Welcoming MHRA to Leeds: Nexus hosts roundtable as new digital hub launches to drive innovation and growth in the region

As regional champions of healthtech and digital care, we were delighted to host this announcement and provide the platform for a high-profile roundtable discussion chaired by our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shearer West. The session brought together innovators, system leaders, government stakeholders and academics – all with a shared ambition to transform healthcare through technology, data and collaboration.

In true Nexus style, it was more than a conversation – it was a showcase of what happens when policy, academia, industry and healthcare rally together to solve real-world challenges.

Our health innovation ecosystem – represented by Health Innovation Leeds – is one of the most interconnected in the UK. This means, as a city, we can go further faster in transforming health and care for everyone.

The MHRA’s decision to establish a digital base here is the latest recognition of Leeds’ role as a national leader in digital health and medtech, ranking third internationally as a healthcare hub. The city is home to world-leading health data infrastructure and high-growth startups, and with strong links between research and care, Leeds is well-positioned to shape the future of safe, scalable regulation.

As Wes Streeting noted during the visit: “There is a global tech revolution in healthcare unfolding, and Yorkshire will help our country lead it.”

Here at Nexus, we see the momentum every day – as companies co-develop solutions with clinicians and civic partners and as our collaborative networks grow stronger across sectors.

Following the roundtable, the delegation visited Nexus award-winning member Microneedle Solutions, a standout example of how Leeds turns research into impact.

At the heart of the day’s discussion was a clear focus on ‘the three shifts’ shaping a more sustainable health system:

• Hospital to community
• Analogue to digital
• Treatment to prevention

Leeds is already delivering against these ambitions. Whether through the advanced Leeds Data Model, AI collaborations like the National Pathology Imaging Co-operative (NPIC), or cutting-edge Masters and PhD programmes that train future NHS data scientists, the city is pioneering what the rest of the UK aims for.

But it’s not just about capability. It’s about collaboration.

Leeds offers something special – deep-rooted partnerships among universities, healthcare, local authorities, and businesses. This culture of working together has built a city that is not only ready to innovate but also perfectly placed to host the next stage in the MHRA’s journey.

Reflecting the sheer scale of this collaboration, Leeds Academic Health Partnership is one of the biggest of its kind in the UK, uniting health, care and academic partners to help solve some of the hardest health challenges, transforming health and care – locally and globally, and especially for those most in need.

The visit also focused on the broader economic and societal opportunities that come with strategic investment in innovation. The MHRA hub will recruit around 30 new digital and data science roles in its first phase, tapping into the city’s exceptional talent base, which includes more than 75,000 students and thousands of digital and healthcare professionals.

The visit showcased the Nexus community and highlighted real-world examples of system change and innovation, reaffirming the essential role our region can play in shaping the future of healthcare.

Leeds is more than ready – we have the infrastructure, the partnerships, and the people. And with the MHRA now embedded in our ecosystem, the future of safe, agile and patient-centred health regulation is starting here.

At Nexus, our mission remains simple: we connect innovators with the people and services they need to scale solutions that improve lives. This visit affirmed why that matters – and why Leeds remains the place to make it happen.

We look forward to working even more closely with MHRA, DHSC and our partners across sectors advancing innovation for the public good – right here in the heart of the North.