Investment catalyst for industrial biotech innovation

The new UK Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst funding programme has been launched. The scheme will assist businesses and researchers transform industrial biotechnology research into commercial products, such as fragrances, flavours, pharmaceuticals, plastics, resins, textiles, biofuel and antibiotics.

The programme is funded jointly by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The TSB said that Catalysts are one of the ways they help stimulate innovation and growth, funding projects by aspiring businesses and researchers working in priority areas. This will help them quickly turn excellent research into new or improved commercial processes and products.

There are five funding streams in the Catalyst, ranging from early-stage translation of UK research into potential new products or services, to demonstrating the performance of new products and services at a commercial scale. The Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst is the third in a series of Catalysts. The £180m (~€217m) Biomedical Catalyst is run in partnership with the Medical Research Council, whilst the £70m Agri-Tech Catalyst is run in partnership with the BBSRC.

The programme is now open and welcoming applications from business and academic partners. Applicants for the first round of funding must register by 7 May 2014. A second round of funding will open later this year.

It is estimated that the market for industrial biotechnology-related products in the UK could be as large as £12bn by 2025.