UK research council puts £6M into the development gap

MRC Technology’s Dave Tapolczay: fund will “help lead the way in developing positive scientific discoveries”.

The fund was set up to help exploit research funded by the research council. Since it was launched in November 2003 with a budget of £4.5 million, the fund has backed 51 applied research projects, covering a spectrum of biomedical research including cancer, infectious diseases, genomics and drug discovery. The fund has demonstrated a positive impact on the commercialisation of MRC discoveries and promoted the translation of research.

“We are excited to have been given this extra funding – MRC Technology will once again help lead the way in developing positive scientific discoveries, not only to benefit the market place but also for the health of the nation,” said Dave Tapolczay, CEO of MRC Technology.

Projects funded by DFG include the formation of new companies to work on disease targets, medical devices to diagnose cancer and the creation of specialised jobs.