Cardiovascular disease: develop treatments and technologies in the UK
Published 15 October 2018
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The UK’s world-leading cardiovascular research continues to play a major role in global breakthroughs, improving the lives of citizens across the world.
Why select the UK for cardiovascular innovation
The UK offers world class opportunities for partnership.
The UK has:
- world-leading cardiovascular research
- state of the art clinical facilities
- engaged charities
- internationally renowned surgeons
- a track record of successful commercial innovation
- outstanding funding opportunities for business and your research partners
- world-class infrastructure to fast-track clinical studies
- outstanding funding opportunities for business and your research partners
- quality regulatory and health technology assessment support
UK’s culture of cardiovascular disease innovation and successful exploitation
The UK is a dynamic environment where world-leading cardiovascular surgeons and researchers work in close collaboration with business. This culture pushes cardiovascular innovation resulting in the development of the early cardiac pacemakers, to the more recent breakthroughs in:
- biocompatible and biodegradable grafts
- cardiac imaging
- digital health
- trials in stem-cell treatment - which holds potential to be the biggest breakthrough for patients since heart transplants
UK’s state-of-the-art cardiovascular clinical facilities and leading surgeons
In the 50 years since the first heart transplant took place in the UK, investment in cardiac care, cardiovascular surgeons and ancillary staff has placed the UK at the forefront of cardiovascular innovation.
The UK has:
- 45 specialist cardiac centres
- nearly 950 cardiothoracic or vascular surgeons conducting over 115,000 cardiac interventional procedures per year
- significant numbers of outpatient clinics
Barts Heart Centre in London is Europe’s largest specialist cardiovascular centre, performing more heart surgery and imaging scans than any other centre in the world.
UK’s cardiovascular disease clinical study infrastructure
The UK has a unique infrastructure to fast track the set-up and delivery of cardiovascular clinical studies.
In the last 5 years, the UK’s Cardiovascular Disease Specialty Clinical Research Network has conducted over 90 global ‘first patient’ studies. At any given moment, there are about 550 active NHS cardiovascular clinical trials.
UK funding opportunities for businesses and research partners
Each year the research arm of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research (NICE) invests more than £1 billion, making the UK’s health research system the most integrated in the world. This platform funds people and facilities that are ready to work with industry on research and can reduce the time and cost of product development.
Health innovation funding from the NHS, Innovate UK, research councils and charities is at an all-time high. This includes opportunities for businesses and research partners to secure funding for quality research and innovative new developments.
There are 193 cardiovascular charities in the UK. The largest independent funder, the British Heart Foundation, commits over £100 million to fund over 1,000 critical research projects.
UK’s regulatory and health-technology assessment support for cardiovascular disease
In addition to the UK government funded integrated clinical-research infrastructure, the UK is home to leading global regulatory and health-technology assessment expertise, which can enable UK and international market access.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) hosts an innovation office to make it easy for businesses to engage at an early stage.
The internationally renowned NICE delivers expert health-technology assessment and evidence-based guidance such as medtech innovation briefings and guidance on cardiovascular conditions.
UK based cardiovascular companies can also draw on expert advice from over a 1,000 private clinical research, regulatory and ancillary support organisations.
Contact Life Sciences Organisation (LSO)
LSO is made up of a mixed team of civil servants and private sector specialists based in the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT).
It provides support for:
- UK life sciences companies doing business overseas
- foreign life sciences companies wanting to invest in the UK
Contact LSO for more information on commercial opportunities in the UK’s life sciences sector.
You can find out more about investing in the UK at great.gov.uk.