UK companies working in the human medicine, medical diagnostics and medical device sectors now have access to a new £60 million fund to support their manufacturing projects and promote growth in the UK’s life sciences sector.The Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) was launched earlier this month by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Office for Life Sciences. A significant barrier to the deployment of emerging technologies is the restrictive up-front costs of setting up production, which the LSIMF aims to mitigate by providing capital grants to companies with projects operating in target fields, including pharmaceuticals (such as cell, gene and nucleic acid therapies); disease diagnostics; and medical devices. The first wave of applications is now open, with a deadline of 12pm on 31 March 2022, and further monthly deadlines on 29 April and 31 May 2022 for two subsequent waves. To be considered eligible for these grants you must be a UK registered company, and the project in question must be a manufacturing project located in the UK within one of the approved sectors. The published guidance also indicates that an eligible project should have a minimum total cost of £12 million (although BEIS reserves the right to approve smaller projects under certain circumstances). Since this is a capital grant fund, certain intangible costs that would form part of this total (such as R&D) will not be eligible for grant funding. The application process involves a number of stages, including an interview with an expert panel to discuss the project’s alignment with the fund’s objectives, a due diligence report of the application and ministerial assessment.For full information on this fund and how to apply, click here.