The Health Innovation Research Alliance NI (HIRANI), is a not-for-profit alliance of NI universities, healthcare providers, government and industry which promotes the NI life and health sciences sector growth and have just announced funding for phase two.
“We are delighted to announce that quarter one of 2025 marks the beginning of our second phase to support our health and life sciences sector.
“This builds from phase one, providing informed insights and convening important cross-sector stakeholders and bids to ensure NI can leverage our capabilities and unlock the benefits of better health and prosperity for future requirements.
“In phase two HIRANI will continue to promote, identify and facilitate valuable strategic relationships across UK and Ireland through our conferences, roundtable and networking events. This will serve to expand collaboration from innovators’ emerging cutting-edge medical breakthroughs, health providers, researchers, industry, regulators and investors, such as the NI Clinical Entrepreneurs programme, the Innovate UK Launchpad, Academy of medical sciences cross-sector hub and >£250M infrastructure investments Future medicines institute consortium and city and growth deals,” said HIRANI CEO Professor Joann Rhodes.
Alongside phase two funding, HIRANI have also announced that Professor Cathy Harrison, Dr Rebecca Todd, Jonathan Patton, Professor Richard Kennedy, Professor Ian Bruce and Professor Helen McCarthy have joined their Board.
Professor Helen McCarthy is the first NI Chief Scientific and Technology Adviser, chair the newly formed NI Science & Technology Advisory Network and Chair of Nanomedicine in the School of Pharmacy at Queen’s University. She was previously CEO of pHion Therapeutics.
NI Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Professor Cathy Harrison and her team are responsible for providing specialist advice on medicines and pharmaceutical issues to the minister, department and wider health service in Northern Ireland and for the development of policy relating to medicines optimisation prescribing and pharmacy practice.
Dr Rebecca Todd is a venture capital investor in early-stage life science and medical technology companies for Longwall Ventures. Prior to becoming an investor, her earlier career was as a marketing consultant to pharmaceutical and life science technology companies.
Jonathan Patton had a long and extensive career at Senior Management and Chief Executive level in the private sector before transitioning into public service. His commercial experience across manufacturing, recruitment, logistics and sales and marketing has always been marked with innovation, quality improvement and customer focused development.
Professor Ian Bruce is Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, and a NIHR Senior Investigator Emeritus and Professor of Rheumatology at The University of Manchester. From April 2017-Feb 2024 he was also Director of the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre.
As Global VP for Biomarker Development and Medical Director, Dr Richard Kennedy is responsible for the development and delivery of clinical assays in our global clinical testing laboratories on behalf of multiple large pharmaceutical companies. Richard graduated in medicine, medical oncology and PhD in Molecular Biology from Queen’s University Belfast. He moved to Harvard, where he worked to identify novel biomarkers and drug targets for cancer treatment with work was in-licensed by a Boston-based start-up company. During his time at Almac, Richard also established a research group In Queen’s University Belfast and sits on panels for CR-UK, the MRC and MATRIX the NI Government science advisory panel
“Cathy, Helen, Rebecca, Jonathan, Ian and Richard bring an unrivalled breadth of life sciences experience to HIRANI and their diverse thinking, wealth of knowledge and impressive network will be invaluable to build on the successes of Phase 1 and deliver on our phase 2 strategy to maintain and build critical strategic relationships across UK and Ireland and provide informed insights to convene important cross-sector stakeholders and bids to ensure NI can unlock the benefits from its life and health sciences sector and contribute to global success ,” said Dr Hakim Yadi Chair of the HIRANI Board.
Professor Jim McLaughlin (UU), Orlaith Hurley (QUB), Victor Gault (UU), Cheryl Wallace (InvestNI), Dr Chris Scott (QUB), Colleen Spence (QUB) and Brendan McGuigan (InvestNI) also make up the finance and performance committee and are board observers.
