Biomedical catalyst 2017 – round 1

Key Features

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £10 million to develop innovative ideas that will help solve healthcare challenges

Programme:     Biomedical Catalyst

Award:     Up to £1,050,000

Opens: 23rd Jan 2017

Closes: 29th Mar 2017

! This scheme is now closed

The aim of this competition is to develop innovative healthcare technologies and processes that will help provide:

  • 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

This competition has 2 awards:

  • feasibility studies award: to explore and evaluate the commercial potential of innovative scientific ideas
  • primer award: to conduct a technical evaluation of your idea through to proof of concept in a model system

Feasibility studies award

The aim of the feasibility studies award is to explore and evaluate the commercial potential of innovative scientific ideas through:

  • reviewing research evidence and identifying possible applications
  • assessing business opportunities
  • investigating the intellectual property position
  • validating initial concepts or existing pre-clinical work through experimental studies
  • identifying areas for further development

These ideas should be for healthcare technologies and processes that will help provide:

  • 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

Funding and project details

  • total project costs of up to £200,000
  • get up to 70% of your eligible project costs if you are an SME
  • projects should last between 3 months and 1 year

An SME must lead the project. The project must be carried out in the UK.

Primer award

The aim of the primer award is to conduct a technical evaluation of your idea through to proof of concept in a model system, using:

  • experimental evaluation (lab-scale)
  • initial demonstration using in vitro and in vivo models (not human clinical trials)
  • potential production mechanisms
  • early-stage prototyping
  • product development planning
  • intellectual property protection

These ideas should be for innovative healthcare technologies and processes that will help provide:

  • 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

Funding and project details

  • total project costs of £200,000 to £1.5m
  • get up to 70% of your eligible project costs if you are an SME
  • projects are expected to last 2 years

An SME must lead the project. The project must be carried out in the UK.