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Medicines Manufacturing: Labs of the Future

Funding of up to £7.5 million for UK-registered businesses to advance digital, automated, and robotic technologies.

This competition opens on 13 April 2026 and closes at 11am on 27 May 2026.

Who it is for

This competition is open to single applicants and collaborations.

To lead a project, your organisation must be a UK-registered grant claiming micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).

To work alone, your organisation must be a UK-registered SME.

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK-registered:

  • business of any size
  • academic institution
  • charity
  • not-for-profit
  • public sector organisation
  • research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • Catapult

Support you can get

This competition aims to contribute to the vision of the Labs of the Future for medicines development and manufacturing, which includes the transition of traditional laboratory environments into highly efficient, intelligent, data-driven laboratories.

For industrial research projects, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation
  • 50% if you are a large organisation

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • 35% if you are a medium-sized organisation
  • 25% if you are a large organisation

Support organisers

  • Innovate UK

Contact

Innovate UK

Email

support@iuk.ukri.org

Phone:

0300 321 4357

Next Steps

on the Innovation Funding Service website
Published 30 March 2026
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