Jobs and investment as West Yorkshire becomes a global leader for HealthTech innovators and industry

Huddersfield-based Paxman manufactures a medical device which helps people going through chemotherapy treatment for cancer to minimise hair loss, widely recognised as one of the most traumatic side effects associated with cancer treatment.

Founded as a small family business by my father Glenn Paxman in 1996, the company has grown to employ 140 people with continual investment through ongoing Research and Development (R&D) partnerships with key universities in the region.

We’re very proud of our West Yorkshire roots, and we are aiming to relocate to a new custom-built HQ on the edge of Huddersfield town centre around early 2027. Located within England’s third HealthTech Investment Zone, alongside the University of Huddersfield’s National Health Innovation Campus and Kirklees Council’s Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor, this new modern and dynamic manufacturing facility would give us the opportunity to sustain our growth and remain firmly rooted within the town.

From an innovation perspective, Paxman is economically embedded in the region via the HealthTech Strategy for West Yorkshire.

The fact that we are surrounded by some of the best higher education institutions in the North means we have outstanding opportunities for research and development, business growth, skills development and job creation.

We are more committed than ever before to increasing our presence and investing locally.

Attracting over £10m of direct investment

Paxman has invested significantly in the region over the past five years, attracting more than £10m of foreign direct investment.

Earlier this year £11.6m was raised and we acquired Dignitana, another scalp-cooling device manufacturer, with offices in both Lund, Sweden and Texas, USA. For two companies once working in competition, this merger will enable valuable collaboration and connections, sharing of new perspectives and leverage of each other’s strengths to ultimately improve patient outcomes.

Paxman is also pioneering new approaches to address another debilitating side effect of chemotherapy: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a progressive and often irreversible condition that causes pain or heightened sensitivity in the hands and feet. CIPN affects approximately 30 to 40 per cent of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and can be severe enough to delay or even halt treatment altogether. Working with the National University of Singapore and in the final stages of clinical trials across the USA, our new medical device could soon be the solution for millions of people in preventing CIPN.

Unique regional strength

West Yorkshire is a global leader in HealthTech, with over 300 firms specialising in digital health, medical devices, and diagnostics, generating real value for the region’s economy but also delivering on many other social benefits.

The thriving business landscape is anchored and exemplified by global powerhouses such as DePuy Synthes (orthopaedics), Optum (digital/data), Thornton & Ross (pharmaceutical manufacturing, part of STADA group) and Fortrea (clinical research) not forgetting the many exciting SMEs and start-ups coming out of well-established regional incubators such as Nexus and 3MBIC.

Fostering innovation, collaboration and support in the sector

Our region’s health ecosystem is uniquely based on its local connectivity, national reach with government and the collaboration across private, public and voluntary sectors. With the recent investments in this space driven by the combined authority, the HealthTech Cluster group and its members, the next five years are going to be an exciting time! Paxman has experienced this first-hand – it has undoubtedly supported and expedited our success.

Over the last two to three years, the West Yorkshire region has seen some great wins – attracting £7.5 million of Innovate UK funding, currently impacting businesses through the HealthTech Launchpad competition. Local universities have won £5m from the Impact Acceleration Account run by UKRI, helping to turn MedTech research projects into real commercial prospects. Not forgetting, the setting up of the West Yorkshire Healthtech Investment Zone.

£160m in government funding is going towards upgrading innovation infrastructure in three key geographies, putting our region on the map for HealthTech breakthroughs. This will no doubt be a catalyst for further investment into the region and is driving Paxman to invest further into Huddersfield as we expand our capacity and product line.

There are so many more support programmes being delivered from players like Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, Medipex, Medilink, ABHI, not to mention the excellent univerisites in the region which further assist with research, development, product commercialisation, adoption and market access.

A thriving future: Exciting times ahead for our region

Our region’s HealthTech sector has the potential to make a profound impact in countless ways, fuelling West Yorkshire’s ambition to be the number one place for HealthTech entrepreneurs, innovators and industry.

I truly believe that the HealthTech ecosystem in our region is one of the best-connected and most innovation-driven in the country, providing unrivalled prospects to partner, locate and grow fully supported by the combined authority and Mayor.

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