivering engaging meetings and webinars
-The purpose and nature of presentations.
-Knowing what success looks like and the need for clearly defined outcomes.
-It’s all about the audience!
There will also be an opportunity to put your questions to our presenters in a Q&A session.
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the INSTILS programme, this event is not restricted to those in the D2N2 area.
DURATION: 1 HOUR

Robin Bodicoat, Marketing Director at Quotient Sciences
Robin is the CIM qualified, Marketing Director at Quotient Sciences, a leading drug development services organization. He is also an active Board Member of the BMC (Business Marketing Club), which is the independent voice of the B2B marketing industry. He has 15+ years’ experience in Life Sciences, Pharma and Healthcare, with knowledge in marketing campaign planning and strategy, and brand development. In 2017 he managed the global re-brand of Quotient Sciences.

Lizzie Butler, Founder & Creator, LB Communications Ltd
Lizzie Butler is the founder and creator of LB Communications – an exciting business that shares the most essential communication skills for corporate and individual development!
With over 20 years’ experience working for blue-chip companies, not-for-profit organisations and the public and private sectors, she helps individuals and businesses to enhance their skills, grow their businesses and develop their teams through brilliant communication.
As a Licensed Master Practitioner of NLP and a highly experienced Business Development Specialist, Lizzie has worked with Executive Directors, Business Owners, Sales Professionals, Commercial Managers, Lawyers, Event Managers, University Lecturers and Students, creating change, development and corporate and individual growth!

WEBINAR: Hospital-based Health Technology Assessment (HTA): What medical device manufacturers should know
2021-07-15 10:30 - 11:30
Join this one hour webinar to hear from the team at CHEATA (The Centre for Healthcare Equipment & Technology Adoption) if you want to learn about hospital-based Health Technology Assessment (HTA).
During the webinar Professor Dan Clark OBE and Dr Sarah Bolton will cover:
– What is Hospital-based HTA
– Two case studies from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
– What evidence should medical device manufacturers be thinking about to support HTA
About CHEATA: CHEATA was set up within the Department of Clinical Engineering at NUH NHS Trust in response to the challenge laid out in “Innovation Health and Wealth – Accelerating Adoption and Diffusion in the NHS” to help the NHS become the best health system in the world by rapidly adopting new devices and technologies into practice. CHEATA is hosted by Clinical Engineering service at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
DURATION: 1 Hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the INSTILS programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the D2N2 region and is open to all.
Speaker Profiles:

Professor Dan Clark OBE, CHEATA Director and Head of Clinical Engineering at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH)
Dan leads the Clinical Engineering service at Nottingham University Hospitals, one of the largest in Europe, which provides the full scope of equipment services including: device evaluation, commissioning, service and maintenance, decommissioning and disposal. He has considerable experience of evaluating new technologies and medical devices and introducing them into the healthcare setting. Dan also holds an honorary chair in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham and is co-director of the Centre for Healthcare Technologies, a unique collaborative venture between Nottingham University and NUH NHS Trust specialising in the acceleration of curiosity driven science into adopted medical technology. He also chairs the NUH NHS Trust’s Medical Devices Group and sits on a number of trust-wide risk committees. Finally, Dan was an expert member of the NICE Medical Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC) for 10 years until his “retirement” from the committee in 2019. Dan is a director and founder member of CHEATA since its inception in late 2014. Dan was awarded an OBE for Services to Clinical Engineering particularly during Covid-19 in the 2021 New Years Honours.

Dr Sarah Bolton, CHEATA Business Manager
Sarah has been the Business Manager for CHEATA since August 2016. Prior to joining CHEATA, Sarah was responsible for Healthcare and Medical Devices at Pera Technology, a role which included project delivery, client engagement and management, project planning and management as well as bid writing for major UK and EC funding bodies. Sarah is an experienced research scientist with a background in academic and clinical inflammation research where she undertook her post-doctoral studies on inflammatory mechanisms in the brain and activation mechanisms of eosinophils in asthma. She joined AstraZeneca in 2004 as an Experimental Pathologist in the Respiratory and Inflammation Therapy area, specialising in translation pathology of COPD and asthma. After leaving AZ, Sarah worked as an independent consultant continuing the experimental pathology work for a range of academic and commercial clients.

WEBINAR: Medtech Regulatory Special Interest Group (SIG) – Product traceability and Unique Device Identification for the EU and Global Use
2021-09-16 13:00 - 14:00
The next MedTech Regulatory Special Interest Group (SIG), delivered by regulatory affairs expert Richard Young and GS1 standards professional Chris Florey, will explore the requirements for product traceability and Unique Identification for the EU and Global Use, immediate and future considerations for a business.
This webinar will cover:
Richard Young, AcclaimBiomedical Consulting Ltd:
– Regulatory background
– Eudamed
– MDCG guidance so far
Chris Florey, GS1 standards professional, GS1 UK:
– Basic UDI DI (GMN)
– UDI-DI and UDI-PI
– UDI for software as a medical device
– Human Readable Interpretation (HRI)
– Barcode verification
There will be time at the end of the presentations for a Q&A session. Please submit any questions in advance for Richard and Chris to discuss during the presentation on the online booking form.
This free-to-attend event is held as part of the ACTIS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the ACTIS programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the SEMLEP area and is open to all.
Duration: 1 hour
TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE, CLICK HERE
Speaker Profiles:

Richard Young, Managing Director, AcclaimBiomedical Consulting Ltd
Richard has an extensive background in regulatory affairs in addition to GMP (quality assurance), GLP (laboratory testing), and GCP (clinical). Spanning over two decades, these core skill areas have been developed with experience in products ranging from class 3 devices such as Orthopaedic implants (IIb) neurological robots, through electromedical devices such as infusion systems and cardio vascular products.
Richard brings a blend of pragmatism and experience to these disciplines that facilitates insightful problem solving approaches as well as solid solutions.
Richard’s skills and experience includes such areas as the development and implementation of effective quality management systems, auditing to ISO and FDA QSIT standards, and operating at national and international level through industry associations including Eucomed, ABHI and ABHI Technical Policy Group.

Chris Florey, GS1 standards professional, GS1 UK
Chris has over 15 years experience of working with organisations to adopt GS1 standards to meet trading partner and regulatory requirements, and his focus for the past eight years has been within the healthcare industry, assisting medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers in implementing the NHS eProcurement strategy, the FDA UDI rules, the EU MDR and the FMD using GS1 standards. Whilst not a regulatory expert, he is able to share his experience of engaging with the regulators and thousands of manufacturers and distributors that are GS1 UK members.

*Cancelled* WEBINAR: The Midlands Ecosystem of Bench to Bedside in the Era of MDR and UKCA
2021-09-21 10:00 - 11:30
**Unfortunately this event has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We anticipate that it will take place in early 2022, details to be released in our fortnightly newsletter in due course**
The MedTech and medical devices market for the UK has changed. Companies large and small, having weathered the impacts of COVID-19, are now faced with further challenges as the EU’s MDR comes into effect and we march towards the time limit on marketing CE marked devices and in vitro diagnostics within the UK and the introduction of the UKCA. These changes present opportunities but companies will have to be prepared if they are to remain profitable, whilst both maintaining compliance and in achieving compliance for their new devices and diagnostics.
Fortunately the Midlands boasts a thriving ecosystem of MedTech organisations, networked to provide end to end support for driving innovations from “bench to bedside”. Companies within the Midlands have a multitude of development services which they can access to help take them from ideation to regulation. This webinar in partnership with the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) aims to highlight these services and map out how to both access them and get the most out of that interaction.
There will be an opportunity to put your questions to the presenters in a Q&A session after the presentations.
Duration 1 hr 30 mins
This free-to-attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the INSTILS programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the D2N2 area and is open to all.
Speaker Profiles

Professor Mike Hannay, Managing Director, Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) – CHAIR
Mike is Managing Director of MTIF based in Nottingham. Funded by Nottingham Trent University and D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership MTIF works with partners across the East Midlands to improve the quality of patient care by helping Med-Tech companies accelerate the development and commercial availability of innovative medical technologies and devices

Deanne Hewson, Healthcare Technologies Industry Manager, University of Nottingham
Deanne Hewson has worked with businesses and universities for over 20 years, developing knowledge exchange activities and providing business support. Deanne’s current role with the Centre for Healthcare Technologies focuses on delivery of the INSTILS programme, offering support to SMEs in the D2N2 region to innovate products, services and processes.

WEBINAR: Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing Special Interest Group (SIG)
2021-09-22 10:30 - 11:30
Join the next online Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing Special Interest Group, in partnership with The University of Nottingham – Centre for Additive Manufacturing.
Confirmed presentation topics:
– Medical Product Design for Additive Manufacturing
– How to protect Intellectual Property in Additive Manufacturing innovations
– Additive Manufacturing of Medical Devices
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the INSTILS programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the D2N2 area and is open to all.
Speaker Profiles:

Chaired by: Ruth Goodridge, Professor in Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing), The University of Nottingham
Ruth is Professor of Additive Manufacturing (3D-Printing) at the University of Nottingham. She is currently on secondment to Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, based in Clinical Engineering. With a degree in Biomaterials and PhD in Bioengineering, she has a particular interest in the medical applications of Additive Manufacturing, including assistive and rehabilitation devices (inc. prosthetics), implants and diagnostics. She has 20 years experience in multidisciplinary research into Additive Manufacturing, including a 2-year JSPS fellowship held at NAIST, Japan. Her expertise lies in material development for AM and advancing understanding of coupled material-processing aspects, in particular for polymer and glass powder bed fusion.

Professor Richard Bibb, Professor of Medical Applications of Design, School of Design & Creative Arts – Loughborough University
Richard is Professor of Medical Applications of Design in the School of Design & Creative Arts, Loughborough University. He has more than 20 years’ experience in research exploring the application of Additive Manufacturing and advanced design technologies in surgery, prosthetics, orthotics and medical devices. He founded the Medical Applications Group at PDR in 1998 and led it for 10 years. He moved to Loughborough University in 2008 and founded the Digital Design & Fabrication research group in 2014.

Gareth Probert, Partner, UK and European Patent Attorney, EIP
Gareth is a partner at the patent firm EIP and heads the EIP HealthTech practice group, an interdisciplinary team specialising in protecting innovations in the medtech and healthcare sectors. He also focusses on contentious proceedings before the European Patent Office, often handling multi-party oppositions for commercially significant patents. During his 20-year career in the profession Gareth has gained substantial experience in the medtech and healthcare space, along with the FMCG, formulations, peptide, food and chemical sectors.

Dimitris Katsanis, Founder & CEO, Metron Additive Engineering
Dimitris is the founder and CEO of Metron Additive Engineering, an ISO 13485 and AS9100 certified company, active in the field of Additive Manufacturing of metallic components.
Since 2015, he leads a team of engineers and scientists working on the design and manufacturing of parts used in a variety of industries. In the field of medical implants, Metron A.E. participated in a variety of custom implants programs together with other world leading companies in the field.

WEBINAR: Infectious Diseases Special Interest Group - The Microbiome: Emerging and Innovative Technologies
2021-09-23 10:00 - 11:30
Join the next online Infectious Diseases Special Interest Group (SIG), this SIG will focus on “The Microbiome: Emerging and Innovative Technologies”.
Recent advances in microbiome research have highlighted the significant influence these microbial populations have on our wellbeing. The upcoming SIG will be focussing on this rapidly accelerating field, looking at the role of the microbiome in human health and how imbalances lead to disease. It will also look at the application of emerging technologies that can be used to better understand the microbiome, and the development of new therapeutic approaches for associated diseases.
This event is in partnership with De Montfort University and led by Dr Katie Laird, Professor of Microbiology and also Head of the Infectious Disease Research Group at De Montfort University.
Confirmed speaker presentations:
– Open Innovation in Biofilms R&D: Translation of Academic Research to Address Industry Needs
– Manipulating respiratory microbiomes: a role for commensals?
– Labskin: Commercial Skin models to understand the microbial/host interaction
– Rapid Prototyping of Microfluidic Systems
DURATION: 1.5 hours
This free to attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the Leicester/Leicestershire region and is open to all.
Speaker Profiles:

Dr Katie Laird, Professor of Microbiology and Head of the Infectious Disease Research Group at Leicester School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University
Katie has a BSc (Hons) in Biology and obtained a PhD in applied microbiology in 2008. During her PhD she developed and patented an essential oil based antimicrobial vapour, whilst her postdoctoral work included the assessment of natural antimicrobials efficacy against post-harvest pathogens.
Her research interests include the use of natural products as antimicrobials in particular to combat hospital acquired infections and biofilms. Her other area of research includes the assessment of healthcare laundry as a potential route of cross contamination in the clinical arena.

Dr Katerina Steventon, Senior Innovation Consultant, National Biofilms Innovation Centre
Katerina is a healthcare specialist with substantial experience of working at the clinical, commercial and research interface. She holds a MSc in Clinical Biochemistry, a PhD in Transdermal Absorptions and over 20 years of global work experience in the personal care and wound care industry. Katerina has an in-depth knowledge of skin biology in both its healthy and diseased states. The strengths Katerina brings to NBIC comprise a comprehensive understanding of the industry and academia, commercialisation of research in a spectrum of healthcare areas and an experience of running an innovation consultancy with a focus on functional skincare.

Dr David Cleary, Career Track Post-Doctoral Fellow, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton and the Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
David graduated in Medical Microbiology from the University of Surrey in 2002 and went on to complete his PhD with the University of Warwick whilst employed as a microbiologist at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), Porton Down. His current research interests include characterising human respiratory tract microbiomes to determine the microbiota-host interactions that determine colonisation and progression to disease, as well as understanding the epidemiology of pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae.

Dr David Caballero-Lima, Head of R&D, Labskin
David received his undergraduate degree in Biology and his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Universidad de Extremadura in Spain. David took postdoctoral research positions at the University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester, with both roles focussing on studying human/pathogen interaction via tissue models and obtaining a greater understanding in the regulation of the cell cycle and vesicle transportation during morphological changes.
David was initially Services Manager at Labskin, bringing his 18 years’ experience working with microbiology and host-pathogen interactions. As Head of R&D, David now leads the research department, focusing on the development of new methods for studying the native skin microflora, prebiotic, probiotics and antimicrobial effects of ingredients and formulation for pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical studies. He is also the scientific lead for the development of Labskin new consumers service; Skin Trust Club. David is a key collaborator on international research bids, as a peer with leading international experts from academia and industry.

Paul Marshall, Engineering Consultant, Co-Founder of Rapid Fluidics Ltd
An experienced Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Paul lead the engineering for QuantuMDx Ltd in Newcastle to develop the Q-POC point of care mobile diagnostics system and is now an engineering consultant specialising in Life Sciences. His works covers a wide range of projects from microfluidic instrumentation and consumable systems design for diagnostics through to technical reviews of water, sanitation and health projects for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr Raymond Allan, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, De Montfort University
Raymond’s research focusses on the investigation of bacterial biofilms, developing an understanding of the adaptive mechanisms they employ to enable their survival within the human host, and their role in chronic infectious disease. His research also includes the identification of targets for the development and investigation of novel treatment strategies for biofilm-associated infections. He has several years’ experience investigating biofilms at University of Southampton, the National Biofilms Innovation Centre, and Southampton NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, before joining De Montfort University.

WEBINAR: The final furlong – your clinical trial data and top tips on regulatory submission
2021-10-06 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for the next in the series of our Clinical Trial Special Interest Groups with Afortiori Development, at this webinar “The final furlong – Your clinical trial data and regulatory submission. Top tips on getting ready for regulatory submission”.
When a trial finishes, the ultimate goal is to have usable data that can be presented to regulators to make your case for your product’s approval. Join us to understand the key considerations you’ll need to be aware of when getting your data ready for regulatory scrutiny.
DURATION: 1 hour
This free to attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the Leicester/Leicestershire area and is open to all.
Speaker Profiles:

Chaired by: Dr Nicola Wall, Chief Executive Officer, Afortiori Development
Nicola co-founded Afortiori Development after a long career in clinical research within a variety of roles. Nicola has extensive experience and a proven track record in global clinical trial management, quality assurance and process management in the healthcare industry. Afortiori have built an impressive global team of clinical trial specialists, clinicians and biostatisticians with experience in adult, paediatric and neonatal clinical research, and both primary and secondary healthcare settings.

Greer Deal, Director, Global Regulatory Services
Greer has over 25 years’ experience in the life science sector and 15 years ago when her husband, Bobby Deal, identified a gap in the market, she co-founded Global Regulatory Services (GRS) and more recently, as part of the company’s expansion, they also established Med-Di-Dia in Ireland. Operating at the forefront of technology GRS is a specialist organisation with worldwide coverage providing solutions to the global life science industry focusing on regulatory affairs, quality compliance and innovation. With a worldwide network of professionals, GRS is able to support companies with emerging, novel technologies from foods to herbals, medical devices to IVDs, pharmaceuticals to regenerative therapies and borderline medicinal products. Greer is passionate about raising the profile of regulatory professionals and highlighting how regulatory affairs is a critical part of a product’s journey from concept to commercialisation and beyond.

IN-PERSON EVENT: Food Supplement Special Interest Group (SIG): Sleep - a holistic approach, where nutrition and supplementation have a role to play
2021-10-07 09:30 - 12:45 | We are Pioneer Group Nottingham, Innovation Building, (formerly BioCity), Pennyfoot Street, Nottingham, NG1 1GF, United Kingdom
With COVID-19 restrictions being eased for business events, we are pleased to be able to offer this in-person event. Please see details below regarding COVID-19 compliance.

***Registration for this event is now closed****
The next Food Supplements Interest Group (SIG) will take place in-person on Thursday 7th October. The SIG will discuss Sleep – a holistic approach, where nutrition and supplementation have a role to play.
Topics to be covered:
*Sleep – some truths and myths explained
*Differentiation between food supplement claims and medicinal claims
*Traditional herbal remedies – why are these so different?
*Botanical food supplements – what are they and how can I use them?
*What is a systems biology approach?
*How are the principles of system biology applied in the world of nutrition?
*A review of known nutrients used for sleep claims using a systems biology lens
*Melatonin medicine or food supplement?
*Dietary considerations
To book, please complete the online booking form below. Due to social distancing, places will be limited. Your application will be reviewed and a member of the events team will be in touch to confirm your place. Unfortunately due to the number of places available, we are only able to offer one place per organisation.
This free to attend event will be held as part of the INSTILS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Click here to be redirected to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £255, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.

PROGRAMME
SPEAKER PROFILES
DELEGATE LIST
The venue and all participants will be required to adhere to social distancing guidelines at all times. Please see further information below regarding COVID-19 compliance at the venue.
We are Pioneer Group, Nottingham (formerly BioCity):
We are Pioneer Group is accessible by car, train and bus as it is a City Centre venue, on-site parking is not available for delegates, however the Motorpoint Arena Car park is available and located behind the buildings, for details and the address see here.
Venue and event – COVID-19 Compliance
– Delegates must not attend if they are self isolating or displaying any COVID-19 symptoms (a high temperature, new and persistent cough, or a loss of/change in sense of taste or smell), even if these symptoms are mild
– Delegates must not attend if anyone they live with have one of the above symptoms
– An NHS QR code for delegates to check in on will be available
– Delegates/staff have the option to wear a face covering upon entering the venue and whilst in attendance at the event
– The room will be laid out with relevant spacing between tables/delegates
– All rooms will have hand sanitiser nearby
– Social distancing measures will be in effect for all toilets
– Individual boxes will be provided for lunch – with options for Meat eaters, Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten Free

WEBINAR: Digital Technology and the Future of Healthcare
2021-11-11 10:00 - 11:00
This webinar will explore how digital technologies have been used during the pandemic and consider the potential for driving change in health and social care provision.
The potential of ‘big data’ approaches are increasingly being recognised, and the value of people’s data signatures as indicators of activity, well-being, and broader social trends is being explored in various healthcare settings.
Hosted by Medilink Midlands, this webinar will feature speakers from De Montfort University’s Digital Health research team and partner organisation Howz. Howz is a member of TSA, the industry body for Technology Enabled Care (TEC), representing the largest industry specific network in Europe and bringing together a growing membership of organisations across local government, health and the private sector.
Key areas explored at the webinar will include:
• Findings from an ongoing project on using a smart-meter app to detect electricity usage patterns within the home, and the potential to identify significant changes in an individual’s physical ability.
• Capacity for digital technology to enhance health and well-being.
• The long-term trends of digital technology in healthcare.
This free-to-attend event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £127, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the SoLSTICE programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the LLEP area and is open to all.

Speaker Profiles

Dr Simon Oldroyd, Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Dr Simon Oldroyd became Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor in April 2019. Prior to this he had been PVC/Dean for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences since February 2015 and Deputy Dean to the faculty since October 2011.

Professor Bertha Ochieng, Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, DMU
Bertha Ochieng is Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University. A key aspect of her research is in examining digital solutions that support development of integrated models of health and social care and community engagement.

Professor Ivan Browne, Director of Public Health at Leicester City Council
Ivan Browne is the Director of Public Health at Leicester City Council and has been spearheading the local response to COVID 19 in the City. He is a professor of public health practice with De Montfort University and has a particular interest in the potential of digital technologies to improve population health and wellbeing.

Louise Rogerson, Chief Operating Officer, Howz
Louise Rogerson is a physiotherapist with 18 years experience working within the NHS as a frontline clinician, operational service manager, and latterly as a commissioner. As a commissioner Louise was responsible for development of healthcare service pathways at a population level including stroke, palliative care, and CVD. Seeing the data available to her as a commissioner Louise realised that more needed to be done to fill the data gap for older people to enable access to support services before they hit crisis point.
As Chief Operating Officer for Howz, Louise is responsible for the customer experience, building partnerships, project management, and team development. Howz describes the daily routine for an individual through smart meter data and other sensors and aims to detect changes earlier. Louise is part of the Surrey NHS project management team providing expertise in both development and implementation of remote monitoring. Louise also continues to run her own practice as a physiotherapist with a special interest in neurology and older people.

This webinar is part of Leicester Business Festival 8-18th November. For further details please click here.

WEBINAR: An update on current changes to MDR, IVDR & Role of the Person Responsible (PRRC)
2021-11-17 10:00 - 11:30
The next MedTech Regulatory Special Interest Group (SIG), hosted by regulatory affairs expert Ben Jacoby, from Cambridge RA Ltd, will provide a comprehensive update on the current Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) landscape, plus an overview of the requirements and practical considerations needed within a company to meet regulatory compliance.
The next MedTech Regulatory Special Interest Group (SIG), hosted by regulatory affairs expert Richard Young, from AcclaimBiomedical Consulting Ltd, will provide a comprehensive update on the current Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) landscape, plus an overview of the requirements and practical considerations needed within a company to meet regulatory compliance.
Ben will be joined by Anne Jury, a regulatory affairs consultant with over 18 years experience in the medical and diagnostic healthcare products industries, and Alexander Pearce, Educo Life Sciences, well experienced in helping medical device professionals develop their skills and knowledge through learning and development.
During the presentations, they will cover:
– Introduction to current changes to requirements MDR & IVDR
– ISO13485 minimum Quality Management Systems (QMS) requirements
– Clinical Evidence
– General Safety and Performance Requirements (GSPR)
– Lay Users (individuals who do not have formal education in a relevant field of healthcare or medicine display)
– Roles of the Person Responsible for Regulatory Compliance (PRRC)
– There will be time at the end of the presentations for a Q&A session. Please submit any questions in advance for the panel to discuss during the presentation on the online booking form.
CLICK HERE TO SECURE YOUR PLACE
This free-to-attend event is held as part of the ACTIS programme – a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, click here to be re-directed to further information about the project. This event is classed as State Aid to participating businesses, the value of which is £190, but is delivered completely free of charge to participants.
Please note: whilst this event is held as part of the ACTIS programme, attendance is not restricted to companies in the SEMLEP area and is open to all.
Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Speaker Profiles:

Ben Jacoby, Director, Cambridge RA Ltd
Ben is an experienced regulatory consultant who has worked with clients in the diagnostic, medical device and pharmaceutical industries to help them bring innovative products to market. He provides regulatory and strategic guidance on EU, UK and US issues to clients. Core competencies include technical files, Clinical studies; EU and UK legislation including IVD’s, companion diagnostics and medical devices; EU legislative requirements for instruments; and classification of devices. With more than 25 years of experience in regulatory affairs, he was a European-authorized representative at Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (a Johnson & Johnson company at the time). He is an effective partner in project management and in achieving goals and deadlines. He is a skilled and persuasive communicator with clients and colleagues at all levels; and flexible and adaptable to changing environments and business needs. Ben has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of London.

Alexander Pearce, MBA | Director of Educo Life Sciences
Alexander is the Director of Educo Life Sciences, designing learning programmes to meet the needs of life science professionals. He is a specialist in learning product development and was previously Product Manager for a leading Life Science training organisation. He has extensive knowledge of learning pathways, content creation and digital training solutions and was responsible for managing a portfolio of over 300 courses. He was instrumental in designing and delivering online learning solutions.
Alexander is a firm believer that technical training can be delivered in an interactive and impactful way to avoid it being repetitive and boring. He believes training solutions that combine online learning tools and techniques with face-to-face learning delivers greater improved skill retentions and performance.
Alexander has a BSc in Medical Physiology and an MBA from the University of Leicester.

Anne Jury, Director of Anne Jury Associates, Medical Devices Regulatory Affairs Consultancy
Anne Jury is a consultant and trainer in medical devices EU & UK regulatory compliance and quality assurance systems. Starting out as a company microbiologist for Smith & Nephew Textiles Anne went on to work for Notified Bodies, BSI and then TÜV Product Service as a lead auditor and later as UK Regional Manager.
Anne has run her own consultancy business since 2000 providing medical device regulatory support to companies ranging from research institutes and start-up companies to SMEs and multi-national market leaders. Anne was one of the founders and visiting lecturers to the MSc in Medical Technology Regulatory Affairs run by TOPRA and Cranfield University where she was also an external examiner from 2009 to 2012. Anne is also a course leader for Educo Life Sciences, the learning and development specialist, since 2020. Anne is Vice-President of Team-PRRC, a non-profit organization set up in March 2020 to support individuals in the role of PRRC under the EU medical device regulations.
