Funding Competition: Biomanufacturing of Biologics and Advanced Therapies Round 2 (UK)

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to invest up to £3 million in innovation projects.

The aim of this competition is to stimulate the development and implementation of innovative technologies in biomanufacturing. The objective is to build the desired flexibility and technical capabilities required for the development and economically sustainable production of the next generation vaccines and therapies.

The bilateral research and development (R&D) collaborations between the UK and Canada will enable both countries to be well positioned to respond to future health emergencies.

Your joint Canadian and UK project can focus on one or more of the following:

• Enabling technologies for biologics and advanced therapeutics
  • discovery, design and high throughput screening platforms, which may include the application of artificial intelligence
  • manufacturing systems and methods, for example: centralised, distributed or point‑of‑care; microfluidics‑based devices, new and innovative systems for Good Manufacturing Practice production, fill and finish, automation security
  • manufacturing process intensification enablers, for example: hyper productive strains, novel expression systems, continuous production processes, perfusion technologies
  • novel analytical characterization, potency assays and real‑time release technologies, biosensors
  • other relevant enabling technologies
• Delivery systems for proteins and nucleic acids
  • viral and non‑viral (for example, lipid nanoparticles) platforms, including their components and payloads
• Novel biological products
  • vaccines, for example: prophylactic, therapeutic and various platforms
  • therapeutic proteins, for example: antibodies, and related production process‑intensification enablers
  • advanced therapy medicinal products, for example: mRNA, siRNA, gene therapies, cell therapies engineered tissues
  • other biological based therapies, for example: bacteriophage, engineered probiotics

Project Size

• The total grant funding request for all UK partners can be up to £600,000 for each application. The total funding request for all Canadian partners combined can be up to CA$1 million for each application.

Projects they will not fund

• They are not funding projects that are:
  • for nutraceutical product development
  • manufacturing process innovations using a non-human medicine as the product
• They cannot fund projects that 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
  • 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

Who can apply?

• Canada specific rules
  • Canadian funding applicants are required to register and submit an expression of interest (EoI) before being eligible to apply for this competition.
  • The registration deadline for Canadian micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is 2 July 2024.
  • Canadian funding applicants who do not complete an EoI and have not been invited to proceed will not be eligible for funding through this competition.
• Your project
  • Your project must:
    • have a total grant funding request for Canadian partners of no more than CA$1 million
    • start by 1 April 2025
    • end by 31 March 2027
    • last between 12 and 24 months
  • Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.
• Lead organisation
  • To lead a project your organisation must be either:
    • a UK registered business of any size
    • a Canadian incorporated, profit orientated small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
  • Your collaboration must involve at least one grant claiming UK registered SME and one eligible Canadian incorporated, profit orientated SME.
• UK application lead organisation
  • Only eligible UK registered businesses can start an application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) platform.
  • Canadian partners must not be invited onto IFS. Their involvement in the project is listed as part of your answers to the questions. If you include a grant claiming Canadian partner in your IFS application you will be made ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment.
  • To lead a UK application your organisation must:
    • be a UK registered business of any size
    • be or involve at least one grant claiming UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
    • partner with a Canadian registered SME, which must be a separate non-linked entity to the UK project partners
    • include at least one further eligible grant claiming partner from either the UK or Canada
• Non-funded partners
  • Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding. Their costs will count towards the total project costs.
  • Canadian project participants who are not eligible for funding, including large enterprises and industries, are welcome to collaborate as additional participants on a self‑funded basis or as subcontractors.
• Subcontractors
  • Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
  • For UK organisations, the cost of subcontractors is limited to no more than 20% of your organisation’s total eligible costs.
  • All subcontractors must be selected through your usual procurement process.
  • You can use subcontractors from the UK and Canada.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.