The Greater Manchester Health Innovation Accelerator programme is gaining a share of an additional £30 million, with the programme set to stay until March 2026 and continue to transform the diagnosis of treatment and disease across the 2.8 million Greater Manchester population.

The Innovation Accelerator (IA) pilot programme launched in April 2022 and builds on regional collaborative strengths across technology, healthcare, innovation, life-science and research organisations, helping to drive economic growth and technological advancement. The programme is led by Innovate UK, on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and co-designed with three UK regions to ensure it is locally led and informed by regional innovation strengths.

The GM Health Innovation Accelerator

The Greater Manchester Health Innovation Accelerator programme has been established to rapidly improve the diagnosis and treatment of disease across its population and will continue to leverage strengths in high performance materials, health innovation, genomics, advanced manufacturing and digital technology.

The Accelerator encompasses two projects, the Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator(ADA)  and the DEVOTE programme, delivered through a partnership between Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), The University of Manchester, and industry partners.

The ADA programme has received £5.6m of funding through the Innovation Accelerator programme and realised a further £2.7m in co-investment. This funding was awarded to focus on developing innovative pathways for early disease detection and targeted care than conventional testing, ultimately enhancing health outcomes and stimulating economic growth.

Two years since its launch these projects are demonstrating world-leading outcomes and impacts, with developments which put Greater Manchester at the forefront of health innovation, through collaboration between academia, industry, NHS stakeholders and communities across the region.

Key achievements to date include:

ADA makes up a series of projects looking at Greater Manchester’s major morbidities (liver, heart and lung disease including lung cancer) in which academic and industry excellence from advanced diagnostics, digital and data will be brought together to improve health outcomes for patients.

The DEVOTE programme, led by The University of Manchester and supported by Health Innovation Manchester, brings together academic, industry and clinical partners from across the region, and aims to create societal and economic impact by realising the potential of genomic testing for all.

Both the Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator and the DEVOTE programme have various workstreams from Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) through focus groups, to the development of data-driven advanced diagnostics, point-of-care testing and rapid, cost-effective diagnostic tests for conditions like heart failure and lung cancer.

By utilising Greater Manchester’s academic and industry excellence from creative sectors including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Genomics and Bioinformatics, the project builds on assets already in existence within the city-region’s ecosystem, taking innovative solutions and techniques into clinical use in healthcare.

Professor Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive at Health Innovation Manchester, said: “The investment we have received from the Innovation Accelerator programme was a catalyst to progress in our mission for improved population health. For each of our focus areas from liver disease and lung cancer to heart failure and chest pain we had a shared ethos to reduce inequalities, build on assets in existence and drive productivity through collaboration. To reach thousands of patients, create high-value jobs and establish a spin out in just two years shows the potential of projects like ours to make a meaningful impact on health outcomes.”

John Holden, Associate Vice-President for Major Special Projects at The University of Manchester said: “The Innovation Accelerator programme is an excellent example of how The University of Manchester’s pioneering research is improving health for local residents while simultaneously creating jobs and growth in our region. The continuation of funding will allow this pioneering work to continue to deliver, opening up access to new innovative treatments, and keeping Greater Manchester at the forefront of health innovation.”

Dr Sohail Munshi, Joint Chief Medical Officer for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), said: “Bringing together the clinical and academic excellence of Greater Manchester has allowed us to drive positive change for the patients we see every day. We can only tackle and transform health inequalities through collaboration, and the Health Innovation Accelerator provides a platform for us to deliver earlier and more accurate detection, diagnosis, and prognosis of the most prevalent issues affecting the communities we serve and develop targeted, patient-centred care and treatment.”

The Health Innovation Accelerator

The Health Innovation Accelerator encompasses two projects, the Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator and the DEVOTE programme, delivered through a partnership between Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), The University of Manchester, and industry partners.

This project is part-funded by the Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator programme. Led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, the pilot Innovation Accelerators programme is investing £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters – Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester, and West Midlands. Supporting the Government’s levelling-up agenda, this is a new model of R&D decision making that empowers local leaders to harness innovation in support of regional economic growth and help attract private R&D investment and develop future technologies.