What is the Early Stage Translation and Commercialisation Support?
The Early Stage Translation and Commercialisation Support is a grant opportunity that provides organisations with funding to work in partnership with businesses to translate medical innovation and research into early stage commercialisation activities.
Background
The 2020 Early Stage Translation and Commercialisation Support Grant Opportunity was announced as part of the Medical Research Future Fund under the Medical Research Commercialisation Initiative. This initiative aims to support early-stage health and medical research and innovation in Australia through to proof-of-concept and beyond, providing opportunities for commercialisation.
The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support early stage Australian medical research and medical innovation projects in the following four streams:
- Stream 1: preclinical medical research or medical innovation projects with commercial potential
- Stream 2: early clinical development of novel drugs, or novel uses for existing drugs, with commercial potential
- Stream 3: early clinical development of medical devices with commercial potential
- Stream 4: early stage development of digital health technologies with commercial potential.
The Early Stage Translation and Commercialisation Support opportunity will fund organisations (one per funding stream) to identify and work in partnership with Australian small to medium-sized enterprises to progress medical research and medical innovation projects that align with the above objective.
Funding
For this grant opportunity, $79 million is available over three years from 2020-21.
- $10 million in 2020-21 ($2.5 million per Stream)
- $34 million in 2021-22 ($8.5 million per Stream)
- $35 million in 2022-23. ($8.75 million per Stream).
The grant amount will be up to 100 per cent of eligible project costs (grant percentage). For each Stream, the grant amount is fixed at a total value of $19.75 million, comprising:
- $2.5 million in 2020-21
- $8.5 million in 2021-22
- $8.75 million in 2022-23.
Eligible Projects
To be eligible your project must:
- be aimed at the objectives in Section 1.3 of the guidelines
- have at least $19.75 million in eligible expenditure
- include one or more of the following eligible activities:
- publicity and marketing
- establishment and support of a selection panel
- undertaking a selection process
- allocation of funds to selected SMEs
- manage and report on outcomes including activities of the SMEs
- mentoring and networking activities to assist the selected SMEs
- employment of personnel and/or
- other direct research and research support costs.
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible you must:
- have an Australian business number (ABN)
- be incorporated in Australia
and in accordance with s24 of the MRFF Act 2015, be one of the following entities:
- a medical research institute
- a university
- a corporate Commonwealth entity
- a corporation (including businesses and not for profits)
Joint applications are encouraged, provided you have a lead organisation who is the main driver of the project and is eligible to apply.
The program can only accept applications where you can provide:
- evidence from your board (or chief executive officer or equivalent if there is no board) that the project is supported, and that you can complete the project and meet the costs of the project not covered by grant funding
- letters of support from each project partner, where applicable.
You must list in the application form all members of your project Team, as Project Managers. You must also nominate a lead Project Manager who will be responsible for the project and who will report on the outcomes of the project as specified in the grant agreement.
Timing
Applications close 01 April 2021.
