How Platform in Leeds can play a major role in the North's healthcare revolution

Dr Kath Mackay believes policymakers must recognise the major role the North of England plays in developing innovative businesses, writes Deputy Business Editor, Greg Wright.
Dr Kath MackayDr Kath Mackay
Dr Kath Mackay

THE pandemic has placed public health, and the need to develop an effective response to a fast-moving crisis, at the top of the political agenda.

Dr Kath Mackay, who has a PhD in Pharmacology from Manchester University, believes technology and healthcare can work together to save lives.

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She has joined the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) as a director to help develop a world-leading cluster of life science businesses.

The NHSA is a partnership established by universities and NHS Hospital Trusts in the North of England to create an internationally recognised life science and healthcare system.

It links universities and research-intensive NHS Teaching Trusts with four academic health science networks. It also aims to draw in international investment to the North and acts as a voice for its health research system.

Ms Mackay said: “The NHSA covers a 16m population and is supported by 10 universities. It’s like a Northern Powerhouse for health sciences which brings together research and innovation organisations at a time when health is at the forefront of people’s minds because of Covid-19.

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“One of the key challenges is for us to lobby for action to reduce health inequalities. We know Covid-19 is bringing real health inequalities when it comes to having contact with the virus.”

Ms Mackay is best known for her role as the managing director of Alderley Park, the UK’s largest bioscience campus, which is part of Bruntwood SciTech and its network of innovation districts and technology communities, which includes Platform in Leeds.

Britain is already leading the global field in sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), drug discovery, medtech, and cell and gene therapy. Ms Mackay is determined to ensure Alderley Park stays ahead of the pack.She loves to see small companies blossom into larger enterprises.

Before joining Alderley Park, Ms Mackay was on the executive management team at Innovate UK, the 500-strong national government agency which invests in business-led innovation in the UK.

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Over the years, she has helped to secure investments into health, biomedical, care, agricultural technology and food businesses.

Alderley Park has had an occupancy rate of around 40 per cent during the whole of the Covid-19 crisis.

Ms Mackay and her team have been careful to create a safe environment so work in places such as labs can continue without disruption.

She said: “We worked closely with the science companies onsite to restructure the setup of our labs so people could be socially distanced. Everybody wants to keep on top of COVID-19 and trust the science.”

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“Our Platform development in Leeds is at the heart of technology innovation and the home of tech in Leeds. At Alderley Park, we have 200 businesses who are all playing a role addressing the healthcare challenges of our time. It creates a culture where they learn and mix with each other.

“Much of the success of the businesses in both cities can be attributed to being right at the heart of the wider Northern health eco-system. They could have a valuable interaction with Platform, which establishes a tech interface between the classic life sciences, technology and digital healthcare.”

Platform has become a focal point for the region’s digital talent and aims to attract international investment. Its tech hub includes 42 studio offices as well as a wing of co-working workspace.

“We need to actively explore data and digital applications,’’ said Ms Mackay. “It can bring about new methods about how you look at data which can help to predict the response of the patient. It could help to predict when a patient with Covid-19 would have to be moved from home to hospital.

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“It could reduce the need for more expensive laboratories. You can mine data to support clinical trials.”

She believes Leeds will be on the front foot when it comes to securing investment in technology.

“There are a lot of strong companies in Leeds who are involved with data science. LIDA – the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics – has global credibilty. My work with Innovate UK gave me a helicopter view of life sciences in the UK.

“You can ask questions like, ‘What are the big moonshot challenges of our time?’

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One of the biggest challenges is around the area of healthy ageing.

“People want to take more responsibility for their ageing,'' she said. "The deployment of new technology on scale can help people to manage their own health better. People want to take control of their health.”

She believes policymakers must become aware of the North’s natural strengths.

“There is a huge amount of research infrastructure in the North. You have got, for example a huge amount of medicines manufacturing capability in the Liverpool and the North East and med tech capability in Leeds.

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“These are national assets that happen to be in the North. We need to ensure this is known publicly and in government.

“There are great success stories coming out of the North . One example is Connected Health Cities, a Government-funded programme that uses information and technology to improve health and social care services for patients across the North of England.”

Ms Mackay is also passionate about nurturing talent. She has been a mentor with MassChallenge UK, which is part of a global not-for-profit start-up accelerator for entrepreneurs and the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.

Her career progress has been driven by a love of science and an open mind about potential commercial opportunities.

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“If you have got a good science degree it opens doors to do different things,” she said. “I didn’t have a firm career in mind. I was just fascinated by human health.

“With a solid science degree there are many things you can go into.”

She shows how a firm grasp of STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – subjects can help you forge a stimulating career.

“STEM is not a niche industry,” she said. “With Innovate UK I got an inside track into how a whole industry is behaving. You act as an agent for change.”

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