Introduction
Supports translation of fundamental discoveries toward benefits to human health.
The translation of the burgeoning knowledge in regenerative medicine into new treatment strategies is a key objective of the MRC’s strategic plan. The Biomedical Catalyst: Regenerative Medicine Research Committee (RMRC) provides support for high quality proposals that may underpin or progress the development of regenerative medicine therapies to improve human health. The RMRC:
- Supports confidence in concept studies that if successful will promote the translation of fundamental discoveries toward benefits to human health, thereby accelerating the transition from discovery research to mature translational development projects
- Funds preliminary work or feasibility studies to establish the viability of an approach, through addressing focussed research questions needed to unlock progress in pre-clinical development and/or early clinical testing of novel regenerative medicine therapies
- Forms part of the MRC’s Translational Research Strategy and forms part of the Biomedical Catalyst funding stream, operating in conjunction with the Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme
Background
The translation of the burgeoning knowledge in regenerative medicine into new treatment strategies is a key objective of the MRC’s strategic plan.
The Biomedical Catalyst: Regenerative Medicine Research Committee (RMRC) will provide support for high quality proposals aiming to provide sufficient preliminary data to establish the viability of further progressing a regenerative medicine approach before seeking more substantive funding through the Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme. It is intended to de-risk and/or accelerate the transition from discovery research through to mature translational development projects.
Remit
The RMRC will fund confidence in concept projects that go beyond the understanding of basic endogenous repair mechanisms or stem cell biology or which use stem cells to probe the mechanisms of disease (which are funded through our boards). The intention is to support the translation of such research to a stage where further funding can be found to continue development towards human application. To deliver against this objective and to help scale your proposal, successful applications are expected to be in the order of 1-2 years duration, with RMRC committing up to £2m per year across ~10 awards.
The RMRC scheme will consider applications whose goals will provide key underpinning data and/or evidence of the viability of regenerative medicine approaches needed to unlock further support for the pre-clinical and/or early clinical development of regenerative medicine therapies including:
- Cellular regenerative therapies spanning stem, progenitor and differentiated cells
- Tissue repair strategies, including small molecule, gene therapy and biologics, where these directly target and enhance endogenous repair
- Biomaterial interventions which actively engage repair and regeneration processes.
The Biomedical Catalyst: Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) is the RMRC’s sister programme, and will take the lead on mature regenerative medicine proposals where more substantive funding is required to deliver a project with a clear pathway to product or clinical development.
The MRC/EPSRC/BBSRC UK Regenerative Medicine Platform (UKRMP) complements the RMRC and DPFS focus on therapy development. The UKRMP supports the development of generic tools and approaches addressing key early translational challenges including controlled differentiation and manufacture, engineering the stem cell niche, therapeutic delivery, immunity and safety. Applicants should consider whether added value can be achieved through cooperation with the UKRMP and/or other relevant strategic investments in their area of interest.
The following activities are ineligible for support under the RMRC scheme:
- Fundamental or investigative research not linked to a development plan (best supported by our response mode grants through the MRC research boards)
- Mature regenerative medicine development pipeline proposals (supported by the Biomedical Catalyst: Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme).
- Clinical studies where the primary purpose is to investigate disease mechanism (best supported by our response mode grants through the MRC research boards)
- Late-phase (phases 3 and 4) clinical trials (supported by the MRC-NIHR Efficacy, Mechanisms and Evaluation scheme and the NIHR Health Technology Assessment scheme)
Who can apply?
- Those eligible for standard MRC research grants as described in the guidance for applicants and the Research Councils UK website
- MRC unit/institute staff
- Investigators from international institutions can apply as co-applicants. However, the research should be carried out for the main part within the UK and be clearly led by a UK principle investigator within a UK institution
Industrial partners
Applicants with an industrial partner(s) will need to:
- Include “MICA:” as a prefix to your project title
- Complete the Project Partner section in Je-S
- Submit an MRC Industry Collaboration Application (MICA) Form and Heads of Terms as part of your Je-S application
If you are considering establishing a collaboration with an industrial partner(s), you and your potential collaborator(s) should refer to the guidance on MRC Industry Collaboration Applications (MICAs).
The terms of collaboration, particularly in relation to industry, should be determined early in the study development and relevant agreements must be in place by the outset of the project. Partnership arrangements should ensure transparency in the project design and in the analysis and publication of results (including if these are negative). Consideration should also be given to issues such as relative responsibilities, governance arrangements, regulatory approvals, indemnity, intellectual property rights and freedom to operate, reporting, and access to data and samples.
Guidance
Applicants with an industrial partner(s) will need to submit an MRC Industry Collaboration Award (MICA) Form (DOC, 170KB) and Heads of Terms as part of their Je-S application.
Please refer to the guidance on MICAs.
Je-S selections for full applications:
- Council: MRC.
- Document Type: Standard Proposal.
- Scheme: Research Grant.
- Call/Type/Mode: Regenerative Medicine Research Committee <Relevant Deadline>
Proposals will be sent out for external peer review. Applicants will be able to respond to reviewers comments prior to the final funding decisions made by the RMRC. Please note that the decisions of the committee will not be open to appeal and that the MRC reserves the right to amend the application process.
There should be no inclusion of additional annexes to those identified in the guidance without prior agreement from the MRC office scientific contacts:
Dr Paul Colville-Nash, RMRC Lead:
Paul.Colville-Nash@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
Dr David Pan, Programme Manager:
David.Pan@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk