First Biomedical Catalyst awards allocated

The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Technology Strategy Board have made the first funding awards under the joint £180 million Biomedical Catalyst. The awards, announced by Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts at the British Business Embassy’s life sciences summit at Lancaster House will inject nearly £10m into 14 universities and 18 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The MRC ‘Confidence in Concept’ awards, totalling £7.4m, has been allocated to universities grants of between £360,000 and £750,000 to help them progress more promising research ideas towards clinical testing.

Eighteen SMEs, awarded funding totalling nearly £2.5 million by the Technology Strategy Board, will enable the companies to explore and evaluate the commercial potential of an early-stage scientific idea, to validate the scientific concepts, fully test the market opportunity and construct future development plans.

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Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said:

“The UK’s world leading life sciences industry is changing fast and we need to stay ahead of the game. The Biomedical Catalyst will help bridge the so-called ‘valley of death’ that exists between when a bright new idea is developed in the laboratory and the point when a new drug or technology can be invested in by the market. This will support our most innovative life sciences SMEs and academics, drive growth and benefit patients.”

Dr Wendy Ewart, Deputy Chief Executive of the MRC, said:

“The MRC’s Confidence in Concept awards will empower leading UK universities to respond quickly to emerging translational opportunities as they arise. They will give academic researchers the opportunity to generate enough evidence to leverage further investment from a variety of sources to progress the best ideas, helping to bridge the gap between discovery and development.”

The Biomedical Catalyst awards were announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in December 2011 to deliver growth to the UK life sciences sector.