British health tech firm Mindwave Ventures has announced this morning that it plans to open an office in Leeds, one of the biggest cities in the UK, after appointing Dr Victoria Betton and Dr Janak Gunatilleke to the roles of chief innovation officer and chief operating officer, respectively.

Since its founding in 2014, the company has worked with six NHS trusts and a sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) in England, focusing on personal health records, clinical research apps, digital services and emerging technologies.

As chief innovation officer, Betton, who previously founded NHS-hosted digital health consultancy mHabitat and is a member of the HIMSS, owner of MobiHealthNews, Advisory Council in the UK, will now be heading up the Leeds office. Both Betton and Gunatilleke bring to Mindwave decades worth of experience in the NHS, as well as the private and third sectors.

WHY IT MATTERS

Statistics released by the government earlier this year showed that the UK life sciences industry employed nearly 250,000 people, generating a turnover of £73.8bn.

Leeds itself, which hosts the headquarters of NHS Digital, is considered to be a booming area for health tech. To capitalise on this reputation, a cross-sector partnership was created in August to drive investment in health tech in the region and ensure that citizens benefit from the innovations being developed. 

“As the UK’s largest economic region outside of London, the Leeds City Region already has a world-leading concentration of excellence in health tech. It is already home to more than 250 health tech businesses and leading centres of academic excellence in research and innovation,” said Tom Riordan, chief executive of the Leeds City Council.

THE LARGER TREND

Last month, another British health tech startup, Ultromics, announced that it received 510 (K) clearance from the FDA for its cardiovascular image analysis system. 

UK-based health tech firm Healx, which uses AI to accelerate discovery and treatment of rare disease treatments, also recently raised £43.4m in a Series B financing round led by VC firm Atomico.

ON THE RECORD

“I’m thrilled to be joining Mindwave at such a pivotal time. The Leeds office expansion is a natural progression for the business,” Betton said in a statement. “In my role as chief innovation officer I will be working closely with our new COO, as well as Mindwave founder and CEO Kumar Jacob to meet our clients’ needs and ensure that they are fully equipped to benefit from the UK’s digital health revolution.”

“I am delighted to have been appointed into the role of chief operating officer and keen to start ramping up the scope and depth of the Mindwave offering,” Gunatilleke added.