Medicines
The medicines sector is characterised by a few large pharmaceutical companies and a large number of SME “biotech” companies.

Support for companies of all sizes is provided by the Health Team across the sector but particularly linked with the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and advanced therapeutics. Members of the Health Team are closely aligned with the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership and the Bioindustry Association.
KTN also organises the Medicines Manufacturing Challenge Community. Its core goal is to accelerate the outcomes from the medicines manufacturing ISCF Challenge which has seen £146m invested in different projects, including the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre and Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres.
Current Medicines funding opportunities
Innovate UK Smart Grants: April 2022
Opens: 25/04/2022 Closes: 27/07/2022
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game-changing, commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy. It must be an innovative, disruptive, ambitious, world-class solution, with no similar technology commercially available any
More Information
Fast Start: Innovation for net zero and healthcare
Opens: 11/07/2022 Closes: 26/07/2022
Innovate UK is offering small and micro businesses a share of up to £30 million in grants for affordable, adoptable and investable innovations in net zero and self-driven healthcare.
More Information

An Introduction to the DHSC funded SBRI - Vaccines for epidemic diseases: Readiness for clinical development call for applications
Register for this event covering the new 1-year SBRI competition, Vaccines for Epidemic Diseases, which will be delivered by Innovate UK and opening on 11th October.
Read More
Related News

08.06.2022
New EPSRC project set to transform the treatment of chronic wounds with personalised ‘smart dressings’
A ground-breaking project to develop ‘smart dressings’ that stimulate tissue repair and report on the body’s healing processes could transform wound treatment.
Read more

27.05.2022
Women In Innovation Success Stories: Helen Maddock, InoCardia, West Midlands
Using Artificial Intelligence, Professor Helen Maddock’s innovation assesses the cardiovascular safety of drugs. Helen was determined to develop a commercial product that would help make drugs safer, reduce patient side effects and reduce the costs of drug discovery and development.
Read more
Programmes related to Medicines

Medimap: End-to-end medicines supply chain map
Medimap is a new interactive reference tool for the UK medicines sector, mapping and categorising over 3,000 sites of organisations engaged in or supporting the end-to-end supply chain for medicines.

Medicines Manufacturing Challenge Community
Supporting manufacturers of medicines in order to grow the UK economy

Health Funding Map
The map was developed by KTN and the BioIndustry Association (BIA) with the help of a wide range of funders. It helps in the navigation of the complicated world of health innovation funding.