Funding opportunity
The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) is looking for bids for the development and evaluation of biomarkers, as part of its programme to target bottlenecks in translation of drugs from research into the clinic.
The MRC is inviting applications that will further develop potential biomarkers and/or to evaluate potential biomarkers for their predictive and prognostic capability for the diagnosis of disease, disease heterogeneity and underlying mechanisms, susceptibility, exposure or response to interventions.
Studies that evaluate biomarkers as markers of either pharmacological activity or efficacy in pre-clinical development will also be considered, as will those proposing the further qualification of safety biomarkers to support early clinical trials.
The primary objective should be to select, evaluate and qualify a biomarker (or discrete panel of biomarkers) as an indicator of a normal biological process, pathogenic process, or pharmacologic response to therapeutic intervention. Any suitable technological approach will be considered.
The MRC is particularly keen to encourage collaborative research, involving either academic-industry or academic-academic partnerships, noting that rapid progress will often need a multidisciplinary approach, or sharing of resources and knowledge.
Receive the Funding Newswire [full access requires a subscription] each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
