Funding opportunity: UKRI Translation: MRC Proof of Concept: stage one

| Opportunity status | Open | | Funders | Medical Research Council (MRC) | | Funding type | Grant | | Publication date | 2 July 2026 | | Opening date | 2 July 2026 9:00am UK time | | Closing date | 18 November 2026 4:00pm UK time |

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This funding opportunity was previously titled ‘Developmental pathway funding scheme: stage one’. Ensure you apply to the correct scheme, as similarly titled UKRI opportunities exist.

Apply for funding to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions across any stage of the developmental pathway, from prototype development, through pre-clinical refinement, to early-phase clinical studies (up to phase 2a).

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

There is no funding limit but requested costs should be appropriate to the project.

Who can apply

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility.

Check if your organisation is eligible

Who is eligible to apply

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

Demand management

You can only submit one application as project lead to this funding opportunity.

Resubmissions

You may submit a maximum of two stage one applications to the MRC Proof of Concept funding opportunity for the same project. Following an unsuccessful stage one application, the MRC will invite you to submit one further application as a resubmission, taking into account the feedback you have received.

Applications for new, substantially different projects are not considered resubmissions under this policy.

We advise you to allow sufficient time between applications to consider and respond to feedback.

Who is not eligible to apply

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 the MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) or MRC/UVRI (Uganda Virus Research Institute) and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit.

If you are employed by these organisations you cannot apply as project lead or project co-lead, but can participate as project partners on an application led by an eligible UK organisation:

• businesses
• charity and third sector organisations

However, charities and third sector organisations that are approved UKRI Independent Research Organisations are eligible to apply as project lead or project co-lead.

International researchers

As MRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’.

Project co-leads (international) make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project. Their contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see Applicant and team capability to deliver.

Read the UKRI project co-lead (international) eligibility for more details. Please contact us if you are uncertain about eligibility.

You should include all other international collaborators, or UK partners not based at approved organisations, as project partners.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

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.

What we're looking for

Demand management

Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity. Further details are provided in the ‘Who can apply’ section.

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 prototype development, through pre-clinical refinement and testing, to early-phase clinical studies and trials (up to phase 2a). You must provide sufficient proof of concept data in support of your approach. You can submit follow-on proposals where you can justify the need for continued support.

For smaller scale or earlier-stage translational projects, you can apply for funding to generate critical data and de-risk further development (including a future MRC Proof of Concept application) via:

• MRC impact acceleration accounts (available at certain research organisations)
• UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards (formerly Gap Fund)

Activities we 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

Activities we do not support

This funding opportunity will not support:

• fundamental or investigative research not linked to a development plan, supported by the MRC science areas, such as MRC: research grant: applicant-led
• 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

Learn about:

• MRC’s remit, programmes and priority areas
• NIHR’s efficacy and mechanism evaluation programme
• NIHR’s health technology assessment programme
• NIHR’s global health research programmes

Duration

There is no limit to the duration of your project. You should justify the timescale of the project in the context of the proposed work.

Projects should start one to six months after the funding decision date.

Funding available

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.

Find out more about full economic costing.

What we will fund

You can request funding for costs such as:

• a contribution to the salary of the project lead and project 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.

The total of such costs requested for international applicants from high-income countries (those not on the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients), India and China must not exceed 30% of the total resources requested.

There is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list countries.

For more information on international costs and what we will and will not fund see costs we fund and the Collaborate with researchers in Norway guidance.

What we will not fund

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

Collaborations

We encourage working with charities or industry partners where these partnerships can add value to the project.

Collaborators may add value by giving access to:

• expertise
• technologies
• reagents
• funding

Please note that collaboration is not a prerequisite for application. You should make a clear case for the MRC Proof of Concept award being academic-led and requiring MRC funding to support the work proposed.

Be clear about any conflicts of interest and how they will be managed through the conflict of interest policies at the project lead’s research organisation.

Project partner

A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU, who will have an integral role in the proposed research. You may include project partners that will support your research project through cash or in-kind contributions, such as:

• staff time
• access to equipment
• sites or facilities
• the provision of data
• software or materials
• recruitment of people as research participants
• providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project

Each project partner must provide a statement of support. If your application involves industry partners, they must provide additional information if the team project partner falls within the industry collaboration framework.

Find out more about subcontractors and dual roles.

Who cannot be included as a project partner

Any individual included in your application with a core team cannot also be a project partner.

Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation, this includes other departments within the same organisation.

If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead, or specialist. They cannot be a project partner.

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where you can find additional support.

How to apply

We are running this funding opportunity on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service, so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation, check it is available in the Funding Service. You are encouraged to check this early as there may be additional steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page:

1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.
3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must:

• provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
• insert each new image on a new line
• use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include:

• sentences or paragraphs of text
• tables
• excessive quantities of images

A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

• how applicants use the Funding Service
• how research offices use the Funding Service
• how reviewers use the Funding Service

References

References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:

• references are easily identifiable by the assessors
• references are formatted as appropriate to your research
• persistent identifiers are used where possible

General use of hyperlinks

Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.

Deadline

MRC must receive your application by 18 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

Personal data

Processing personal data

MRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email dpfsanddcs@mrc.ukri.org

Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include:

• individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
• declaration of interest
• additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
• conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
• the application is an invited resubmission

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read our privacy notice.

Institutional matched funding

There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations. Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged.

This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

Publication of outcomes

MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at board and panel outcomes.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

• opinion-formers
• policymakers
• the public
• the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

• context
• the challenge the project addresses
• aims and objectives
• potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

• project lead (PL)
• project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
• project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
• specialist
• grant manager
• professional enabling staff
• research and innovation associate
• technician
• visiting researcher
• researcher co-lead (RcL)

Only list one individual as project lead. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Keywords

Word limit: 10

Provide up to five keywords that describe your application.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide up to a maximum of five keywords including the health area, for example: mental health, engineering biology, environmental health, diagnosis, obesity, vaccine development.

Use commas or spaces to distinguish individual terms or phrases.

This is for administrative purposes to help with the initial application processing and will not affect the overall assessment or influence the outcome of your application.

Related applications

Word limit: 1,200

If this application is an invited resubmission of a previous stage one or stage two application, have you considered and acted on the feedback you received?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If your application is not a resubmission, enter ‘n/a’ in the text box, mark this section as complete and move to the next question.

If your application is an invited resubmission to this funding opportunity, please provide previous reference number and identify any invitations from MRC permitting your resubmission.

Ensure you describe:

• how this application differs from the previous application
• how previous feedback has been considered and addressed

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Opportunity and market

Word limit: 800

What is the opportunity or challenge you are seeking to address?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Ensure you describe:

• the health or clinical need you are seeking to address
• how your work could lead to the development of a new or improved prototype, product, service or technology
• how meeting this need could lead to significant health or patient benefit, or alleviate an important translational bottleneck
• the competing solutions and their status, including whether similar or complementary work is being undertaken elsewhere
• the key competitive advantages of your proposed solution
• the potential market for your proposed solution, in terms of the target product profile, patient numbers and financial parameters

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form, if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Scientific background and current stage of development

Word limit: 1,000

What is the background to this application and evidence to support the proposed solution?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Ensure that you provide:

• a brief description of the current stage of development
• an overview of the rationale and scientific background of your application
• information about your previous or current funding (if applicable) that has enabled and informed the proposed work, include any previous UKRI grant references. If you have any funding concurrent to this project, explain any overlap and how that funding will support the proposed work
• in the case of applications involving institutes, units or centres with existing core funding, including those funded by UKRI and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), such as Biomedical Research Centres, describe how the proposed work and resources requested builds on, but is distinct from, core funded programmes of research

In this section, you must also provide supporting data, including a selection of figures, tables and images where relevant, to demonstrate the current development stage of your project and proof-of-concept to support your application. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

References may be included within this section.

Small molecule supplementary information

Word limit: 1,500

If you are requesting funding for a hit to lead, lead optimisation or candidate selection project, please provide structures.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If your application is not about hit-to-lead and lead optimisation, enter ‘n/a’ in the text box, mark this section as complete and move to the next question.

Small molecule supplementary information

You will be asked to provide chemotype and or series one and two information related to:

• physicochemical properties
• in vitro biological activity
• in vitro DMPK assays
• in vivo DMPK assays
• toxicology and safety Assays
• in vivo date (if available)

Additional guidance will be provided on the Funding Service on how to provide this information, including the required format.

Using the following headings, ensure that you provide, target product profile (TPP) or key target compound parameters of the proposed investigational new drug:

• target name
• mechanism of action, such as agonist, antagonist
• route of administration, such as oral, IV, topical
• duration of treatment, such as acute, chronic
• dosage regimen, such as twice daily

Structure and data

You should provide structures for the most promising chemical series being actively developed. Failure to include chemical structures may negatively impact the ability to assess the suitability or strengths of your proposed chemistry plan.

Data are requested for any available assays for the lead molecule shown and the range seen within the chemical series, including (but not limited to):

• biological assays
• physicochemical properties
• liabilities and development risks for up to two chemotypes or chemical series

Project traceability

You should:

• summarise the main structure activity or property relationships for each chemical series
• highlight the key challenges to optimisation of the series towards the TPP and outline how these will be addressed
• describe the biological assays and models to be used in the project including their duration and throughput where relevant
• explain how risk associated with the translation between in vivo assays, in models, and activity in humans will be minimised

Development plan and route to patient benefit

Word limit: 500

What is the proposed approach for further development, and how will the project progress the innovation or technology towards achieving market or health or patient benefits?