Life Sciences Hub Wales is calling on companies and innovators from across the country to join the fight against coronavirus.

For accurate and up to date information on coronavirus please go to gov.uk/coronavirus. If you’re outside the UK please see the information on coronavirus from your national and local authorities.

The Hub aims to help the people of Wales benefit from improved healthcare and economic wellbeing. They do that by working with innovative companies to find solutions for the NHS and healthcare providers.

They said “We’re leading industry efforts to combat COVID-19 by launching a nation-wide drive to get companies from a range of sectors working together on solutions.

“Our mission is to accelerate the development of urgently needed products and treatments, such as ventilators, hand sanitisers and Personal Protective Equipment to ease the pressures on health care services and help protect frontline staff combatting the outbreak.”

Four key challenge areas that must be urgently addressed to support healthcare services during the outbreak have been identified:

• Medical Devices
• Infection Control
• Digital Solutions
• Social Isolation

As coronavirus cases continue to rise, and increasing numbers of patients require hospitalisation, ramping up the manufacturing and availability of medical devices such as ventilators, oxygen monitors and point of care testing equipment, both antigen and antibody testing kits, is a key priority for the Hub.

They said ensuring medical staff have access to hand sanitisation products as well as appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) including face masks, eye protection, gowns, shoe covers and disposable gloves, all of which are currently experiencing shortages, is critical to minimising the spread of infection.

Rapid adoption of digital technology will also be crucial to alleviating pressures on the NHS, preventing social isolation amongst ageing communities and connecting individuals with local health and social services while they are isolating. Solutions currently being explored include virtual GP consultations, at home working solutions for healthcare professionals and AI assisted systems to manage inbound calls to health services.

To tackle these challenges and bring products and services to the frontline at pace, the Hub is working with businesses from a range of industries, including manufacturing, food and drink, IT and healthcare. Working together, they’re exploring how they can scale up production, repurpose existing products and deploy their expertise and capabilities to deal with the crisis.

That work is already seeing businesses partnering to scale up production and bring much needed products to market quickly. Distilleries are switching their activities to create hand sanitiser, and manufacturers are committing their production lines to the assembly of urgently needed equipment.

Last week the Hub hosted a major industry wide virtual conference which saw over two hundred participants from one hundred and fifty organisations come together to discuss possible ways of working together to tackle coronavirus in line with the four challenges.

Leading industry names joining the call including GE Healthcare, Amazon Web Services and Siemens Healthineers. Several key projects have been identified, with more information on these set to become available in the coming days.

Ken Skates, Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, said “Being innovative is going to be absolutely vital in coming up with new ways of dealing with coronavirus.

“Life Sciences Hub Wales is playing a key role in this by bringing industry together with the NHS and social care to accelerate developing solutions which can save lives. I encourage all businesses and individuals who think they can make a real difference to get in touch.”

Cari-Anne Quinn, CEO at Life Sciences Hub Wales, said “We are here to help unite industry and get much needed products, services and supplies where they are needed to help protect people and safe lives.

“If you’re a business or individual and think you can help in the fight against COVID-19, we want to hear from you. Get in touch with the team at Life Sciences Hub Wales and we can help you help us all by linking you up with people and businesses who can assist you to make a real difference to lives in Wales and beyond.”

Life Sciences Hub Wales is now looking for companies and experts who could support efforts within any of the four challenge areas to email them at information@lshubwales.com.