EOI: Prosperity partnerships: advanced therapies safety and toxicity

Key Features

Apply for funding to support emerging or established research partnerships between businesses and academic partners (lead must be UK-based).

Programme:     Medical Research Council

Award:     Share of up to £10.5 million

Opens: 30th Aug 2024

Closes: 6th Nov 2024

Overview

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is committed to supporting the development, scale-up, and delivery of advanced therapies (ATs) to patients. This initiative leverages MRC’s longstanding investment in toxicology and AT to facilitate the translation of discovery science into clinically relevant outcomes and to enhance skills in regulatory science for ATs.

Toxicity issues with advanced therapies (ATs) include, but are not limited to, immune reactions, off-target gene effects, and tumourigenesis. The long-term safety of many advanced therapies remains uncertain, with potential for unexpected toxic effects over time.

Therefore, advancing our understanding of how these therapies can be safely and effectively delivered to patients holds significant potential for breakthroughs, particularly in treating complex and previously untreatable conditions.

This funding opportunity aims to establish core resources and capabilities in advanced therapy toxicology for the UK, fostering connectivity among business, academia, and regulatory bodies, and gaining insights into the biological processes through which ATs can cause harm.

Research into the toxicity of advanced therapies, including the advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) classification of cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine and nucleic acid therapies such as oligonucleotide base therapies and base or gene editing techniques, are all in scope.

Aims include modelling short and long-term adverse effects and translating research evidence into harmonised standards and definitions of future regulatory pathways. Additionally, this initiative aims to influence policy and standards in the AT sector and support skills and training in toxicology and regulatory science.

Prosperity partnerships should aim to address at least one of the following challenge areas in at least one area of advanced therapies:

  • mechanisms governing safety and toxicology of ATs
  • persistence, localisation and distribution of ATs in vivo
  • translation of mechanistic insights into tools and assays, and development of a standardised approach to assessment of safety and toxicology of ATs

For more information on these three challenge areas see the Additional information section.

Prosperity partnerships funded through this initiative will be co-developed with academia and business addressing significant challenge areas in safety and toxicology. These partnerships will form a UK-wide network that goes beyond the individual partnerships, coalescing the field and providing both connectivity and critical mass.

The strategic partnership can be newly established or based on existing, long-term relationships. It should be recognised by both parties and have a clear path for future collaboration, possibly formalised by a memorandum of understanding (MoU) or a collaboration agreement.

The research programme must be co-created, driving shared research challenges, with both business and academic researchers making distinct intellectual contributions.

This is an expression of interest stage, and the information about the full application stage may change. You can only apply for the full funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful expression of Interest.

The full funding opportunity will open in November 2024. More information will be available on this page then.

Scope

Applications should articulate co-developed research programmes addressing clear challenges in safety and toxicology of advanced therapies, and clearly described business-academic partnerships.

Academic and business partner project leads should ensure that:

  • the business and academic partners have a demonstrable emerging or established research-based relationship
  • there are clear plans to evolve this relationship via shared research challenges and the prosperity partnership is a key component of the plans to evolve and strengthen this relationship
  • partners are committed to the co-creation of a jointly delivered large scale research programme addressing a clearly defined key challenge area within the funding opportunity remit
  • the business partners can commit to matching funding for the prosperity partnership with at least a matched contribution. This must consist of at least 50% in cash with a maximum of 50% of the matched contribution being in-kind
  • a definitive list of eligible cash contributions is set out in the ‘Definitive list of eligible cash contributions for business leads and partners’ section
  • no UKRI, public, or government funding will be used as co-investment, and the partners are able to clearly demonstrate an auditable transfer during the grant duration
  • the lead business partner must be:from a business in the private sector driven by profit or from an organisation with a commercial arm which generates independent revenue
  • the lead business partner must be in a position to contribute to the nation’s prosperity through increasing their investment in UK based research and development activities and subsequent product development in the UK

For a definitive list of eligible cash contributions by business partners see here

Duration

The duration of this award is up to a maximum of five years.

Eligibility

Research organisations can act as the academic lead if they are eligible to receive UKRI funding.

Businesses can act as the lead project partner if they are:

  • a UK-based business or have UK-based research activity
  • a business in the private sector driven by profit, or from an organisation with a commercial arm which generates independent revenue
  • able to contribute to the UK national prosperity through increasing their investment in research and development activities and subsequent product, service, or technology development in the UK

Businesses may be a contributor to other applications as a project partner. Other businesses can collaborate in the partnership as project partners, but the majority of the matched contribution is expected from the lead business partner.

Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

A research organisation may lead or partner on more than one application and applications may comprise more than one research organisation.

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed programme, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:

  • contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the programme
  • all necessary support for the programme and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Exclusions

You are not eligible to apply for this opportunity as academic lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that are eligible to apply as project lead. Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

International applicants

You can include international applicants as project co-leads (international), where they will make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the programme. The contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

MRC  are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. MRC encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

MRC support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

  • career breaks
  • support for people with caring responsibilities
  • flexible working
  • alternative working patterns

Funding Costs

The full funding amount of £10.5 million will be delivered in a single funding opportunity with programmes being up to five years. The academic full economic cost (FEC) of your programme can be between £2 million and £4 million.

MRC will fund 80% of the FEC and 100% of permitted exceptions

Find out more about full economic costing.

The business partner(s) must provide at least a matched (financial and in-kind) contribution to the programme.

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.