Govt invites proposals under PRIP scheme for industry, startup projects

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The government has invited applications for research and innovation projects under its Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector scheme to make it a globally competitive and innovation-driven sector, according to an official statement.

With an approved outlay of Rs 5,000 crore, the scheme is expected to catalyse a Pharma-MedTech innovation pipeline by supporting around 300 projects, involving total R&D investment of about Rs 11,000 crore in new medicines, complex generics, biosimilars and novel medical devices, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said in the statement.

While inviting applications, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has notified amendments to the scheme and issued revised guidelines to enhance the impact of the scheme and make it better suited to address the requirements of all stakeholders.

Under the amended scheme, for early-stage projects, MSMEs and startups may apply for projects costing up to Rs 9 crore for assistance of up to Rs 5 crore, it said.

For later-stage projects costing up to Rs 285 crore, MSMEs and startups may apply for assistance up to Rs 100 crore, it added.

The scale of financial assistance for early-stage projects is 100 per cent for costs up to Rs 1 crore and 50 per cent of additional costs beyond Rs 1 crore, subject to a maximum of Rs 5 crore, the release said.

The scale for financial assistance for later-stage projects is 35 per cent of project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs 100 crore, it added.

The amended scheme provides that assistance for later-stage projects may be to the extent of 50 per cent, subject to a maximum of Rs 100 crore.

Such Strategic Priority Innovation (SPI) areas include specified rare diseases, antimicrobial resistance, vaccine-preventable diseases, tropical vector-borne diseases and outbreak/pandemic-causing pathogens.

Moreover, the amended scheme offers several specific incentives to industry, MSMEs and startups to collaborate with academic and research government institutions of national repute.

The application window opened on October 1 through a dedicated portal to drive a fully digital application process, the release stated.