Biomedical Catalyst 2022 Round 1: Industry-led R&D

Key Features

UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of up to £15 million to develop innovative solutions to health and healthcare challenges. This funding is from Innovate UK.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £15 million

Opens: 28th Mar 2022

Closes: 25th May 2022

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation will invest up to £15 million in projects to support UK registered businesses to develop innovative health or healthcare-focussed products, technologies and processes.

Your project can focus on:

  • disease prevention and proactive management of health and chronic conditions
  • earlier and better detection and diagnosis of disease, leading to better patient outcomes
  • tailored treatments that either change the underlying disease or offer potential cures
  • the development of digital health technologies

This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

Scope

The aim of this industry-led R&D competition is to support the development of innovative solutions to health and healthcare challenges.

Innovate UK will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Visit the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance for further information.

Your project can include:

  • experimental evaluation (at laboratory scale)
  • use of in vitro and in vivo models to evaluate proof of concept or safety
  • exploring potential production mechanisms
  • prototyping
  • product development planning
  • intellectual property protection
  • a demonstration of clinical utility and effectiveness
  • a demonstration of safety and efficacy (including phase 1 and 2 clinical trials)
  • regulatory planning

Innovate UK want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, technological maturities and research categories.

Specific Themes

Your project can focus on any health or healthcare sector or discipline.

The Biomedical Catalyst now incorporates the Digital Health Technology Catalyst and will support digital health projects.

Your project can align with one or more of the following Innovation areas:

  • biosciences
  • advanced therapies (gene and cell therapies)
  • diagnostic, medical technology and devices
  • digital health
  • independent living and wellbeing
  • precision medicine
  • preclinical technologies and drug target discovery
  • therapeutic and medicine development

Exclusions

Innovate UK are not funding projects that:

  • are fundamental research or feasibility projects
  • are not related to human life sciences
  • focus on a product that is already on the market
  • focus on laboratory accreditation
  • are conducted to anything less than the highest standards of animal welfare
  • are dependent on export performance – for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
  • are dependent on domestic inputs usage – for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

 

Eligibility

Your project must:

  • have total project costs between £150,000 and £4 million
  • not exceed a grant request of £2 million
  • have at least 50% of the total project costs shared by the SMEs, if collaborative
  • start by 1 December 2022
  • end by 30 November 2025
  • last between 6 months and 36 months
  • carry out all of its project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. If you have requested an overall grant of over £500,000, and your online application is successful at Stage 1, you may be invited to attend an interview.

To lead a project or work alone your organisation must be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

  1. business of any size
  2. academic institution
  3. charity
  4. not for profit
  5. public sector organisation
  6. research and technology organisation (RTO)

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

Funding Costs

Up to £15 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant. You must not claim more than £2 million in grant against your total project costs. A minimum of 50% of your total eligible project costs must be incurred by SME(s).

If the majority of your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically.

For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 25% if you are a large organisation

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 50% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them.

Of that 50% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic
  • 100% of your project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not-for-profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

Interested in applying for this competition?

Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.