The Centre will be based at the Cornwall campus of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry – one of the UK’s most innovative medical schools. Part-funded by the EU Convergence programme, it will investigate the interconnections between environment and human health, focusing on issues such as evaluation of toxicological threats, clinical photobiology and health and wellbeing from the environment.
This new development will extend – and make use of – Cornwall’s strong R&D background. The county is home to a number of pioneering businesses engaged in the development and production of medical devices and advanced healthcare equipment in the UK. It is one of the UK sites of global life sciences company Pall and home to Research Instruments, a specialist in fertility technology and devices.
These innovative companies benefit not only from the skills of the workforce – nurtured through places like the Peninsula College – but also the presence of specialist regulatory consultancies and clinical trials experts. In fact, Cornwall has a reputation as an excellent location for such trials, with high response rates and ease of recruitment.
As well as these valuable assets, Cornwall provides established facilities to support testing and commercialising research, such as the Knowledge Spa, where new companies can take advantage of pre-incubation support.
Together, the combination of world-class facilities, availability of important healthcare skills and dedicated research sites makes Cornwall a sound choice for medical R&D.