A location for innovation

Located within the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, the Clinical Innovation Zone (CIZ) provides 22,000 square foot of high specification units designed to foster open innovation. The CIZ provides tenants with access to world-leading clinical academics, outstanding clinical research facilities, and industry partners.

The space and the potential within CIZ is impressive. However, it isn’t just about the facilities, it’s about the connections and the networks which the space enables. The building is designed to provide opportunities and spaces for likeminded people to connect and collaborate.

Success for both the CIZ and the companies within lies in the community the space facilitates.

A unique facility

The University’s investments at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital have established Glasgow as a world leader in precision medicine. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the University has created spaces which bring together academia, industry and the NHS.

The CIZ is also home to the University’s Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), which includes an ultra-high-resolution 7 Tesla MRI scanner – the first of its kind to be fully integrated within a clinical site in the UK. This is underpinned by world-leading clinical academic expertise in cardiovascular disease, stroke, and brain imaging.

A tour of the building shows the consideration that has gone into creating the space. It is clear that the units can be rapidly configured to accommodate office or laboratory operations. The ‘touchdown space’ with single and multiple desks provides a creative working environment designed to initiate and facilitate collaboration.

Whilst the design and layout shows a commitment to open innovation, subtle additions, such as decorative decals to the glass and easy changes to the room layout, gives companies privacy and the ability to protect their valuable intellectual property.

Collaborative opportunities

The CIZ provides a space for large, multinationals to work alongside small, inventive companies to develop and test solutions. Academics and clinicians are now moving in to the space alongside Siemens Healthineers and discussions are taking place with Toshiba.

Dr Carol Clugston, Chief Operating Officer, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences commented “This is a unique investment opportunity for overseas companies, providing the chance for them to co-locate with the NHS and the University, as part of this collaborative ‘triple helix’ approach, with open innovation at its core.”

One of the Zone’s most recent tenants is Causeway Therapeutics. A University of Glasgow spinout company developing a promising new treatment for tendon problems in humans and horses. The company recently received a £1m investment from Mediqventure and the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise. Causeway Therapeutics develops therapies for tendon injuries and disorders, collectively known as tendinopathies.

“Our decision to locate to CIZ was an easy one to make. Causeway is developing a therapy, TenoMiR, that will transform the treatment of tendon disease. TenoMiR’s initial human trials will be carried out in the QEUH. The proximity CIZ to the hospital, our lab at the University of Glasgow and the ICE building's state of the art 7T MRI, is a perfect fit for TenoMiR's clinical development.

"An added incentive was that working alongside other life-science and drug development companies provides a great environment for collaboration and the exchange of ideas.” Dr Derek Gilchrist, CEO, Causeway Therapeutics.