Opportunity status:
Open
Funders:
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£30,000,000
Publication date:
7 May 2025
Opening date:
7 May 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
2 July 2025 4:00pm UK time
Apply for funding to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions.
You must be invited to apply for stage two of this funding opportunity.
Your project can start and finish at any stage on the developmental pathway from early development, through pre-clinical refinement and testing to early-phase clinical studies and trials (up to phase 2a).
There is no limit on the amount of funding you can apply for, but it should be appropriate to the project. We usually fund 80% of a project’s full economic cost.
This is an ongoing funding opportunity. Application rounds close every March, July and November.
You can only apply for this funding opportunity if we have invited you to do so following a successful outline application.
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
Who is eligible to apply
To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:
* show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work
* be part of a team that submitted a Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) stage one application and, after successful assessment, have been invited to submit a stage two application for this funding opportunity. Additional team applicants can be included that were not in the stage one application
* or, be part of a team that have been invited to submit a DPFS stage two application as part of a panel-approved resubmission
If you do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:
* contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
* all necessary support for you and the project will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers
International researchers
As MRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’.
Project co-leads (international) make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project. Their contribution and added value to the research should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see Applicant and team capability to deliver.
Read the for more details. Contact us if you are uncertain about eligibility.
You should include all other international collaborators as project partners.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We 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
UKRI can offer during the application and assessment process.
Scope
You can apply for academically-led translational projects that aim to, either:
* improve prevention, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment of significant health needs
* develop research tools that increase the efficiency of developing interventions
All diseases and interventions are eligible for support. You can also address global health issues.
Your project can start and finish at any stage on the developmental pathway from early development, through pre-clinical refinement and testing to early-phase clinical studies and trials (up to phase 2a). You can submit follow-on proposals where you can justify the need for continued support.
Activities we support
You can apply for funding for work on novel:
* candidate therapeutic entities (for example, drug discovery)
* vaccines for infectious or non-infectious disease
* biologics (antibodies, peptides, proteins)
* advanced therapeutics (for example, gene therapy and cell therapy)
* regenerative medicine approaches
* repurposing clinical studies or using existing therapies for new indications
* medical devices
* digital healthcare and app development
* diagnostics (including biomarker validation and development of clinical decision-making tools)
* medical imaging technology
* surgical techniques or tools
* behavioural and psychological interventions
* radiotherapy and radiation protocols
* interventions that benefit health in low and middle-income countries
Activities we do not support
This funding opportunity will not support:
* fundamental or investigative research not linked to a development plan (supported by the MRC science areas)
* studies where the main aim is to investigate disease mechanism (supported by the )
* technology development not aligned to a medical or clinical developmental plan, likely Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) or Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) remit
* late-phase clinical trials (supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) efficacy and mechanism evaluation, health technology assessment, and global health research programmes)
Learn about:
Duration
There is no limit to the duration of your project. You should justify the timescale of the project in the context of the proposed work.
Award start date
Projects should start one to six months after the funding decision date. Applications following on from active awards should take into account the current status of those projects when submitting a stage two application.
Milestones
Milestones allow us to mitigate risk and support potentially high-risk projects.
Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) awards will typically have two to four milestones (including the project endpoint) with specific success criteria that reflect major progress points and allow decision-making on project progression.
Your milestones should include realistic timelines for key steps, such as study team recruitment, achieving ethics approvals, technical development, regulatory evaluations, participant recruitment, study completion and data analysis.
Milestone success criteria should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely), and enable a ‘go or no-go’ decision.
Milestones should be consecutive, not concurrent. It is advisable to structure the project so that the critical questions are addressed as early as possible in the plan.
Funding available
There is no limit to the amount of funding you can apply for. You should justify the resources needed in the context of the proposed work.
We will fund 80% of the full economic cost and 100% of permitted exceptions.