Written by: Melanie Davidson, Chief Executive Officer – Medilink Midlands
Medilink Midlands are a founding partner of Life Sciences Week
The UK health tech ecosystem has no shortage of brilliant ideas. But too often, innovators struggle not because of science or ambition, but because the support system around them isn’t structured for scale. Melanie Davidson, CEO of Medilink Midlands, argues that we need to move from tactical support to strategic alignment—if we want to turn innovation into impact.
Good ideas aren’t enough anymore – “Innovation isn’t the problem. The UK is world-class when it comes to ideas,” says Melanie. “But I speak to too many companies who get stuck after the pilot, who can’t get procurement to engage, or who don’t know how to navigate NHS adoption pathways.” Melanie has seen this from all sides: policy, commercial, and delivery. With Medilink Midlands supporting companies across diagnostics, digital health, medtech, and manufacturing, she’s aware of the hurdles SMEs face.
What ‘support’ should actually look like – “We often think of support as grants or advice,” she says, “but what’s really needed is a coordinated strategy that links innovation, regulation, and reimbursement.”
Melanie believes the next evolution of support must be multi-layered:
- Strategic guidance for navigating procurement and policy
- Business-critical partnerships with clinicians and academics
- Investor-readiness coaching to attract the right kind of capital
- Export-focused growth pathways to drive UK growth overseas.
Medilink’s role: not just a connector – Melanie describes Medilink Midlands not just as a membership network, but a catalyst – taking big ideas and helping them land with the right audiences, from funders to frontline clinicians. “We help innovators see the whole journey – not just their next move.”
This involves bespoke support, strategic insight, and representing industry views in national conversations on medtech and life sciences policy, trade, and investment.
We need to continue working with government, funders and strategic partners to make sure we think about what companies need to survive, scale, and succeed – not just start.”
For industry peers, she has this advice: “Work with people who get the full picture. Be open about what you don’t know. Join the dots – because innovation doesn’t happen in silo.”
