Entries open for Translational Call 2025 – United Kingdom

Versus Arthritis research strategy highlights their ambition to accelerate the pace and precision of musculoskeletal research. They aim to fund research that is driven by the needs of people with arthritis and has the greatest potential to improve the quality of their lives. Translational research facilitates the turning of observations in the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that directly benefit people with arthritis. To support this important area of research they have dedicated funding for translational projects that will help bridge the gap from early-stage research to being ready for commercial development. This translational funding scheme will aim to help progress the development of novel, innovative technologies towards clinical development for the benefit of people with arthritis.

The funding should advance technologies along the developmental pathway leading to further investment and or development by industry. It is expected that projects will have been developed to a stage where further validation of the technical, market or commercial concept is required to attract commercial investment.

Scope

• In this initiative, they seek to fund projects in the following technology areas:
  • Medical devices: these can be any instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, appliance, implant, reagent for in vitro use, software, material or other similar or related article, intended by the manufacturer to be used, alone or in combination for a medical purpose.
  • Orthotics: an external medical device (such as a brace or splint) for supporting, immobilizing, or treating muscles, joints, or skeletal parts which are weak, ineffective, deformed, or injured.
  • Implantable therapeutic delivery – an implantable device or system to control the release of therapeutic agents either systemically or locally to improve its efficacy and safety by controlling the rate, time and location of drug release.
  • Diagnostics: (in vitro diagnostic medical devices) – In vitro diagnostics (IVDs) are tests used on biological samples from the human body to detect disease conditions and infections or determine the status of a person’s health.
  • Imaging technologies: (imaging diagnostics or medical imaging) are methods, techniques and processes for imaging the human body for the purpose of diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of disease.
  • Cell therapy and regenerative medicine: regenerative medicine is the methods, processes and treatments to replace or regenerate human cells, tissues or organs in order to restore or establish normal function. This includes cell therapies, tissue engineering, gene therapy and biomedical engineering techniques. Cell therapy is using cells or cellular material, either autologous or allogeneic, for the treatment of disease or chronic conditions to restore healthy function.
  • Novel therapeutics (small molecules or biologics): they would expect applications in this area to be highly focused proposals on the core Proof of Concept experiments required to show, for example, target engagement of their novel therapeutic, or to show that their target is present in human tissues.

What they are looking for?

• The funding should advance technologies along the developmental pathway leading to further investment and/or development by industry. It is expected that projects will have been developed to a stage where further validation of the technical, market or commercial concept is required to attract commercial investment. In this initiative, they seek to fund projects in the following technology areas:
  • Medical devices
  • Orthotics
  • Implantable therapeutic delivery
  • Diagnostics
  • Imaging technologies
  • Cell therapy and regenerative medicine
  • Novel therapeutics (small molecules or biologics)

Funding Information

• Grants of up to £200,000 for a duration of up to 24 months will be awarded to successful applicants who can demonstrate a clear commercial solution to a musculoskeletal clinical need.

Eligibility Criteria

• Versus Arthritis research awards may only be held in universities, hospitals or recognised academic research institutes in the UK. Any academic, clinician or allied health care professional at an eligible UK institution can apply. The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK institution. Individuals who are employed by, or whose salary derives from, a commercial organisation are not eligible to apply for a Versus Arthritis award but may be included as a co-applicant. At least one applicant must have a tenured position within the lead institute, but this does not need to be the lead applicant.
• Applications with industrial partners are encouraged. Applicants with proposals that include partfunding from a third party (including industry) are allowable, but applicants should contact us to discuss their application as early as possible and will be subject to appropriate multi-party contracting arrangements around the award. International collaborators and people with lived experience may also be included as co-applicants.
• There is no requirement that projects have previously received Versus Arthritis funding, however previous holders of MedTech awards from the charity can apply to this scheme providing their project fits the scope of this call.

For more information, visit Versus Arthritis.