MRC Proof of Concept: Stage Two for Translational Health Interventions

MRC Proof of Concept: Stage Two for Translational Health Interventions

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has renamed the former Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) stage two opportunity. The current UKRI listing is UKRI translation: MRC proof of concept: stage two. It is open to invited applicants and closes on 4 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.

This is not an open call for an unsolicited first application. A team must have submitted a successful stage one application, or have received an invitation for a panel-approved resubmission, before it can submit at stage two. The current opportunity covers academic-led translational projects that develop and test health interventions or research tools. A project may begin at prototype development, continue through pre-clinical refinement and testing, and finish with early-phase clinical studies or trials up to phase 2a.

The official page now uses the MRC Proof of Concept name, but it explicitly identifies the opportunity as the successor to Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme stage two. That matters when locating previous feedback, building on an earlier DPFS application, or explaining the continuity of a project to a research office and collaborators.

Current opportunity at a glance

The £10 million figure is the total fund for the opportunity, not a promise that every project can request that amount. The current page says there is no limit on the amount an individual applicant may request, but the resources must be justified against the proposed work. MRC normally funds 80% of the full economic cost, with 100% funding for permitted exceptions. A credible budget therefore needs to show both the work required and the institutional contribution implied by full economic costing.

What the scheme is intended to support

This award is for an academically led translational project with a defined health need, an identifiable intervention or development tool, and a credible route to a meaningful progression decision. The official scope covers all human diseases and medical interventions, including work relevant to UK healthcare and global health. It is broad in subject matter, but it is not a general-purpose discovery grant.

Eligible project areas listed by MRC include:

• candidate therapeutic entities, including drug discovery;
• vaccines for infectious or non-infectious disease;
• biologics such as antibodies, peptides and proteins;
• advanced therapeutics, including gene and cell therapy;
• regenerative medicine approaches;
• repurposing clinical studies or using existing therapies for new indications;
• medical devices;
• digital healthcare and app development;
• diagnostics, including biomarker validation and clinical decision-making tools;
• medical imaging technology;
• surgical techniques or tools;
• behavioural and psychological interventions;
• radiotherapy and radiation protocols; and
• interventions that benefit health in low- and middle-income countries.

The project can start and finish at different points on the developmental pathway. Some applications will propose early prototype work; others will address candidate refinement, pre-clinical testing, or an early clinical study. A follow-on proposal can be made when the team can explain why continued support is needed. The key is to define the starting point, the work to be completed, and the evidence or decision that should exist at the end.

The scheme does not support fundamental or investigative research that is not linked to a development plan. It is also not intended for a project whose main purpose is to investigate disease mechanism, technology development without a medical or clinical development plan, late-phase clinical trials, population-level or societal healthcare solutions, or technology intended mainly to improve health service delivery rather than meet a specific clinical need. A proposal should therefore make the intervention, clinical need and next development decision visible early in the application.

Who can apply

The invitation requirement is decisive. The project lead can apply only when UKRI or MRC has invited the team to stage two after a successful stage one application. The alternative route is a panel-approved invitation to resubmit a DPFS stage two application. Additional team applicants who were not named in the stage one application may be added, but the invitation condition still applies.

The applicant must show that they will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work. The lead organisation must be a research organisation with standard eligibility for MRC funding. If the project lead does not have an employment contract covering the proposed project, the host research organisation must confirm that it will extend the contract beyond the project end if the application succeeds and will provide the necessary support, including mentorship and career development support for early-career researchers.

International participation is possible, but it has a defined role. Because MRC is the lead funder, an international researcher may apply as a project co-lead (international) when they make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the research. The application must explain that contribution and its added value. Other international collaborators should be included as project partners rather than treated as international project co-leads.

Industry and charity collaboration is encouraged when it adds value, but it is not compulsory. A collaboration might provide expertise, technology, reagents, funding, access to facilities, data, samples or participant recruitment. The application must still explain why the project is academically led and why MRC funding is needed. Each project partner needs a statement of support. An individual in the core team cannot also be listed as a project partner, and an organisation employing a core-team member cannot be a project partner organisation.

Funding and project design

There is no fixed duration limit. The proposed timescale should be justified in relation to the work, dependencies and progression milestones. Projects are expected to start one to six months after the funding decision. For applications that follow an active award, the team should explain how the current status of that award affects the proposed stage two work.

MRC expects a progression-focused plan rather than a long list of disconnected experiments. The official guidance says DPFS awards typically have two to four milestones, including the project endpoint. The current MRC Proof of Concept guidance requires at least two key progression milestones, with the project end as one of them. Each milestone should have SMART success criteria and a robust go or no-go decision. Examples of steps that may need explicit timing include study-team recruitment, ethics approval, technical development, regulatory evaluation, participant recruitment, study completion and data analysis.

The application may request contributions to project-lead and co-lead salaries, research and technical staff, consumables, equipment, travel, data preservation and sharing, dissemination, estates, indirect costs, and public partnerships. It may also request eligible costs for work undertaken at international organisations by international project co-leads. Costs for international applicants from high-income countries, India and China cannot exceed 30% of total resources requested; there is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from countries on the OECD DAC list.

Some costs are excluded. MRC will not fund PhD studentships, publication costs, grant-bridge funding, or costs associated with applying for intellectual-property protection such as patent filing. If work is outsourced, the application should state what will be delivered, why it cannot be done in-house, why the provider is appropriate, the expected cost and tendering process, and how any conflict of interest will be handled.

What the stage two application must show

The application asks the team to connect evidence, need, development work and resources. The main sections should be prepared as a coherent proposal rather than as independent essays.

Related applications. Respond to feedback from the stage one DPFS application or a previous stage two DPFS application. Explain how the current application differs, how the feedback was addressed, and, where relevant, identify the invitation and previous reference number for a resubmission.

Opportunity and market. Define the health or clinical need, the proposed prototype, product, service or technology, and the way it could reduce disease burden or a translational bottleneck. Discuss competing solutions, their development status, the proposed solution’s advantages, the target product profile, patient numbers and relevant financial parameters. The response should also cover timing, end users, engagement with patients, carers or the public, and any additional uses for the proposed platform.

Scientific background and current development stage. Describe the evidence supporting the solution and its present stage of development. Include supporting data, figures or tables when they demonstrate proof of concept. Explain earlier or concurrent funding, any overlap, and how the proposed work is distinct from core-funded research where applicable.

Approach. Set out a detailed project plan, methodology and experimental design, risk-management plan, and the environment, infrastructure and equipment available. The plan needs project-specific deliverables, at least two timed progression milestones, starting conditions, sufficient resources, contingency planning and any regulatory approvals. It must include a legible Gantt chart showing tasks, dependencies, responsible parties and milestone success criteria. For animal or human work, explain model or population choices, diversity considerations, statistical support, recruitment and retention feasibility, and the value of public partnerships where relevant.

Resources and cost justification. Explain expensive staff, equipment over £25,000, unusual or high-volume consumables, facilities and infrastructure, exceptions, public and patient involvement, data preservation and sharing, international co-lead costs, NHS research costs, animal costs and subcontracted work. The assessors are looking for resources that are comprehensive, appropriate, justified and proportionate to the intended outcomes, not a line-by-line catalogue with no development logic.

Depending on the project, the Funding Service also requires sections covering ethics, research involving animals, genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies, human participation in health-related research, trusted research and innovation, team capability, project partners and conflicts of interest. A team should resolve which sections apply before the final submission window so that approvals and supporting statements do not become last-minute gaps.

How to apply in the current cycle

1. Confirm that the team has received an invitation after a successful stage one application or a panel-approved resubmission invitation. The start-application link is supplied by email.
2. Confirm the project lead, eligible lead research organisation and any required NHS organisation setup. UKRI advises checking early because an NHS organisation may need additional setup in the Funding Service.
3. Ensure the organisation is registered on the UKRI Funding Service. This opportunity is not submitted through the former Joint Electronic Submissions system.
4. The project lead signs in or creates a Funding Service account, selects the organisation, verifies the email address and completes the application questions. Team members and project partners should contribute the information needed for their roles, support statements and costs.
5. Complete the text-box sections and upload documents only where the Funding Service asks for them. Save answers as you work, and check the read-only view before sending the application onward.
6. Send the completed application to the research office for institutional, hosting and financial checks. Allow time for the research office and finance team to return questions or request edits.
7. The lead research organisation submits the checked application to UKRI before 4 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. The system will not accept an application after the closing time, and a submitted application cannot be amended.

The current opportunity is therefore a live replacement for the former DPFS stage two listing, not a reason to reuse the old March deadline. Teams should use the new MRC Proof of Concept page for the active application route and read the Funding Service questions in full. The official page is the controlling source for eligibility, the invitation requirement, permitted costs, assessment questions and any later change to the closing date.