Medical Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (MRC IAA)

The Medical Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (MRC IAA), running from 1^st April 2022 to 31^st March 2025, validates the need for medical and healthcare technology to enable successful translation. The fund does this by establishing viability and rapidly de-risking projects through a two stage process.

Stage 1 allows for value proposition development and market validation, while stage 2 drives development built on learnings from stage 1. Applications for stage 1 are only accepted via an internal call, and to be successful all applications must:

• Be based on mature, validated technology under MRC remit
• Address a specific unmet need which your current (not future) technology can satisfy better than competing therapies
• Outline a clear plan for engaging with end-users, clinicians and industry around this unmet need

Equally, applications must not focus heavily on underlying research. The stage 1 application form and eligibility criteria can be found in the right hand panel. Stage 1 activities are achieved through the buy-out of postdoctoral research assistant (PDRA) time, with PhD students not being eligible. The PDRA will lead validation under stage 1.

Please direct queries, including feasibility concerns, to the MRC IAA resource account: mrc-iaa@warwick.ac.uk

After completion of stage 1, the team of researchers will pitch a milestone-driven development project to an expert panel. A successful pitch unlocks stage 2 funding, and these pitches must capture feedback from stage 1, in particular how this has influenced your plans to develop your technology. Stage 2 funding is milestone gated, with successful completion of milestone goals releasing additional funding. Overall, the MRC IAA is structured as follows, with further stage 1 and 2 details below:

Stage 1 (£5,000, 2 months). During stage 1 of the application process, applicants will outline what unmet medical need they can solve, and how they plan to address this better than competitors. £5,000 will be released for this stage for market validation activities lasting two months, and so a clear plan of clinical/end-user engagement is vital to enable success. A PDRA will lead the stage 1 validation, with value proposition and personal development training provided, and with guidance given by a Warwick Innovations’ Business Development Manager.

End of stage 1. Applicants will be invited to provide a short pitch to an expert panel to release initial stage 2 funding. Applicants will be expected to outline a milestone-driven pump-priming project to develop their concept, demonstrating how the stage 1 market assessment has shaped their thinking on the therapeutic need for their technology.

A compliance checklist needs to be completed and returned before the stage 2 application pitch. This ensures necessary ethical approvals and sponsorship can be sought in advance of any project, and the University is fulfilling its obligations with respect to Export Control and the Nagoya Protocol.

Stage 2 (up to £45,000, milestone driven, up to 12 months). Following the pitch at the end of stage 1, applicants will be notified on whether they have been successful. Stage 2 projects are subject to milestones, with an initial amount of money released to cover expenses required to achieve their first milestone. Further funding will be released on completion of successive milestones. An end of project report will be required within 3 months of the end date, and then a Business Development Manager will discuss next steps following this.