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New facility will improve patient care by speeding up medical product development

Plans have been submitted for an £8m facility dedicated to the commercialisation of new medical devices and technologies.

    MTIF
    The facility on the Boots Enterprise Zone would be utilised to focus on pilot production and commercialisation

    Part of Nottingham Trent University’s dual-site Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF), the new building would be based on the Boots Enterprise Zone in Nottingham.

    The MTIF project will aim to improve patient care quality by speeding up medical product development and getting innovations to market as rapidly as possible –critical for business survival, growth and profitability.

    This development is occurring in conjunction with an already-approved £15m multidisciplinary research and development building at the University’s Clifton Campus, which will integrate the work of scientists, engineers, clinicians and med-tech entrepreneurs.

    They will work collaboratively to develop innovative products and advanced materials to meet the future needs of healthcare.

    The facility on the Boots Enterprise Zone would then be utilised to focus on pilot production and commercialisation.

    The facility will provide access to laboratories, clean rooms, technologies and expertise for processing, prototype development and preparing manufacturing processes.

    The overall MTIF project – which is seeking £9.7m from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, through its Local Growth Fund allocation – will form strategic alliances with a range of organisations to help ensure effective support to companies and researchers.

    Once launched it is expected to become a major specialist innovation asset within the developing Midlands Engine area.

    Nottingham Trent University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Edward Peck, said: “Medical technology is one the real strengths of the local economy, one of the real strengths of Nottingham Trent University and a major priority for the Midlands Engine, so this is both a timely and exciting development.”

    Professor Mark Biggs, Head of the College of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University, said: “We want to help accelerate new product development for med-tech companies by providing them access to world-class facilities and expertise. This project will be a catalyst for helping to drive innovation and new discovery.”

    Sajeeda Rose, Chief Executive of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "D2N2 are pleased to see that Nottingham Trent University, have submitted plans for their proposed MTIF facility on the Boots Enterprise Zone.

    "The project is a great example of one of our universities working with the private sector to develop a new facility for our life sciences sector to improve its productivity through R&D and innovation. We hope to invest £9.7m in this facility subject to a final business case approval.”

    Mark Chivers, Director of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone at Boots UK, said: “The vision for the Nottingham Enterprise Zone is to create a UK centre in health, beauty and wellbeing in Nottingham. We are supporting this initiative to create a vibrant business site that will improve the local economy and allow a number of start-ups and small and medium enterprises to develop and grow.

    “Our work to create the Nottingham Enterprise Zone is part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and being an incubator for young businesses in the East Midlands.

    “We are delighted that Nottingham Trent University has submitted plans for its dual-site Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, based in the Nottingham Enterprise Zone. The company is a perfect fit for our vision for the site and we look forward to supporting them going forward.”

    The building work will begin this summer and is expected to take about a year to complete.

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      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2017 at the Times Higher Education Awards, and Modern University of the Year in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience. NTU has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available. NTU is one of the largest UK universities. With 30,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. It is one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly universities, containing some of the sector’s most inspiring and efficient award-winning buildings. 96% of its graduates go on to employment or further education within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 88% satisfaction score in the 2018 National Student Satisfaction Survey.
      The University is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable Nottingham Trent to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

      NTU is home to world-class research, and won The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015 – the highest national honour for a UK university. It recognised the University’s pioneering projects to improve weapons and explosives detection in luggage; enable safer production of powdered infant formula; and combat food fraud. With an international student population of over 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.

      The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is one of 38 LEPs across England. D2N2’s private sector-led Board represents business, local authorities, skills and training providers, and voluntary and community organisations. It promotes economic growth and jobs creation in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; using UK Government and European funding. Its website is at www.d2n2lep.orgLocal Enterprise Partnerships are playing a vital role in driving forward economic growth across the country, helping to build a country that works for everyone. That’s why by 2021 Government will have invested over £12billion through the Local Growth Fund, allowing LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders. Analysis has shown every £1 of Local Growth Fund invested could generate £4.81 in benefits.

      Nottingham Enterprise Zone in total comprises 113 hectares of former industrial land. Planning consent has been granted to:

      • Build 675 new homes
      • Provide 200,000 square metres of employment space for offices and laboratories for health, beauty and well being businesses
      • Provide 21 hectares of green space

      The enterprise zone is one of four sites in the wider Nottingham & Derby Enterprise Zone, which is strategically managed by the D2N2 LEP and its partners.

      About the Nottingham Enterprise Zone

      In March 2011, the Boots site in Beeston, Nottingham, was awarded Enterprise Zone status by the UK Government. Enterprise Zones are designated areas with incentives to encourage the creation of new businesses, which will contribute to the growth of local and national economies.

      The Nottingham Enterprise Zone is comprised of part of the Boots site in Beeston and three other smaller sites – the Beeston Business Park, the Nottingham Science Park and the MediPark site (at Queens Medical Centre) which together make up 286 acres (116 hectares).

      The Boots site in total consists of 279 acres (113 hectares) and Walgreens Boots Alliance’s vision is to create a UK centre for innovation in health beauty and wellness in Nottingham. The site will offer a cost effective, high quality, centrally located site for health and wellness businesses such as business incubators, start-ups and small and medium enterprises. As well as existing buildings suitable for redevelopment, the site also includes around 100 acres (40 hectares) of brownfield land suitable for development.

      About Boots UK

      Boots UK (boots.com), the UK’s largest pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise.

      With 2,485* stores in the UK, its purpose is to champion everyone’s right to feel good. Boots UK is committed to providing exceptional customer and patient care, be the first choice for pharmacy and healthcare and offer innovative 'only at Boots' exclusive products such as No7, a leading UK skincare brand, Soap and Glory and Liz Earle. Created almost 170 years ago, the Boots brand is still at the heart of the communities it serves.

      *As of 31 August 2018, excluding equity method investments

    Published on 11 February 2019
    • Subject area: Sciences including sport sciences
    • Category: Press office; Research; School of Science and Technology