A message from the CEO: how MedCity is supporting the ecosystem’s response to COVID-19

Covid-19 is placing the health care system under unprecedented demand and as an organisation we have immediately pivoted our key areas of work to support the sector now and ensure that when we come out of this period, the life sciences sector is ready to bounce back quickly. Huge efforts are being made across the ecosystem and as an organisation we will be focusing on those areas that we can add real value. To avoid duplication, wherever another body is providing specific support we will signpost to them.

Amid the shocking and sad news from across the globe, I have been impressed by the colossal effort our life sciences community is making to tackle COVID-19. Collaborations are quickly forming between the research community, industry and the NHS, accelerating the potential for new vaccines, treatments, and digital health innovations.

We have made an immediate effort to refocus our priorities to supporting our SME community and responding to their needs in this first month of the crisis. In conjunction with One Nucleus and SEHTA, we have launched a survey to understand the impact and opportunities at this time. This is your opportunity to express your needs, so please do fill this in.

It has been great to see the goodwill in the system to act urgently, but we are mindful that this can lead to complexity and confusion in the system. In our capacity to help navigate, we have created a resources page with helpful information and funding opportunities for COVID-19. We are also developing a resource to see calls for equipment and infrastructure and how to express interest in meeting the call.

We have made lots of changes to ensure our team can still provide you with the same services: interacting and sharing data online via webinars, conference calls, and recorded interviews to maintain connectivity and collaborations. We will continue to provide timely and relevant information to the community through our usual communications channels (monthly newsletter, website and Twitter). Sign up for our newsletter here.

Stay safe, and please get in touch for support during this critical time at communications@medcityhq.com.