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Innovate UK is investing up to £20 million through the Addiction Healthcare Goals Catalysing Innovation Awards scheme to support the development of innovative pharmaceutical, MedTech and digital health tools targeting drug and alcohol addiction. This competition is designed to accelerate promising interventions towards market readiness, regulatory approval and UK-wide adoption.
Funding is delivered as a procurement contract rather than a grant. Projects must start on 1 October 2026 and can run for up to 24 months, ending by 30 September 2028.
Funding and Project Parameters
Individual contracts are typically expected to range between £200,000 and £1.5 million inclusive of VAT, although justifiable costs outside this range may be considered.
As this is a Contracts for Innovation competition:
Key Dates
Scope of the Competition
The competition supports innovations that:
Solutions must fall within one or more of the following categories:
Substances in scope include opioids, stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine, cannabis, GHB, ketamine, benzodiazepines and gabapentinoids. Projects primarily targeting tobacco, nicotine, gambling or behavioural addictions are not eligible.
User Engagement and Co-Development
A core requirement of this competition is meaningful engagement with people with lived experience of addiction, as well as collaboration with relevant treatment providers and service settings.
Applicants must:
Strong applications will demonstrate that the innovation reflects real-world service needs and accounts for complex challenges such as mental health, housing and criminal justice interactions.
Projects must include a credible pathway towards regulatory approval and certification, where applicable. Engagement with statutory bodies such as MHRA and NICE should be clearly articulated within the project plan.
Successful applicants will be offered access to an MHRA and NICE hosted education session, helping them understand regulatory, evaluation and reimbursement requirements ahead of market entry.
In addition, applicants must complete a comprehensive business plan outlining:
How Inventya Can Help
This competition demands more than technical innovation. It requires a clear link between R&D progression, lived experience engagement, regulatory strategy and commercial viability.
Inventya can support you to:
With extensive experience in Innovate UK competitions, we help organisations translate strong ideas into assessor-ready, strategically aligned and commercially compelling applications.
