Recruitment for two of the three competitions announced so far by the Medical Research Agency (ABM) under the National Recovery Plan are still ongoing. Funding will be allocated to research and development activities and Clinical Research Support Centers. The first of these – which ended on August 12 and was aimed at scientific units – drew a record interest. In total, there are to be five competitions. “As part of the National Recovery Plan (KPO), under the investments 3.1.1 there will be around 1.2 billion PLN. This is a significant financial injection,” says Dr. Karolina Nowak, Director of the Department of Innovation and Biotechnology Development at ABM.
3.1.1 is a part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan that covers investments in comprehensive development of research in medical sciences and health sciences.
“Under investment 3.1.1, the Medical Research Agency is responsible for launching five competitions: three for research and development works, and two competitions to support existing Clinical Research Support Centers and new centers. The agency has announced three competitions, and we are awaiting approval to announce the fourth competition, specifically for entrepreneurs for medical products,” explains Dr. Karolina Nowak in an interview. “So far, the announced competitions aim to support scientific units and entrepreneurs in the area of drug safety, innovative drugs, but also new pharmaceutical forms and support for our domestic pharmaceutical industry.”
The first competition – for scientific units to carry out applied research in the biomedical field – was announced in mid-June and lasted for two months until August 12. The eligible applicants included public universities, research institutes and medical entities. Applicants can receive support for industrial research and development work in the field of medical sciences and health sciences that fit into the objectives of the Government’s Biomedical Sector Development Plan for 2022-2031. The amount allocated for the competition is 450 million PLN. As reported by ABM, 224 requests for support were submitted for a total of over 1.5 billion PLN. Their formal evaluation is in progress.
The director of the Department of Innovation and Biotechnology Development at ABM says, “We are waiting for the next entrepreneur competition. We estimate that the interest will not be so high, but we believe it will certainly be significant in comparison with previous commercial competitions organized by the ABM.”
Under the second announced competition, Polish companies can apply for funding to conduct research in the field of drug safety, innovative therapies, and the drugs of the future. The application period has been extended to September 19. The goal of the support is to increase the number of research and development activities, which can contribute to their implementation in the healthcare system and strengthen the country’s drug safety in the long term. This will also increase the availability of therapies for patients and the development of the biomedical industry. The amount planned for the competition is 350 million PLN. The minimum funding value for one venture is 2 million PLN, and the maximum is 12 million PLN. Due to the limited time frame identified in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, projects must be completed before March 31, 2026.
“KPO-funded projects will support a certain stage of research and development work implementation. Therefore, the funding will not cover the entire process, but only selected elements,” explains Dr. Karolina Nowak. “The time is short – we have 18 months to implement these projects, so we also planned all our support instruments based on these time frames.”
The innovation drug production process can take up to 15 years, including searching for candidate molecules, preclinical and clinical trials, and registration procedures. In Poland, drug manufacturers predominantly finance these measures from their own resources, so additional support from the EU could be significant for them.
“The greatest benefit is the development of research and development projects, scientific advancement in the area of projects implemented in scientific units, and projects implemented by entrepreneurs, which stimulate entrepreneurship, economic growth, and scientific growth. We hope that this funding will be used positively and bear fruit in seven to ten years, not five, because biomedical research and development projects are long-term projects. Their results are measured in years, even in decades,” emphasizes the director of the Department of Innovation and Biotechnology Development at ABM.
In mid-July, the agency also announced a competition for creating Clinical Research Support Centers under the National Recovery Plan. The amount allocated for this purpose is 150 million PLN, and applications are open until September 30. Applicants can receive support for employment in CWBK, adaptation, and modernization of the building and its equipment, purchase of IT systems, etc. Expanding the center network is expected to increase access to clinical trials for a larger number of patients in different parts of the country and in various therapeutic areas. The next competition in this area will be about improving and increasing the research potential of existing CWBK. There are currently 23 such centers in Poland.
