Global medical group donates £10m to Liverpool’s pioneering Pandemic Institute
Innova Medical Group, a global health innovator and the world’s largest provider of rapid antigen tests, has announced a £10m donation for the launch of The Pandemic Institute in Liverpool.
The institute will be a global centre of excellence to help the world prevent, prepare, and respond more effectively to future pandemics, based in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool).
The donation by California-based Innova provides the start-up capital required to establish the institute, alongside support from the Liverpool City Council, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and KQ Liverpool.
The facility will offer world leading clinical, research, and policy expertise, based in what is soon to be designated one of the world’s healthiest buildings, The Spine.
That expertise will be supported by one of Liverpool’s greatest assets – its considerable academic resources – along with global connections and affiliates and public and private sector partners.
Last week Liverpool-based COVID-19 testing firm DAM Health revealed it is working with the University of Liverpool by providing bursaries for students involved in the Pandemic Institute.
Together, the institute’s partners will translate research results into policy and tangible actions, providing a unique holistic approach and comprehensive end-to-end capabilities across the pandemic lifecycle.
The result will allow the world to accelerate global response to future pandemic events, to unify global intelligence and to dramatically increase the impact of pandemic research on the global society.
Daniel Elliott, CEO and president of Innova Medical Group, said: “The Innova team is passionate about supporting projects that will make a difference and it is clear now that pandemics are one of the biggest threats to the health of the world’s population.
“It’s a really exciting initiative for us to be supporting the city’s academic and business institutions with an ambition towards end-to-end solutions that can be applied on a global scale. We look forward to working collaboratively with the institute’s existing and future partners in pursuit of that combined goal.”
Prof Matthew Baylis, director of the Pandemic Institute, said: “The Pandemic Institute will be a unique centre of excellence which has the potential to help revolutionise how the world responds to future pandemics.
“Liverpool is perfectly placed for this exciting initiative and we appreciate Innova’s leadership in establishing the Pandemic Institute and the generous gift to Liverpool.”
