Advanced Materials for Regenerative Medicine and Medical Devices in contact with the human body

Advanced materials for regenerative medicine and medical devices in contact with the human body (MATMED)

MATMED is an Interreg North West Europe (NWE) project connecting regions which are strong in some disciplines (e.g. graphene in Greater Manchester, life sciences and medical devices in Köln) with regions that are weaker, bringing about homogeneous development across NWE. By helping to close the gap between regions, NWE will increase the chances of realistically competing with the few large hubs in the world which have achieved remarkable prowess in both Advanced Materials and Regenerative Medicine/Medical Device sectors (Boston, Cambridge UK, Israel, Tokyo).

MATMED will connect actors through its online platform, enable collaboration through a multi-stage voucher scheme, fund development and commercialisation via investor–project brokerage and educate participants through regulatory training. These elements are all new in this context and offer a next step in the development of a transnational innovation ecosystem.

Led by Greater Manchester Business Support Ltd, MATMED has the University of Manchester as one of its 6 main partners to function in 8 NUTS2 regions in NWEs. EU Interreg funds 1.19 million Euros on this project with total budget at 2.98 m Euros. The project will engage with 100+ SMEs and other actors from the advanced materials, regenerative medicine and medical device sectors via the online platform. Working with 40 SMEs through the acceleration programme and voucher scheme, MATMED will develop collaborative projects through partnering and international cooperation. This will attract €5M of private investment and support SMEs in the development of 40 new to the market products. Long term the project legacy will be a fully developed ecosystem fuelled by an online platform.

Funding information:
EU funding: € 1.19 m
Total budget: € 2.98 m