Both countries face similar challenges in healthcare, such as ageing populations, rising healthcare costs, staff shortages, and an increase in chronic diseases. The Netherlands and the UK also have complementary (research) ecosystems. The UK boasts a strong research landscape with large hospitals, a centrally organised healthcare system (NHS), and excellent collaborations with top universities.

The sector program focused on technologies that improve the efficiency of healthcare processes. It included sessions on the UK healthcare landscape, market access, and successful startups in the British healthcare sector. The delegation discussed bringing impactful innovations to the UK market and explored optimal strategies for introducing innovations into the British healthcare system.

The delegation visited the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE), part of King’s College London’s School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences. This leading partnership focuses on the development and application of new medical technologies within healthcare. By working with academic institutions, healthcare providers, and industrial partners, the institute facilitates the implementation of scientific discoveries into practical healthcare solutions.

Presentations were given by key public and private sector players in the UK healthcare system. The program also allowed Dutch companies to present their advanced solutions and services. These included tools for elderly care and daily assistance, support for medical procedures, and digital solutions for data management, consultancy, and financial support.

This program highlighted the fields of cell and gene therapy, regenerative medicine, and Organ-on-Chip technologies. These therapies aim to develop groundbreaking treatments using living cells and tissues to repair, replace, or regenerate damaged tissue and organs.

The delegation visited the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult in Stevenage. This cluster features the Manufacturing Innovation Centre for cell and gene therapy, equipped with 12 cleanrooms, quality control laboratories, technology, and process innovation labs, and a skills and training facility. It serves as a hub for the development and production of advanced cell and gene therapies.

The delegation also travelled to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, one of the largest and most prominent biomedical clusters in Europe. Here, they visited the Milner Therapeutics Institute, an institute linked to the University of Cambridge that aims to accelerate the development and scaling up of new therapies. By fostering collaboration between academic research, the pharmaceutical industry, and biotechnology companies of various sizes, the institute creates a unique public-private partnership model that could serve as an inspiration for the Dutch ecosystem.

Additionally, the delegation visited AstraZeneca's Discovery Centre (DISC), a major research and development site focused on discovering new, innovative medicines and therapies.

Throughout the sector program, there was ample opportunity for discussions and knowledge exchange on shared challenges, such as the translation of innovative therapies into practice, the design of cost-effective production and infrastructure, and synergies between the Dutch and British Organ-on-Chip ecosystems. Dutch companies were also allowed to pitch their offerings to a UK-Dutch audience.

During the mission, two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed.

The first MoU was established between Dutch company BalanceBelt and the UK’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (UCL’s Department of Clinical and Movement Sciences, Sense Research Unit). This partnership focuses on validating and implementing the BalanceBelt within the NHS. The BalanceBelt is an intelligent device that helps people with vestibular loss restore their balance.

The second MoU concerns a tripartite collaboration between the Dutch Oncode Institute, Oncode Accelerator, and the UK’s Cancer Research Horizons (the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK). This agreement aims to combine strengths to accelerate early-stage breakthroughs in oncology. Read the press releases here and here.

The mission contributed to a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the UK market. For the Dutch participants, this meant new business leads and collaboration opportunities and the potential for new contracts.

The mission’s success highlights the complementary nature of the UK and Dutch LSH ecosystems and how collaboration in MedTech and innovative therapies can contribute to the future of healthcare in both countries.