Drug discovery grants

Supports investigator-initiated clinical trials in Denmark. Open to mid-career and established research leaders (Associate Professor / Professor level). Focus on Clinical Medicine. Proposals reviewed by the Committee on Clinical and Translational Medicine.

ERDERA Clinical Trial Call 2026 for research on rare/genetic diseases. Focuses on clinical trials. Opened 01 July 2026.

Open to scientists, clinicians or healthcare workers based at UK universities, medical schools, hospitals or research institutions with extensive postdoctoral experience and an independent research group. Applicant must be fully funded by host institution for the award duration. Covers primary prevention and population research with cancer relevance, including epidemiology, translational prevention, clinical trials, and behavioural interventions.

Horizon Europe RIA (lump sum) for academic investigator-initiated pragmatic clinical trials on immunotherapeutic interventions for refractory cancer patients. Proposals must include a clinical studies annex, disaggregate data by sex/gender/age, and engage patients in endpoint definition. Applicants must include diverse stakeholders and plan to join the EU Cancer Mission 'Diagnosis and Treatment' cluster. ~3 grants expected.

Supports exploratory drug discovery to validate and de-risk targets for novel single-agent anti-cancer therapeutics. Open to academic researchers worldwide with their own lab or independent research. Projects run collaboratively with Cancer Research Horizons' Therapeutic Innovation team. Not suitable for basic biological research, combination studies, or drug repurposing.

For mid-career researchers at UK universities, medical schools, hospitals or research institutions, salaried via Higher Education Funding Council, NHS or equivalent (salary not fundable from award). Supports cancer biology programmes from molecular to whole-body scale; excludes clinical trials, sole drug discovery, early detection/prevention, and pure technology development. Closed scheme — pre-application contact required.

For established researchers at UK universities, medical schools, hospitals or research institutions pursuing ambitious cancer biology programmes. Applicants must hold a post fully funded by a national Higher Education Funding Council, NHS or equivalent; salary cannot be funded by the award. Closed scheme — contact discovery@cancer.org.uk at least one month before deadline. Excludes clinical trials, drug discovery-only, and early detection/prevention work.

For established scientist group leaders at UK universities, medical schools, hospitals or research institutes. Applicants must hold a PhD or MD with extensive post-doctoral experience. Clinicians are no longer eligible from May 2026. Host institution must contribute 50% of salary. Sole PI only; full-time commitment expected (min 0.5 FTE for part-time). Covers basic, preclinical, imaging, radiotherapy, EPS, population and early detection cancer research.

For scientists establishing an independent research group; must be based at a UK university, medical school, hospital or research institute. Applicant must not already hold a fully-funded salaried position or prior substantial multi-year PI fellowship. Sole lead applicant (PI) only; covers cancer-relevant basic, preclinical, imaging, radiotherapy, EPS, population, and early detection research.

For clinician scientists (MD/PhD) with GMC registration, a national training number, and some postdoctoral experience, hosted at a UK university, medical school, hospital or research institute. Applicants must remain clinically active during the fellowship. Covers cancer-relevant basic, preclinical, imaging, radiotherapy, EPS, population, and early detection research. Full-time basis; part-time possible with approval.

For new independent group leaders (scientists; clinicians no longer eligible from May 2026) based at a UK university, medical school, hospital or research institution with a fully-funded salary. Applicant must be sole PI. Covers cancer-relevant basic, preclinical, imaging, radiotherapy, EPS, population, and early detection research. Equipment costs capped at £25k; relocation up to £1k.

Open cancer research call covering Creation of Modality, Preclinical, Clinical, or Implementation research phases. Proposals must include a development plan with steps, stakeholders, feasibility, and risks. Projects falling within scope of specific thematic calls (biomarker validation/implementation, PIPELINE, INTER-LOCAL, pancreatic screening) are excluded. Dutch summary and patient participation section required; PACO review weighted 30%.

ERDERA Clinical Trial Call 2026 (pre-announcement) — joint transnational call by the ERDERA European Partnership, listed on the ERA-LEARN joint-call calendar. Funded by national/regional agencies in participating countries; requires a transnational consortium. See the call page for participating fun

Supports investigator-initiated randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) addressing unmet medical/societal needs, not in industry focus. Applicants must be based at Swiss institutions and meet SNSF eligibility requirements. Excludes pilot, proof-of-concept (phase I/IIa), observational, and preclinical studies. Patient and public involvement (PPI) is mandatory. A PPI preparatory grant of up to CHF 5,000 is available alongside the letter of intent.

Supports randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of high scientific and societal value, not in industry focus. Applicants must be based at Swiss institutions and form a research group of up to 5 persons with a strong track record. Multicentric setting generally required. Excludes pilot, proof-of-concept (phase I/IIa), observational, and commercially-driven studies. Patient and public involvement (PPI) is mandatory. CV must be submitted in the language of the research plan.

Funds interventional experimental medicine studies in humans to validate mechanistic hypotheses underlying variation in response to biomedical prevention interventions. Applicants must be employed by an eligible UK research organisation. MRC funds 80% FEC; 100% of permitted exceptions and eligible international co-lead costs. Exploratory biomarker studies, animal experiments, and late-phase clinical trials are ineligible.

Academically led translational single-step projects generating critical preliminary data for new medicines, devices, diagnostics or other medical interventions. UK research organisations eligible as lead; international researchers may join as project co-leads. Businesses and non-approved charities cannot lead. No clinical trials or fundamental research. Proposals must be submitted in English via UKRI Funding Service.

Supports early-stage, pre-development technological innovations in cancer immunotherapy (computational, profiling, visualization, culture systems, novel therapeutics). Applicants must hold a tenure-track position at a not-for-profit research institution. Co-PIs encouraged. Does not fund clinical trials or continuation of existing technologies. Proposals must be submitted in English.

Funds investigator-initiated phase I/II or phase II immunotherapy clinical trials led by academic PIs. Open to researchers at medical schools or research centers in the US or abroad; no citizenship restrictions; for-profit institutions ineligible. Emphasis on novel immunotherapy, mechanistic insights, and biomarker discovery. Up to 10% indirect costs provided in addition to award. Co-funding available for chordoma-focused proposals (with Chordoma Foundation).

Supports pioneering immunotherapy clinical trials designed and led by academic researchers. Requires a clinical trial focus; applicants must be academic investigators leading immunotherapy trials.

UK-based investigators at universities, medical schools, hospitals, UKCRC registered CTUs or research institutions. Investigator-led clinical trials and associated translational/experimental medicine research in cancer. All applications must have a UKCRC registered CTU coordinating the trial/study. Industry-sponsored trials ineligible. Proposals must be submitted in English via Flexi-Grant.

Funds academic-led clinical trials (Phase I–III) for new investigational medicinal products (originator drugs) addressing unmet cancer needs. Lead institute must be a Dutch medical centre or research institute. Patient involvement is mandatory. Repurposing of registered drugs and purely preclinical research are out of scope. Proposals must be submitted in English via KWF GMS.

Open to researchers with a tenured or tenure-track position at Dutch universities, UMCs, KNAW/NWO institutes, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Max Planck Institute Nijmegen, Naturalis, ARCNL, or Princess Máxima Center. Co-funding required (min. 25%) if total project costs exceed €700k. Not intended for clinical trials, contract research, or investment-dominated proposals. User committee of ≥4 knowledge users required.

Open to academic researchers worldwide (university or research institute) with independent lab. Funds early drug discovery for childhood and young people's cancers: target deconvolution/validation, novel therapeutic approaches, target identification, and de-risking. Projects run collaboratively with Cancer Research Horizons' Therapeutic Innovation team. Excludes basic biology, clinical development, and drug repurposing.

Supports fundamental research in bioscience and basic biomedicine (molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, pharmacology, etc.) relevant to human health and disease. Applicant and administrating institution must be a university, hospital, or non-profit research institution in Denmark. DKK 12M earmarked for the strategic theme 'Microbiota-host interactions: from molecular mechanisms to their role in physiology'.

Accelerates conversion of promising scientific discoveries into cancer therapeutics. Translational/drug discovery focus. Open to investigators at academic institutions globally. No explicit eligibility restrictions stated.

Postdoctoral fellowship for researchers fulfilling the FWF territoriality principle, requiring a completed doctorate, host invitation at an excellent institution abroad, and an option to return to an Austrian research institution. Applicants must be based at or returning to an Austrian institution. Clinical trials eligible only if hypothesis-based.

Pilot grant addressing an emerging gap in support for new clinical trials in DIPG. Funds hiring of a clinical fellow to support clinical trial work (e.g., CAR-T cell trials). First-time award; check the grant application page for future availability.

DFG programme funding clinical trials including feasibility studies, interventional trials, and observational trials. Applicants must be eligible under DFG principles (typically German higher education institutions and research organisations). Proposals submitted via the DFG elan portal; guidelines available in German and English.

Funds multidisciplinary research and infrastructure to identify, reach, and inform individuals with very high breast cancer risk (BRCA1/2 or PALB2 mutations) and to build a registry for high-risk families. Consortium of ≥4 partners required; patient/citizen participation plan mandatory; early HTA required. In-kind/matching contributions encouraged. Excludes exploratory risk-factor discovery, new screening technologies, and clinical trials.

Main applicant must hold assistant professor level or above at a Nordic institution; postdocs/PhD students ineligible. Co-applicant (optional) may be based anywhere globally but must be in a different country. Scope: AMR novel tools (Theme 1) or pandemic influenza (Theme 2); must be use-inspired. Clinical trials, phage therapy, microbiome, surveillance, and for-profit product development are out of scope.

Bilateral Franco-German research grants under the Lead Agency procedure (ANR leads). Applies only to Research Grants Programme (not Clinical Trials, Research Units, or Package Proposals). German applicants must be eligible under DFG Research Grants rules; commercial companies excluded. Proposals submitted via DFG elan portal under 'Frankreich-ANR-DFG (Year) NLE'. Both French and German project elements must be well-justified and interlinked.

For clinicians in specialty/run-through training eligible to practise medicine in the UK, hosted at a UK university, hospital, or UKCRC-registered CTU. Requires 50% matched funding from host institution. Applicant must collaborate with a UKCRC-registered CTU. Covers 50% of salary and 50% of running expenses. Cancer-relevant clinical trials training; must gain experience across multiple trials.

Supports high-risk, high-reward cancer research worldwide across basic research, therapeutic discovery, innovative technologies, and early-stage clinical trials. PIs must be independent researchers. Applications are by invitation or via RFPs; unsolicited applications are not accepted. Indirect costs capped at 10% of direct costs. Revenue sharing terms apply.