Funding competition Viral vector production for cell and gene therapies

UK businesses can apply for up to £16 million to grow manufacturing capacity for UK viral vector use in advanced therapy medicinal products.

This competition is now closed.

Register and apply online

Competition sections

Description

Innovate UK is to invest up to £16 million to grow the UK commercial capacity to manufacture viral vectors. These should be used in the development of clinical cell and gene therapies for the treatment of human disease and disorders.

A business must lead and can carry out the project on their own or in collaboration with others (businesses, RTOs, Catapults, charities or academia).

The grant must be claimed before April 2018.

The investment will be funded under the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Projects should range in size from total costs of £2 million to £6 million.

Find out if you are eligible to apply

To lead a project you must:

  • be a UK based business of any size
  • carry out your project in the UK
  • work alone or in collaboration with others (for example businesses, research base and third sector)
  • have a GMP manufacturing facility for viral vectors for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs)

For all research organisations, the total level of project participation is set at a maximum of 30% of total eligible project costs.

Projects that we won’t fund

In this competition we are not funding projects covering:

  • discovery of ATMPs
  • discovery of novel candidate viral vectors for cell or gene therapy
  • manufacture of viral vectors for cell or gene therapies for non-human use
  • any therapy types that are not cell or gene therapies
  • non commercial manufacturing of viral vectors for ATMPs
  • applications that do not address production of viral vectors for ATMPs
  • production of non-gene modified cell therapies
  • production of vaccines
  • expansion of manufacturing within an academic or clinically managed facility

Funding and project details

This competition is for capital investment, including refurbishment and equipment. Funding cannot go towards salaries or consumables. Capital can include the cost of setting up equipment but not the costs of maintenance or staff.

Purchased equipment or refurbishment should be used for viral vectors for ATMP activities at least 80% of the time.

Your project should focus on investment aid for research infrastructures. Support given for construction or upgrade of research infrastructures that perform economic activities is considered to be state aid and is limited to 50% of the investment costs. Read the worked example on page 18 of the State Aid General Block Exemption Guidance, especially if you are a research organisation.

The maximum funding for eligible project costs is:

  • up to 50% if you are a business (of any size)
  • up to 100% if you are a non-profit distributing research organisation

Successful applicants must spend and claim their grant by 31 March 2018.

Project types

We will give priority to proposals that:

  • can deliver within the timescale
  • can demonstrate well-established experience in GMP manufacture of viral vectors
  • can demonstrate they are able to co-fund
  • use adherent-cell culture systems or 3D suspension cell culture systems
  • simplify multistep manufacturing processes
  • reduce product and production variability
  • ease quality control and release testing
  • introduce increased automation
  • lower the cost of goods

You must show that your project will be compliant with all relevant general State Aid regulations.

Competition scope

Projects need to demonstrate that the capital investment grant they’re requesting will:

  • advance the UK’s ability to produce viral vectors for use as an ATMP or in the development of cell-based ATMPs
  • encourage partnerships between public and private organisations, and maximise further investment

We will support organisations that can set out a clear vision of how they will encourage partnerships with companies, universities and other research establishments. You should also detail the new viral vector projects you will undertake as a result of the capital investment.

You must have a clear plan for the translation and commercialisation of any research that the capital enables you to conduct. To maximise the impact of this investment, applicants should build on existing UK infrastructure and not recreate capabilities without justification.

Examples of in-scope applications include, but are not limited to, bids that aim to:

  • create an infrastructure that will fast-track the research, development, production and commercialisation of viral vectors for ATMPs
  • increase the UK commercial capacity production of viral vectors for ATMPs
  • increase the competitiveness of the lead company as a viral vector producer
23 October 2017
Competition opens
24 October 2017
Online applicant briefing.
8 November 2017 12:00pm
Registration closes
15 November 2017 12:00pm
Competition closes
15 December 2017
Applicants notified

Before you start

To apply:

We will not accept late submissions. Your application is confidential.

External, independent experts will assess the quality your application. We will then select the projects to fund, building a portfolio of projects that:

  • are high quality
  • address the range of themes as described in the scope
  • represent the potential for return on investment for the company and the UK

Subject to meeting the quality threshold, we reserve the right to manage the portfolio to achieve the correct balance of projects and funding.

Please use Microsoft Word as Google Docs or any other open source software is incompatible with the application form. This means that usual restrictions on page length and font size are removed. If this happens, your application will not be eligible. If you do have difficulties with your application form, please contact us.

Read the general guidance for applicants carefully before you apply. It will help your chances of submitting a quality application.

Guidance for applicants

Please view the guidance and application questions for this competition.

Background and further information

ATMPs are new classes of emerging medicines that use cells, genes or engineered tissues to treat patients. Gene and gene-modified cell therapies treat diseases by delivering therapeutic DNA into a patient’s cells. This DNA can be used to replace or correct a faulty gene or to encode a therapeutic protein as a treatment.

Introducing the DNA is usually achieved through viral transduction of target cells with a therapeutic gene carried in a viral vector, the main component needed for these therapies. The therapies have the potential to offer an effective treatment or cure for many chronic conditions that currently have no adequate treatment.

There has been rapid growth and significant clinical success with advanced therapies in recent years. The UK has been at the forefront of this research and development. This sector is moving quickly and is now at a critical point, as it prepares to commercialise and scale up manufacture of these treatments. It has been estimated that the global market for regenerative medicine and cell therapies could exceed $67 billion by 2020, while the global market for gene therapy could grow to $11 billion by 2025.

There is a shortage of capacity to manufacture viral vectors for either gene therapy or the production of gene altered cell therapies. The recent Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Taskforce recommended that the government establish competitive funding to support viral vector capability. This competition will support the expansion of UK capacity for viral vector production.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact the Knowledge Transfer Network.

If you need more information, contact the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357 or email us at support@innovateuk.gov.uk

Need help with this service? Contact us