Central Europe’s first ‘Medical Valley’ opens for business in Warsaw
Central Europe’s first ‘health hub’ has been launched in Warsaw to bring together global industries to improve patient healthcare.
Opened on June 10, the Warsaw Health Innovation Hub (WHIH) will bring together leading global medical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with the public sector as a first step towards the creation of a Polish Medical Valley inspired by and modelled on medical clusters in other parts of Europe.
A joint initiative between the Medical Research Agency, EIT Health and key global players in the industry including AstraZeneca, Microsoft, Polpharma, Roche, the hub will be focused on driving innovation in three key areas: in pharmaceuticals, in the field of medical devices, and in digital health solutions.
Mark Loughran, CEO of Microsoft in Poland said: “The establishment of the Warsaw Healthcare Innovation Hub is a new, innovative approach to the development of healthcare in Poland. It is a combination of technology and human ingenuity that will result in innovation that serves us all.”
Programmes created and financed by business partners will be another aspect of the initiative and will be focused on the creation of medical and technological innovations for the development of the Polish biomedical sector and look at how innovations can be implemented for the purpose of raising the standards of health services in Poland.
Mark Loughran, CEO of Microsoft in Poland said: “The establishment of the Warsaw Healthcare Innovation Hub is a new, innovative approach to the development of healthcare in Poland.
“It is a combination of technology and human ingenuity that will result in innovation that serves us all.”
Jan-Philipp Beck, CEO of EIT Health, who will be responsible for running the cooperation platform between the companies part of the WHIH said: “The Warsaw Health Innovation Hub is an example of how, thanks to the open innovation formula, we can respond to key health challenges common to all of Europe, especially in the post-pandemic period.
Jan-Philipp Beck, CEO of EIT Health, who will be responsible for running the cooperation platform between the companies part of the WHIH said: “The Warsaw Health Innovation Hub is an example of how, thanks to the open innovation formula, we can respond to key health challenges common to all of Europe, especially in the post-pandemic period.”
“So far, EIT Health, together with over 150 partners, has implemented 118 innovative projects. Therefore, we see great value in projects where business works hand in hand with the government to strengthen the health care system.”
The hub, which will create the conditions for the quick transformation of ideas into products, processes and services, will also open doors to investment in Polish technology and the best research teams in Poland.
Speaking at the Medical Research Agency at the Warsaw Health Innovation Hub’s launch, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “Our responsibility is to build strategic partnerships in the field of health in the public and private sectors…This is the lesson we learnt from the pandemic.”
Poland’s Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski added that medicine was the most rapidly developing field in Poland, surpassing all others, saying: “We believe that cooperation with the business sector under WHIH will accelerate the implementation of many solutions in the health care sector in Poland, and that the potential of our researchers and young start-ups will be noticed and properly implemented for the benefit of patients.”
Poland’s Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski said “We believe that cooperation with the business sector under WHIH will accelerate the implementation of many solutions in the health care sector in Poland, and that the potential of our researchers and young start-ups will be noticed and properly implemented for the benefit of patients.”
The WHIH’s first initiative will be their Strategic Partners project led by the Medical Research agency and will be the first project in Poland to utilise the complementarity of the business and public sectors in the process of identifying problems in the public healthcare system to help support the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
The four priorities to be discussed by strategic partners in their upcoming meetings are the fight against cancer, the fight against Covid 19 and its mutations, the strengthening of digital health services and the widening of Value Based Healthcare.
The recommendations and concrete solutions of the strategic partners of the WHIH are expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The outcomes will form the basis for proposals for legislative and sectoral changes serving the further development of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors in Poland.
