CFAs: Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector (India)

The scheme focuses on enabling rapid discovery, development and commercialization of drugs, enabling innovation in medical devices, promoting industry-academia collaboration, and transforming from cost based to innovation driven growth. The priority areas include new medicines such as new chemical medicines/substances including new chemical entities, new biological entities, and phytopharmaceutical drugs; complex generics and biosimilars including complex generics and biosimilars; and novel medical devices such as AI/ML-based, Software as Medical Device (SaMD) and Software in Medical Device (SiMD), diagnostics and screening devices using genetic technologies, robotic devices for surgical procedures, devices with telemedicine capabilities, and novel in-vitro diagnostics (IVDs) including biomarker-based tests for precision medicine. The scheme also supports strategic priority innovations focusing on public health concerns such as neglected tropical diseases, rare diseases, antimicrobial resistance for India priority pathogens, priority pathogens that cause outbreaks or pandemics, vaccines for vaccine-preventable diseases, and other diseases or vaccines as may be specified by the Department of Health Research, MoHFW.

The scheme has a total financial outlay of ₹5000 crores, which includes ₹700 crores to establish Centers of Excellence at seven National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPERs) and ₹4200 crores to accelerate investments in the R&D ecosystem. Two categories of projects are supported under the scheme. Early stage projects are open to startups and MSMEs for projects having completed Technology Readiness Levels 1 to 3 and aiming to reach up to TRL 5, with financial assistance of up to ₹1 crore fully funded and beyond ₹1 crore up to ₹5 crore with up to 50% of project cost supported. Later stage projects are open for those having completed TRL 4 to 6 to move towards higher levels, with financial assistance of up to ₹100 crore at 35% of project cost, and for strategic priority innovations up to 50%.

Applications will be processed through a stepwise mechanism beginning with the call for applications, followed by technical evaluation, approval for financial assistance, and finally disbursement and monitoring. Academic collaborations are strongly encouraged under both early and later stage projects, with preference given to up to nine projects from each category involving significant collaborative development with reputed Government academic and research institutions. The scheme also allows costs of in-licensing or technology transfer to be eligible for assistance, and exempts project-linked capital expenditure transferred to academia from benefit-share calculations.

For more information, visit Department of Pharmaceuticals.