2024-25 Life Sciences Hub Wales Annual Report

2024-2025

ANNUAL REPORT

Table of Contents Welcome to our Annual Report

04

Our key messages from the report

06

We’re Life Sciences Hub Wales

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A year in numbers

09

How we’re connecting and convening

10

How we’re integrating

12

How we’re accelerating

14

How we’re advocating

18

An operations and resource update

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Looking to the future

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Welcome to our Annual Report Chris Martin, Chair of Life Sciences Hub Wales I’m delighted to introduce our 2024/5 Annual Report – a year defined by progress, partnership and purpose. This brought us a wealth of new opportunities and impactful collaborations making a real difference to people across Wales. We’re proud to work together with a vast number of partners and stakeholders to deliver our work, and we couldn’t do it without their support.

Embracing innovation is fundamental to the long-term sustainability of our economy and for better health outcomes. Worldwide, life sciences companies and health providers are working closer than ever, with life sciences being the cornerstone of Government industrial strategies. The NHS can be an innovation driver, with the key to leverage the significant investment required in the Welsh foundational economy for adoption of new therapeutic approaches and use of new technologies. This can be a springboard to commercialise new and economic growth, productivity and health benefits.

We act as a dynamic interface, connecting life sciences businesses and innovators with health and social care providers and research partners. But what does this deliver?

For the people of Wales and health and social care staff, better care and ultimately improved well-being and health, whether that’s due to quicker diagnosis, faster treatment times, care at home, improved services or more effective treatments. Over 64,000 patients accessed innovation, spending 1000 fewer days in hospital and requiring over 2100 fewer clinical visits.

We’ve also generated economic growth, jobs, and prosperity in Wales. We added £3.9 million in Gross Value Added to the Welsh economy through our range of services, such as supporting 422 enquiries, working with industry to progress 119 innovation assessments, submitting 17 adoption-ready proposals to NHS Wales and producing 52 market intelligence reports.

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We’ve also helped a range of partners secure new funding to deliver innovation to the frontline of health and social care, including £5 million worth of successful bids. Our team also administered local and national funding opportunities for health innovation in Wales including the Innovation in Women’s Cancer Accelerator Fund coordinated with the Academy of Medical Sciences. The Community Pharmacy System Innovation Fund in partnership with Welsh Government and Digital Health and Care Wales has helped deliver over one million electronic prescriptions.

There’s been much talk about putting clinical and patient voices at the forefront of health, something which we’ve delivered on this year through multi-partner collaboration such as our partnership with the National Clinical Networks and supporting Welsh Government’s Tackling Cancer Initiative.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our partners and collaborators for their continued support. Together, we’re helping to make Wales the place of choice for health, care and wellbeing innovation.

This report is a testament to the importance of collaborative innovation across life sciences.

Innovation is at the heart of transforming health and social care in Wales, helping us to deliver better outcomes for people. It plays a key role in reducing waiting times, improving access to care, and transforming how we detect and treat diseases like cancer.

Life Sciences Hub Wales continues to be a catalyst for innovation across health and social care, through its dedicated support programmes, projects, and partnerships.

Its work is not only enhancing outcomes but is also bolstering our economy.

Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Annual Report 2024-2025

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Our key messages from the report 1. We’re transforming patient outcomes through innovation Life Sciences Hub Wales enabled over 64,000 patients to access innovation, resulting in 1,000 fewer hospital days and 2,191 fewer clinical visits. These outcomes reflect our commitment to improving care quality, accelerating diagnosis and treatment, and enhancing patient well-being.

2. We’re driving economic growth and investment in Wales We supported £3.9 million in GVA to the Welsh economy and secured £5 million in successful funding bids and £2.44 million investment.

3. We’re accelerating innovation to the frontline From supporting the rollout of over one million digital prescriptions to piloting clinical waste transformation and advancing cancer diagnostics through liquid biopsies, we’ve played a pivotal role in fast-tracking innovation to the frontline of care.

4. We’re cultivating strategic cross-sector collaboration We convened stakeholders from health, social care academia, government, and industry to deliver initiatives like our CrossSector Programme with the Academy of Medical Sciences.

5. We’re championing cancer innovation and digital health Cancer remains a strategic priority, with our team supporting Welsh Government’s Tackling Cancer initiative and digital projects like virtual reality training for dysphagia. These efforts demonstrate a strong focus on early detection, treatment innovation, and workforce upskilling.

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We’re Life Sciences Hub Wales We’re here to accelerate transformative innovation reaching the frontline of care, encouraging new ways of working collaboratively across the system to facilitate economic growth and better health.

We’re...

Passionate

Collaborative

Expert

Professional

How do we make this happen?

We’re connectors, facilitators, and drivers. We support industry, health and social care organisations, government and academic institutions who share our goal: to manage, slow and prevent poor health, through the adoption of new innovations.

We work across two programme areas: Precision Medicine and Digital, AI & Robotics.

Running across both programmes is the theme of cancer, where better detection, diagnosis and treatment is a key priority.

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Partnership development and facilitation We have broad and well established connections helping knowledge and idea sharing, raising awareness of needs and identifying opportunities for codeveloping solutions. This supports evaluation, market testing, routes to market and adoption. Our events and networks also make it easier and faster to partner and adopt innovation in Wales.

Partnerships - Innovation Ideas Expert support is available to innovators through market evaluation and viability assessment of innovations based on identified healthcare challenges.

Sector Intelligence – Market Intelligence Sector intelligence can assist with market intelligence reports and insights, explore inward investment opportunities, business case support and facilitate engagement with health, social care, academia and industry.

Sector Intelligence - Funding Funding advice and information together with bid development support is provided for the various forms of funding opportunities available to facilitate early-stage development of ideas, evidence gathering, commercialisation and adoption.

Programme Delivery - Real World Evidence We provide project management support to work closely with Health and Social care to facilitate the evaluation and establishment of an evidence base for the effectiveness of products and services in practice.

Programme Delivery - Brokering and Adoption We are able to provide project management support to facilitate discussions between health, social care and industry to help accelerate the adoption of innovations (multiple site or national) with a strong evidence base in terms of improved patient outcomes and efficiency.

Communications - Celebrating Success Promotion is a big part of every success story – we help raise the profile of projects right from the start to give it the attention it deserves. Success can be demonstrated through improved patient outcomes and efficiency, early detection and prevention, and also through the impact upon economic growth in Wales. We offer marketing and communications support to celebrate the successes.

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2024-2025 A year in numbers

We drive innovation to the frontline of care and encourage new ways of working collaboratively across the system to facilitate economic growth and better health.

Overall, we delivered a return on investment of £9 for every £1 spent

Making life better for patients in Wales

64,606

1040

patients accessing innovation

fewer days patients spent in hospital

Driving economic growth in Wales Delivering

£3.895 million

2191 fewer clinical visits

Supporting the health and social care ecosystem Supporting

Welsh Company GVA Growth

8 adoption projects 119 innovation

Securing

Completing assessments

£5.046 million in funding

£2.44 million

£

of investment

Annual Report 2024-2025

16 market intelligence reports, 28 rapid scan reports, 4 sector reports and 4 Crafting

Securing

international reports

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How we’re connecting and convening

We’re here to accelerate transformative innovation reaching the frontline of care, encouraging new ways of working collaboratively across the system to facilitate economic growth and better health.

Working in partnership We’ve actively engaged with collaborators from across the innovation ecosystem forming and maintaining strategic partnerships, special interest groups, long-term working agreements, alongside delivering workshops and supporting cross-sector events.

Our collaboration with Life Sciences Hub Wales has been instrumental in delivering impactful initiatives such as the Health+ programme and joint events throughout 2024–2025. I’m now particularly excited by the launch of our new strategic partnership, which marks a step-change in how we drive innovation in north Wales.

Pryderi ap Rhisiart, Managing Director, M-SParc

We continued our partnership with the Academy of Medical Sciences, delivering a collaborative CrossSector Programme of events that provided a vital platform for partners to showcase innovation in Wales, discuss key issues, and create meaningful outcomes to benefit health and social care. The event series covered clinically relevant themes such as early detection and diagnosis of cancer and wellbeing. Additionally, we provided crucial economic support by helping launch and manage a UK seed funding initiative offering up to £10,000 for women's cancer care innovation projects.

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Other events we’ve helped to organise and support include: An interactive development and networking session with all the NHS Wales clinical leads.

A strategic visit from Councillors from Ireland and Northern Ireland to deepen connections and drive shared progress.

Sessions at the Wales Cancer Industry Forum.

“Life Sciences Hub Wales’ support was pivotal to the success of our Mindset-XR roadshow event in Cardiff in July 2024, and to the connections this UK wide programme has been able to make in the Welsh health and care system.”

Jill Owens, UK Mindset Innovator Support, Programme Manager for Mental Health, Health Innovation Network South London

Helping to create a centre of excellence at Cardiff Edge We’re helping to capitalise on the myriad economic development opportunities identified through the Cardiff Edge development; driving local economic growth and jobs to the region.

We’ve supported bringing key stakeholders together and provided sector intelligence, focused on creating a centre of excellence for genomics and pathology opportunities.

We’ve supported parallel projects, including a collaboration and secondment with Advanced Therapies Wales (ATW). Through this, ATW has placed staff at Cardiff Edge, using the clean room space in Cytiva’s existing facility to kickstart advanced therapies manufacturing.

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How we’re integrating We aim to be part of a ‘One Wales’ approach, where partners from across the nation work seamlessly together, building upon the strength of individual component parts to build a sum that’s far greater.

Delivering vital market knowledge Our Sector Intelligence team gather and analyse insights on market trends, customer needs and the broader industry landscape. This knowledge shapes strategies, identifies risks and finds new growth opportunities. Commissioning organisations include health boards, Welsh Government, academia, and SMEs.

This year we produced 52 reports, which included reports on: Life sciences infrastructure across Wales. Its findings are currently supporting life sciences strategy work across various Welsh Government offices and the UK Government Industrial Strategy.

Diabetes care and management, including prevention, early diagnosis and medical devices.

Innovation in cancer. Clinical leads are using findings from a series of reports for different cancer types to inform and directly support cancer programmes in Wales.

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Delivering one million digital prescriptions In collaboration with the Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio (through Digital Health and Care Wales) and Welsh Government, we continued to manage the Community Pharmacy System Innovation Fund supporting the implementation of an electronic prescribing system in Wales. The Community Pharmacy System Innovation Fund (CPSIF) has delivered over one million digital prescriptions, making prescribing safer, easier, and more cost-effective for healthcare professionals and patients. This year, £362,557.50 was granted to suppliers, and over 65 pharmacies in Wales have adopted the electronic prescribing service.

We’re committed to continuing this support into the next year, creating a greener and more efficient system that benefits both patients and healthcare providers.

This digital service is making life easier for patients across Wales while helping our dedicated healthcare professionals work more efficiently. The successful rollout of the Electronic Prescription Service shows how we're harnessing digital technology to improve healthcare services for everyone in Wales.

Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, with responsibility for health innovation, technology, and digital transformation

How we’re accelerating We want vital innovation to reach the health and social care line faster.

We’re making this a reality by developing a national approach for accelerated adoption – taking our partners from development through to roll out.

Tackling Cancer Improving cancer outcomes is a top priority for the Welsh Government.

We supported the Tackling Cancer initiative, which aims to build trusted partnerships between health and care providers, industry and academia, accelerating delivery of evidence based, proven, disruptive solutions to transform cancer survival rates in Wales.

Work has focussed on key workstreams: Innovation adoption pathway: clear, understandable evidencebased pathway for cancer innovation adoption Commercial research clinical trials: led by Health and Care Research Wales, focused effort on accelerated development of, and increased participation in, high quality clinical trials Working together: co-developing a set of principles that enable better collaborative working Innovation investment and innovative funding models: establish policy options and practical steps for progressing prioritised innovations for national adoption

Embracing innovation and cultivating genuine trust between the NHS and industry is fundamental to improving cancer outcomes, demand and productivity, which are challenging.

We have much to be proud in Wales, but our ambitions must be even bolder. Life Sciences Hub Wales is an important partner in the Tackling Cancer Initiative, which is finding solutions to key innovation system challenges, promoting working together across stakeholder networks and enabling accelerated access to innovative solutions.

Professor Tom Crosby, Consultant Oncologist, National Cancer Clinical Director for Wales.

Speeding up cancer detection Reducing waiting times and making treatments more effective are both essential for improving cancer outcomes. We’ve continued providing project and communications support for QuicDNA, which is evaluating the use of liquid biopsies in cancer. It provides a non-invasive approach to diagnosis, using genomic analysis to create targeted therapies, and could also speed up the treatment pathway.

This is a truly collaborative project with partners from the NHS, industry, academia, and other arm’s length bodies. There’s now a national roll out of the clinical trial across multiple Health Boards and hundreds of patient samples being analysed.

Life Sciences Hub Wales has played an important role in supporting the success of QuicDNA – providing strategic project and communications support, capturing the patient voice to evidence impact, and amplifying key milestones through national communications and meetings, including securing BBC Wales coverage. Their collaboration has been instrumental in driving clinical and public awareness, reinforcing the value of working together across healthcare, industry and third sector.

Sian Morgan, Consultant Clinical Scientist, All Wales Medical Genomics (AWMGS) Laboratory Director

We’ve also accelerated health and social care innovation far beyond cancer innovation

Driving NHS cost and environmental efficiencies Every year the NHS produces significant volumes of clinical waste.

Processing this can be costly and unsustainable. Curo Waste offers a solution: transforming clinical waste into floc, a material that’s found in recycled products and can also be converted into energy. Processing onsite creates further financial efficiencies and reduces the carbon footprint.

We partnered with Curo Waste and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to trial this technology at University Hospital Llandough. By coordinating the project and bringing stakeholders together, we demonstrated how industry and healthcare collaboration can improve operational, economic, and environmental efficiencies for the NHS in Wales.

Upskilling social care staff with Virtual Reality (VR) Oropharyngeal dysphagia, a swallowing difficulty, could lead to malnutrition and infection for our ageing population. Managing this condition in social care settings is challenging due to delayed assessments and limited specialist support.

Life Sciences Hub Wales, in collaboration with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Bridgend Council and Digital Communities Wales, is addressing these challenges through VR simulation training using Gogglemind’s technology. This training helps staff in residential homes identify early signs of dysphagia, prevent incidents, and respond to emergencies like choking.

The project, currently under evaluation, aims to improve dysphagia management, reduce malnutrition and hospital admissions, and enhance residents' life quality while empowering staff.

Life Sciences Hub Wales was pivotal in securing an industry partner willing to work at risk, given our limited initial funding. They also provided enhanced project management, navigating the complexities of procurement and information governance. Their support extended to introducing us to Digital Communities Wales, which helped ensure a robust and sustainable training program.

The project manager was instrumental in keeping the project on track amid clinical demands, facilitating smooth communication with industry partners, and enhancing project visibility. Their communications manager significantly boosted the project's profile through local and national media coverage, digital platforms, and increasing awareness, and confidence in using VR for training.

Sheiladen Aquino, Project Lead, Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board Annual Report 2024-2025

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Improving life quality with digital medication management People are increasingly managing multiple medications, and taking all of these correctly can be a challenge for some.

Digital medication management tools are a potential solution, with past work we’ve supported highlighting how YOURMeds digital medication management tool can get people taking the right medication at the right time. This improved independence, reduced harm and medication waste and offered loved ones peace of mind.

This year saw us undergo phase two of the project, further developing the service and building on its lessons learnt and success in partnership with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Bridgend County Borough Council, SBRI and Swansea University School of Management.

We provided project management, funding, and sector intelligence support, with this phase increasing the scope of the project including scalable development for wider adoption. The evaluation is currently underway.

I was the first person to try YOURmeds. I had fibromyalgia, I was confused, and I wasn’t taking all my meds, because it was so many. The team in Bridgend were really good with me. I’ve had good support, and I’m a different person. I’m back to normal as I used to be, much better!

Anita Jones, YOURmeds user

How we’re advocating Securing over £5 million in funding for health and social care projects Our funding support team helps innovators to navigate the complex landscape of funding opportunities for health and social care projects. This year saw us support 22 different funding applications, with our efforts helping to secure £5,026,269 in funding.

We helped the Rare Diseases Implementation Network to secure funding from the Wales Innovations Network’s Small Grants programme. This will allow researchers from Wales to get together, explore funding opportunities and knowledge share. We hope to build on this with further grant applications next year.

I'm very grateful for the support provided by the LSHW in preparing the Wales Innovation Network small grant funding bid. Their input was timely, insightful, and made a real difference to the quality of the application. I’m delighted that we were successful in securing the funding and look forward to building the Rare Diseases Research Network further with ongoing collaboration and support from LSHW. Professor Kerry Hood, Dean of Research & Innovation, College of Biomedical & Life Sciences, Cardiff University

We supported DDM Health with a successful £1.6 million bid to NIHR’s i4i programme.

This money will support a real-world study for weight management to help people living with obesity. They look at initiatives like digital tools, lifestyle support and weight loss medication and assess for value to the patient and the NHS.

Flying the flag for Wales through communications and marketing We’ve continued to make our website a place where people can go to find out about all things innovation in Wales. In addition to our Innovation Directory, we’ve maintained our Funding Directory which highlights exciting opportunities for organisations and people who want to progress their innovations with financial support.

We’ve also continued our work in making our website a place for partners to showcase their news and case studies – hosting third party content that highlights just how dynamic the innovation ecosystem in Wales is. And our audience has agreed this is a huge draw – with over 100,000 visits to our website in the past year.

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An operations and resource update Our total costs for this year were £4.303 million, which increased by 12.4% from the previous year primarily as a result of funding for the AI Commission activities of £384k and CIPSF grant funding of £363k. We’re grateful to Welsh Government (Economy and Health) for their continued support, who provided a core grant of £3.508 million.

We secured additional funding through a range of streams including CPSIF onward grant funding, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the AI Commission. Our salary Welsh Government Core Grant costs were 69% of our coreAI Commission grant expenditure while office costs were 13%. Overall, we CPSIF onward granting delivered a return onof Medical investment of £9 for every £1 spent.

Academy Sciences Office Project Costs Recovered

Income

Desk Rental Income

Other Income

Welsh Government Core Grant CPSIF onward granting

2023/24

Academy of Medical Sciences

Actuals £3.8m

Office Project Costs Recovered

Welsh Government Core Grant CPSIF onward granting

AI Commission

Desk Rental Income

Other Income

AI Commission

Academy of Medical Sciences Other Income

Welsh Government Core Grant

2024/25 Actuals £4.3m

Welsh Government Core Grant

CPSIF onward granting

AI Commission

Academy of Medical Sciences Other Income

CPSIF onward granting Academy of Medical Sciences Other Income

Welsh Government Core Grant

2025/26 Forecast £4.6m

CPSIF onward granting Academy of Medical Sciences Other Income

We’re proud of our multidisciplinary team of 38 FTE specialists, working with our partners from across the innovation ecosystem. We’ve continued building and strengthening our team to help make sure we continue to deliver change. This year, we further embedded new ways Staff ICT & Office of working within our reinvigorated office environment and Office refurbishment continued to integrate our values.

Marketing, Events and Travel

Costs

Finance & Compliance

Onward Granting

Other Costs Depreciation and lease interest

Pay related

ICT & Office

Office refurbishment

2023/24 Actuals £3.8m

Staff

Marketing, Events and Travel Finance & Compliance

Onward Granting

Other Costs

ICT & Office

Depreciation and lease interest

Marketing, Events and Travel Finance & Compliance

Onward Granting

Other Costs Depreciation and lease interest

2023/24 Actuals

Pay related

ICT & Office

Marketing, Events and Travel

2024/25 Actuals £4.3m

Pay related

Finance & Compliance

Onward Granting

Other Costs Depreciation and lease interest

ICT & Office

Marketing, Events and Travel Finance & Compliance

Onward Granting

Depreciation and lease interest

2024/25 Actuals

Pay related

2025/26 Forecast £4.6m

ICT & Office

Marketing, Events and Travel Finance & Compliance

Onward Granting

Depreciation and lease interest

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Forecast

Looking to the future Our CEO, Cari-Anne Quinn, reflects on our achievements and what lies ahead for Life Sciences Hub Wales I am proud of the collective impact working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders that has been achieved, the challenges we’ve helped partners overcome, and the immense opportunities ahead for health and social care innovation in Wales.

We’ll continue to drive value in health and social care, prioritising the voices of clinicians and patients and service users.

Cancer remains a priority, reflecting Welsh Government's policy agenda. As the leading cause of death in Wales, we support innovations to improve prevention and treatment, whether through project support, funding bids, or insightful reports. Our ongoing work with the Tackling Cancer initiative in partnership with Welsh Government is crucial for this.

We’re committed to embedding economic development in all we do, facilitating governance, encouraging investment, offering SME support, and making the NHS and social care an innovation driver. This includes our role as a Wales partner in the UK’s innovation service and providing a Welsh portal.

We’re excited about the forthcoming High Economic Potential Programme, a collaborative Welsh Government initiative.

We’ll work with key stakeholders to develop a support framework for high-growth-potential life sciences businesses.

We’re also looking forward to the Welsh Government's Investment Summit of 2025, ready to support all stakeholders involved.

Looking ahead, we’re energised by the possibilities.

We work with innovators at the forefront of their fields, witnessing how advances redefine care delivery. We’ll continue to advocate for Wales as an ideal location for progress, improving health and wellbeing while driving system efficiencies and providing financial benefits to industry and local economies.

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