Regenerative Therapies and Devices

The Innovation and Knowledge Centre in Regenerative Therapies and Devices will provide a sustainable regional and international platform to address the creation of new technologies in Regenerative Therapies and Devices and their accelerated adoption within a complex global market place with increasing cost constraints. Therapies and devices which facilitate the regeneration of body tissues offer the potential to revolutionise healthcare and be a catalyst for economic growth, creating a new business sector within healthcare technology (Foresight Healthcare 2020). This centre is focused on emerging novel technologies in biological scaffolds, nano-biomaterials and self assembling peptides. These hybrid technologies utilise novel physical and biological functionality to enhance and accelerate the regeneration of tissues by harnessing the potential of endogenous stem cells in vivo. These novel technologies will also provide a vehicle for the delivery of exogenous stem cells to patients in the future and can be used to generate neo-tissues in vitro. The delivery of these emerging technologies to patients will be accelerated by improved diagnostics and imaging for enhanced patient targeting and by new complex simulation methodologies (patient in the lab) for improved short term predictions of the long term clinical outcomes. The life expectancy and average age of the population continues to increase as a result of advances in biomedicine and healthcare and this is generating additional social and economic burden. The Regenerative Technologies and Devices IKC will address the needs and quality of life of the ageing population, and address their expectations of an active lifestyle for fifty more years after fifty . It will specifically, but not exclusively, focus on areas of clinical need in musculoskeletal disease, dentistry, cardiovascular disease and cancer, which have been strategically prioritised by the University and the Leeds Hospitals Trust. The centre will build upon and develop substantial clinical, academic and industry partnerships. Additional new collaborative funding of over 58 million has already been confirmed to match the IKC award, and the centre has plans which have identified research and innovation funding in this area of over 100 million during the initial five year period of its activities.This rapidly growing multidisciplinary area will require innovative scientists and engineers who can cross disciplinary boundaries, work in broader systems based projects and work flexibly and collaboratively with industry and clinicians at different stages of the innovation pipeline. The centre and its partners will develop new and different approaches to innovation at an early stage of the innovation cycle, to substantially accelerate innovation, shorten the time period to clinical trials and market, and mitigate technology risks associated with this emergent sector. Collaborators in the Leeds University Business School will develop and evaluate open innovation methodologies. The University of Leeds is ideally placed to take advantage of this EPSRC call for four important reasons. First it has considerable competency in technology and science, as well as capabilities in managing collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship. Second it has the capability to both manage facilitate and create accelerated innovation in emerging healthcare technologies. Third the University already has excellent facilities and a track record (WRHIP) for innovation and is working with Yorkshire Forward to establish an Innovation Hub in Healthcare Technologies. Fourth the strategic partnership with the Clinical Trials Research Unit and the Unit of Health Economics will enable transition into NHS practice.