To lead a project, you can:

• be an organisation of any size, including those based in the EU, EEA or internationally
• work alone or with the subcontracted skills and expertise of others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations, or the third sector (charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups)

Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only. The majority of the project work and key deliverables must be completed by the applicant and be carried out in the UK. Subcontractors can be used, but only for specialist skills.

Projects must:

• start on 1 October 2026
• end by 30 September 2028
• last up to 24 months
• have expected total eligible costs of between £200,000 and £1.5 million inclusive of VAT, per project, but we will also consider justifiable eligible costs outside of this range

Organisations can apply for a share of up to £20 million across two competitions as part of the AHG Catalysing Innovation Awards scheme.

The funding supports the development of pharmaceutical, MedTech and digital treatments for drug and alcohol addiction recovery and harm prevention.

This funding is from the Office of Life Sciences (OLS).

For this Contracts for Innovation strand we expect to award funding of up to £1.5 million, inclusive of VAT, per project.

The aim of this competition is to support progress towards technology and market readiness, and regulatory approvals of promising innovative pharmaceutical, MedTech and digital interventions.

Funding is targeted at support for development of innovations with the potential to demonstrate initial efficacy and UK market fit by the end of the project through achieving:

• Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or 7
• established user acceptability and fit in relevant UK settings
• a completed business plan and clear pathway for securing relevant Intellectual Property (IP), regulatory and certification requirements

In this competition you must undertake the further development of your innovation. You must work closely with potential users and customers, conducting the R&D to progress your project toward commercialisation.

Your project must:

• address illicit drug or alcohol use
• focus on improving treatment outcomes, enhancing recovery and reducing harm and deaths in drug and alcohol addiction
• be either a pharmaceutical, digital health, or MedTech solution for the treatment recovery, or harm and overdose prevention for drug or alcohol addictions
• achieve a Technology Readiness Level of 6 or preferably Level 7 at the end of your project
• establish and evidence user acceptability with people with lived experience
• have co-developed project plans with the input of relevant treatment or service providers in those settings in which the intervention will be tested
• engage with statutory bodies, where relevant, to identify a pathway to secure regulatory approvals, certification and assessments or to progress along an appropriate existing pathway
• complete a comprehensive business model or plan
• include the design features of your solutions and how it will be applied if your proposal is technological
• describe how ongoing collaborations between all members of the project team will develop

We recommend your project, where appropriate:

• be designed in consultation with people with lived experience of addictions
• be designed in discussion with relevant treatment or service providers
• account for complex needs of individuals who are the target of the intervention, for example, mental health, housing, criminal justice
• demonstrate alignment to delivery of relevant UK Government missions and strategies

Substances in scope of this competition include those treated in typical services including:

• opioids (illicit and prescription)
• stimulants: cocaine, crack, amphetamine, and methamphetamine
• cannabis
• GHB
• ketamine
• benzodiazepines
• gabapentinoids

You must define your goals in your application and your plan for this competition.

You must demonstrate a credible and practical route to market, so your application must include a plan to commercialise your results.

Contracts will be given to successful applicants.

Your project must focus on:

• the application of digital, MedTech or pharmaceutical solutions
• improving healthcare outcomes for individuals with illicit drug or alcohol addictions, or both
• improving treatment, recovery, or prevention of harm and death for individuals with these addictions
• solutions which plan to gain regulatory approval, necessary assessment and certification where appropriate
• developing plans for UK adoption and roll-out

Strong applications for funding will demonstrate how the research aligns with:

• the top ten priority questions for addiction research identified by the James Lind Alliance priority-setting partnership
• the aims of Addiction Healthcare Goals
• the aims of the UK Government’s 10 year drug strategy, From Harm to Hope and equivalent drug and alcohol strategies across the devolved UK nations
• delivering the UK Government’s core Plan for Change missions, especially; ‘building an NHS fit for the future’ (health) and ‘kickstart economic growth’ (growth)

Innovate UK will hold an online briefing at 3pm on Thursday 19 February: click here to register for a place. This will cover both strands of the competition.

If you would like help to find a subcontractor, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Health team.