Biotech grants
Innovate UK and Horizon Europe funding for therapeutics, platforms and biomanufacturing
Biotech is one of the most competitive parts of the UK innovation funding landscape, and one of the most rewarding. Innovate UK's Biomedical Catalyst and CR&D competitions back therapeutics and platform technology, MRC and NIHR fund translational and applied health research, and Horizon Europe's Health cluster and EIC Accelerator open a route to blended grant-and-equity funding for scale-ups. Our writers hold PhDs in molecular biology, immunology and bioengineering, so your preclinical package is assessed by someone who has run the assays.
£190m+ won by our team
PhD-level specialists who have won these awards themselves.
Funders funding biotech
- MRC
- NIHR
- EIC
Programmes that fit biotech companies
Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst
Feasibility and industrial research awards for early-stage life science innovation, typically 70% intervention for SMEs.
Horizon Europe Health cluster
Collaborative EU-scale calls for translational and platform technologies with UK associated status.
EIC Accelerator
Blended finance up to €2.5m grant plus equity for high-risk, high-reward biotech scale-ups.
What assessors actually score
- A falsifiable feasibility hypothesis with quantitative go/no-go milestones
- Honest treatment of biological and translational risk rather than optimistic hand-waving
- A UK regulatory (MHRA) and NHS adoption pathway that a non-specialist assessor can follow
Where we work in biotech
Biotech grants in our directory
Live programmes from the UK grant directory that suit biotech projects. Deadlines move between rounds, so each listing links through to the current detail.
UKRI
[UKRI] Engineering Biology Investor Partnership
UK businesses backed by, or in active discussion with, selected Innovate UK investor partners; requires matched private investment (confirmed model on UKRI timeline)
Horizon Europe
[Horizon - Food & Bioeconomy] Biotechnology application for Carbon Capture & Utilisation (CCU)
Expected to open. Consortium; UK eligible (Assoc. Country); SMEs as partners
Horizon Europe
[Horizon - Health] Cell-free protein synthesis platforms for discovery/production of biologicals
Expected to open. Consortium; UK eligible (Assoc. Country); SMEs as partners
Horizon Europe
[Horizon - Health] Novel small molecule antiviral therapeutics for pathogens with epidemic potential
Expected to open. Consortium; UK eligible (Assoc. Country); SMEs as partners
Cancer Research UK
[Cancer Research UK] Stage 1 EOI: Therapeutic Catalyst
Expected to open. An SME cannot be the lead applicant for this award. The lead must be a researcher based at a UK research organisation that can hold a Cancer Research UK award. SMEs and industry partners can be involved as collaborators, providing expertise, technology, services or development capability, as long as their role and budget are clearly described in the proposal. Purpose The Therapeutic Catalyst award is designed to accelerate the development of novel therapeutic approaches that have clear potential to become new cancer treatments. It supports projects that aim to generate key d…
Cancer Research UK
[Cancer Research UK] Stage Full application: Therapeutic Catalyst
Expected to open. An SME cannot be the lead applicant for this award. The lead must be a researcher based at a UK research organisation that can hold a Cancer Research UK award. SMEs and industry partners can be involved as collaborators, providing expertise, technology, services or development capability, as long as their role and budget are clearly described in the proposal. Purpose The Therapeutic Catalyst award is designed to accelerate the development of novel therapeutic approaches that have clear potential to become new cancer treatments. It supports projects that aim to generate key d…
Relevant client wins
Grants our team has won for companies solving comparable technical problems.
£79,000
£79K secured for early-stage validation
Human-centric digital therapeutic platform
Life sciences: digital therapeutics
Read the case study
£183,682
For AI-enhanced music therapy
MediMusic
Life sciences: digital therapeutics
Read the case study
£699,030
For robotic polypill manufacturing
FASST
Life sciences: pharmaceutical manufacturing
Read the case studyPair your grant with R&D tax credits
R&D tax relief can recover part of the match funding a grant asks you to cover. Our R&D tax credit specialists plan both together. Use the R&D tax relief calculator to see what your spend could return, or read accountant vs R&D tax specialist.
Fund your biotech R&D
Talk to us about your grant funding plans and we'll help you make it happen through effective, results-driven grant writing.