Department of Health / TSB: Enabling technologies for genomics sequence data analysis and interpretation

The Department of Health and Genomics England Limited are collaborating to launch a new Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition to find enabling technologies for genomics sequence data analysis and interpretation.

The focus of this competition will be on innovative technologies that address the requirements of the 100k Genome Project. These technologies may include developments in the areas of bioinformatics, software pipelines, computer hardware and analysis algorithms.

The Department of Health is investing up to £10m in this competition, which will be managed by Genomics England Limited and which is expected to run in two phases.

Phase 1 is intended to show the technical feasibility of the proposed concept and up to £2m has been allocated for this phase. We expect development contracts in Phase 1 to be for a maximum of 6 months and up to a maximum value of £200k. Only those projects that have completed Phase 1 successfully will be eligible for Phase 2, which is typically intended to develop and evaluate prototypes or demonstration units from the more promising technologies.

The competition opens on 2 December 2013. The deadline for registration is noon on 26 January 2014 and the deadline for applications is noon on 5 February 2014.

Key dates

  • Competition launch: 2 December 2013 
  • Deadline for registration: Noon, 26 January 2014 
  • Deadline for applications: Noon, 5  February 2014
  • Award decision: End March 2014

If you are planning to apply, please contact Research & Enterprise Services at the earliest opportunity.

For more information, please visit the TSB’s website.