Establishing UK treatment centres for advanced therapies

The aim of this competition is to encourage the development and implementation of innovative methods or technologies that will scale up the delivery of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) in hospitals. These therapies and their production will be disruptive to the current clinical treatment setting and systems. These can include, but are not limited to approaches that:

Innovate UK is to invest up to £30 million to establish a network of 3 advanced therapies treatment centres in the UK.

Proposals should:

• increase patient access to advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) on a national level
• establish best practice for the safe and effective delivery of ATMPs to patients
• establish best practice for the manufacturing and final preparation of ATMPs using Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) within a clinical setting
• establish robust connected supply chains for the manufacture and delivery of ATMPs
• create systems to allow traceability and tracking of ATMPs. These must be compatible with current regulations and be suitable for applying across the NHS
• establish best practice for patient follow up and data capture

You can only use ATMPs as examples.

Your proposal must improve business growth and productivity, or create export opportunities for at least one UK SME involved in the project.

All of the centres that receive funding will form a network. This will be co-ordinated through the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.

The 3 successful centres will eligible to apply for up to £6 million of additional funding in 2018 for network projects and related activities.

Specific competition themes

The following applications are particularly encouraged:

• work with more than one ATMP type
• treat more than one organ, cell disease or disorder
• accelerate the delivery of ATMP treatments and trials
• are strategic collaborations involving clinical teams, instrument suppliers, academia and companies developing innovative ATMPs
• seek to develop processes that increase patient access to ATMPs
• collaborate with commercial partners with manufacturing facilities external to the hospital or trust

Eligibility 

To lead a project you must:

• be a UK based business, an NHS trust, a hospital, an AHSN or a BRC
• carry out your project in the UK#
• work in collaboration with others (businesses, Catapults, research base and third sector)
• show a clear commitment and plan to grow a national network for ATMP delivery into the NHS

Any one business may be involved in up to 3 applications to this competition, but can only be the lead partner in one application. RTOs cannot lead applications but are not limited in the number of applications where they can be a collaborator.

Your project must be collaborative and include at least 3 grant-claiming organisations.

Funding and project details

Up to £30 million has been allocate to fund innovation projects in this competition.

Your project must focus on innovative methods to increase delivery of, and patient treatment with, ATMPs as outlined in the scope.

Your project must involve at least:

• one NHS trust or hospital with an intensive care unit and a proven track record of treating patients with ATMPs. It must have the necessary infrastructure for running trials and delivering licensed ATMPs
• one SME
• one company developing commercial ATMPs
• one supply chain company

Project types 

Total project costs should be between £6 million and £9 million.

Projects can focus on technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development. This will depend on the challenge.

For technical feasibility studies and industrial research, you could get funding for your eligible project costs up to 70% if you are an SME.

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you could get up to 45% of your eligible project costs if you are an SME.