FOREWORD
STEVE ROTHERAM , LIVERPOOL CITY REGION METRO MAYOR
I am pleased to introduce this edition of Medilink News at a time when life sciences organisations across the North have stepped up and made significant contributions to the national and international response to COVID-19 .
Brave staff across our NHS have stepped up in the face of unprecedented challenges , keeping our loved ones safe and our health service afloat . Our world-class universities have helped model pandemic trajectories , understand the virus ,
and their research has helped to deliver life-saving vaccines . And our businesses and social economy have stepped up too , producing ventilators , PPE , diagnostics and of course , vaccines .
Much of this heroic work has taken place in the Liverpool City Region ( LCR ), of which I am proud to be the Metro Mayor .
As part of our local industrial strategy , we identified significant resources in the LCR , including a bulk of scientific assets and proven excellence in science and research . Through schemes like the Knowledge Quarter in Liverpool city centre and a MedTech cluster at Daresbury in Halton , we have an outstanding life sciences sector that can help foster innovation and transform the face of health and social care .
From these strong foundations we are attracting global investment from major players , including AstraZeneca and Baxter Healthcare .
And I am really proud of the role I have played a role in supporting firms including Seqirus , a global influenza vaccine company based in the region , which has recently expanded after a £ 1m investment from the combined authority and will create over 120 high value local jobs . I am delighted that this story , and another on the world-leading research being undertaken at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine on the effectiveness of mixing COVID-19 vaccines , are covered in this edition of Medilink News .
The North has tremendous assets in healthcare and life sciences , and we should be proud of the role the sector has played in helping the UK respond to unprecedented challenges and get through the pandemic . Coming out the other side , the Liverpool City Region and the wider North have a real opportunity demonstrate global leadership in life science manufacturing and research .
The views of foreword contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Medilink .
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