Specialist help for medical innovators as Yorkshire Bank backs Medilink

18/06/08

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HUNDREDS of innovative healthcare technology businesses are able to gain access to specialist banking support following Yorkshire Bank’s sponsorship of healthcare association Medilink (Yorkshire & Humber) Ltd.

As well as mainstream banking facilities, specialist advice on issues such as international trade, exchange and treasury services is being provided by Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds Financial Solution Centre (FSC) as a professional partner of Medilink Y&H, Sheffield, which provides bespoke business development support to organisations in the high-growth medical systems and biotechnology sectors.

Medilink Y&H brings together innovators, healthcare businesses, NHS Trusts, universities, business support and government agencies to stimulate and commercialise pioneering health technology developments, by offering a range of specialist knowledge brokerage and consultancy services, supporting healthcare businesses in key areas such as  product development and technology translation,  project management, pr, events management and international marketing.

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Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds FSC senior partner, Richard Moon, says: “Even in the current tougher economic climate, Yorkshire has a vitally-important, fast-growing healthcare technologies sector which will eventually create scores of jobs and generate new healthcare approaches and services which will improve patients’ health and quality of life.

“Many of these inventions start in small incubator-businesses, often as university spin-offs, and need a range of commercial advice to enable them to achieve their potential.

“Part of this advice involves banking services and is why Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds FSC is supporting Medilink which fulfils such a valuable role. We are already aware of some potential new medical developments with exciting commercial potential.”

Yorkshire and Humber has one of the largest clusters of medical device companies anywhere in the UK. With a population of 5.5 million people, the region has 56 large hospitals, including two of the largest in Europe, and nine universities with internationally-renowned specialist centres of excellence in cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, immunology, minimally-invasive surgery, biomaterials and tissue engineering.

Medilink (Yorkshire & Humber) Ltd managing director, Kevin Kiely, says: “Medilink has long provided a gateway to key professional business services for the healthcare technology sector through its partnership programme.

“Our relationship with Yorkshire Bank is providing our members, and the sector as a whole, with crucial support from a world-leading banking institution based in the Yorkshire and Humber region.”