The foundation welcomes Finnish applicants
Is your company working on a knockout biomedical solution? Are you in a research group developing a groundbreaking health product but lacking funding? The Wellcome Trust may be your solution.
Wellcome Trust supports innovative applied R&D projects in the field of biomedical technology. Photo: Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a UK-based global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health by funding projects that can change the world. It supports science, the humanities, the social sciences, education and the application of research to medicine by more than £700 million annually.
Turning good ideas into new health products
The Wellcome Trust’s Innovations promotes health-related innovation by bridging the gap between basic research and commercial application. It therefore funds research and development projects to a stage where they are attractive to a follow-on funder, such as venture capital firms, industry or public-private partnerships.
The foundation’s awards are made as program related investments and the Trust gets a fair financial return on successful innovations.
Translation Fund: Support for new biomedical technologies
The Wellcome Trust’s Translation Fund supports innovative applied research and development projects in the field of biomedical technology. The projects must have potential to address unmet healthcare needs.
To apply for the Translation Fund, a project must already have demonstrated proof of principle. Applicants should explain how the funds would help progress the research through product development to a stage where it will be attractive for follow-on funding.
Both academic organizations and commercial companies can apply for the Translation Fund. The next deadline for concept notes is October 16, 2015.
Find out more about the Translation Fund and the application process.
Pathfinder Awards: Early-stage funding for promising health research
The Wellcome Trust also offers pilot funding for concepts that do not yet qualify for other Innovations funding schemes. Pathfinder Awards are geared towards early-stage applied research and development projects that can potentially develop new products and address unmet medical needs. Pathfinder Awards are offered globally to partnerships between academia and industry.
Photo: Wellcome Trust
Typically, an eligible partnership would be between an academic organization and an established company that has specialist knowledge, access to technologies that facilitate the development of a specific product, as well as experience of developing a product and bringing it to the market. The Wellcome Trust’s contribution must be matched by the company partner.
The projects applying for Pathfinder Awards should have a strong discrete project focus. At the end of the award period, the innovation should be competitive for more substantial Innovations funding or able to bridge the gap to facilitate product development with a downstream partner.
The next deadline for Pathfinder Awards is November 23, 2015. Applicants should contact the Wellcome Trust’s Innovations team to confirm that their proposal is eligible before submitting a full application form.
Find out more about Pathfinder Awards and the application process.
Questions regarding the Translation Fund and Pathfinder Awards? Please email innovations@wellcome.ac.uk.
Text: Anu Jussila
Wellcome Trust HQ is located in London from where the foundation coordinates its activities with dedication to improve health by funding projects that can change the world. Photo: Wellcome Trust.
