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The Liverpool City Region is set to strengthen its position as a global leader in health innovation with a major investment in pioneering children’s healthcare.
A £9.44m project at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is in line to receive more than £4m from the Combined Authority to support ground-breaking research and innovation.
Alder Hey’s Paediatric Open Innovation Zone (POIZ) will be at the forefront of developing, testing, and deploying life-changing technologies to tackle some of the biggest health challenges faced by children and young people in the region.
The programme will prioritise collaboration with local innovators and is expected to generate high-quality jobs while delivering significant health and social benefits across the city region.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority today approved £4.16m for the project. As one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, Alder Hey is already home to the UK’s largest hospital-led innovation centre, pioneering new approaches to paediatric healthcare.
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said:
“Alder Hey is world-class, not just for the outstanding care it provides but for its relentless drive to push the boundaries of children’s healthcare. This funding is an investment in our future, giving young people the best possible start in life while cementing our position as a global leader in health innovation.
“It’s also an investment in high-quality jobs, skills, and economic growth for our region. We’re proving once again that the Liverpool City Region is a place where we turn great ideas into action, and where we will keep pushing the boundaries of innovation for the benefit of our communities.”
The POIZ programme will provide innovators with direct access to Alder Hey’s clinical expertise, enabling joint development of new paediatric treatments. It will also serve as a real-world testbed for validating healthcare innovations and offer consultancy and training to help embed innovation-led care across the Liverpool City Region’s hospitals.
Additionally, the programme will support NHS and industry partners both in the UK and internationally, sharing Alder Hey’s expertise and best practice in healthcare innovation.
Iain Hennessey, Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Director of Innovation at Alder Hey, said:
“Our children are the future, and technology is the key to shaping a healthier one. At Alder Hey, innovation is in our DNA, and our purpose-built Innovation Hub is a driving force in tackling modern healthcare challenges. With this vital funding, we can accelerate our mission—collaborating with businesses, academics, and forward-thinkers to turn today’s children into tomorrow’s healthier adults.”
At the same Combined Authority meeting, leaders also approved £4.24m of Innovation Zone funding for a new business support programme, Innovate, Grow, Accelerate and Partner (IGAP), led by LYVA Labs.
The five-year initiative will help early-stage and scaling businesses to develop and commercialise cutting-edge health and life sciences technologies.
Delivered through three workstreams – incubator, accelerator, and challenge fund – IGAP will plug gaps in early-stage investment, providing vital technical, financial, and business support for local start-ups, spinouts, and SMEs.
Lorna Green, CEO of LYVA Labs, said:
“LYVA Labs’ Innovation Zone funding will accelerate and maximise our capacity to invest in, support, and promote early-stage businesses that are developing innovative clean tech, health and life sciences, and deep tech products.
“The Clean Tech for Health Challenge Fund will enable us to invest in technologies that improve health outcomes and support sustainable healthcare delivery. We are privileged to work in a region that recognises, invests in, and fosters innovation and with a combined authority that enables collaboration to drive economic growth.”
LYVA Labs was launched with £10.5m of Combined Authority investment in 2021 to help transform pioneering ideas into high-growth businesses and high-value jobs. To date, it has invested £1.62m into 20 businesses, helping create 50 skilled jobs in the Liverpool City Region.
Together, the POIZ and IGAP programmes are expected to support 108 businesses and create at least 115 new jobs. They are part of the wider Liverpool City Region Life Sciences Innovation Zone programme, a 10-year initiative designed to attract up to £800m in public and private investment and generate 8,000 skilled jobs in the region.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Cabinet Member for Innovation said:
“Liverpool City Region is a life sciences powerhouse and through our Innovation Zone we have the funding to help take it to the next level.
“These are two excellent projects that will help innovators turn their bright ideas into great businesses while tackling serious health problems in the city region – especially within children and young people. I look forward to seeing these initiatives progress and the benefits and opportunities they can bring.”
The Liverpool City Region Life Sciences Innovation Zone Programme forms part of the Government’s national Investment Zone Programme, positioning the city region as a powerhouse for health and life sciences innovation.
