Development pathway: stage one

Grant opportunity

Application deadline: 19 Nov 2025

Institute: UKRI Medical Research Council
Country: UK
More information: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/developmental-pathway-funding-scheme/

Apply for funding to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions.

Your project can start and finish at any stage on the developmental pathway from prototype development, through pre-clinical refinement and testing to early-phase clinical studies and trials (up to phase 2a).

You must be based at a research organisation eligible for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding.

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 (FEC).

This is an ongoing funding opportunity. Application rounds close every March, July and November.

Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

• be employed by an eligible research organisation
• show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work
• be looking to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions

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

You are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as a project lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include project leads from MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity 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 disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders 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 human diseases and medical interventions are eligible for support, both in the context of UK healthcare and addressing 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.

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
• medicines repurposing studies (clinical studies or pre-clinical activities, where these are required for regulatory purposes), 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

This funding opportunity will not support:

• fundamental or investigative research not linked to a development plan, supported by the MRC science areas
• 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
• clinical studies where the main aim is to investigate disease mechanism, supported by the MRC Experimental Medicine Panel
• 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
• development of technologies or interventions that aim to improve health service delivery rather than meeting a specific clinical need
• development of population-level and societal solutions to healthcare challenges.

Funding
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.

You can request funding for costs such as:

• a contribution to the salary of the project lead and co-leads
• support for other posts such as research and technical staff
• research consumables
• equipment
• travel costs
• data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs
• estates and indirect costs
• public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors

You can also request costs for work to be undertaken at international organisations by international project co-leads. We will fund 100% of the eligible costs.

We will not fund:

• costs for PhD studentships
• publication costs
• funding to use as a ‘bridge’ between grants
• costs associated with applying for IP protection, for example, patent filing

The deadline to submit your application for this round is 16:00 GMT on 19 November 2025. Click the link above to read more. 

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