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Small molecule high throughput screen using AstraZeneca facilities

Description

This funding opportunity, run by the Medical Research Council (MRC) within UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), invites applications to run a high-throughput screen (HTS) using AstraZeneca’s compound library and state-of-the-art screening robots. The purpose is to support academic research aimed at discovering potential small-molecule medicinal starting points for therapeutic development. AstraZeneca provides technical support for assay optimisation and screening execution.

Funding Amounts

  • Total funding available: £1,000,000
  • Maximum per project: up to £270,000 FEC (Full Economic Cost).
  • Of the £270,000:
    • 100% FEC covered for work conducted at AstraZeneca;
    • 80% FEC covered for work at the host research organisation (staff costs, consumables, travel, subsistence).

Submission Deadlines

  • Opening date: 30 January 2026 at 9:00am UK time
  • Closing date: 9 September 2026 at 4:00pm UK time

Submission Conditions

Applicants must:

  • Submit via the UKRI Funding Service (not Je-S).
  • Ensure their organisation is registered and eligible before applying.
  • Complete required application sections, including project vision, approach, team capability, and data management.
  • Comply with UKRI’s Trusted Research & Innovation (TR&I) principles.
  • Ensure contractual conditions (e.g., employment duration) are met for the project timeline.
  • Confirm internal institutional deadlines and submission protocols.
  • Applications cannot be amended after submission; incomplete or late submissions will be rejected.

Eligible Types of Businesses / Applicants

  • Academic researchers based at eligible UK research organisations can be project lead.
  • International organisations cannot lead but may participate as collaborators/co-leads.
  • Commercial entities cannot lead and are not eligible to apply as project lead; collaborations with additional commercial parties are not permitted.

 

Expected Outcome

Applicants are expected to:

  • Deliver a robust high-throughput screen using AstraZeneca’s facilities.
  • Generate hit compounds or data that represent viable small-molecule starting points against selected targets.
  • Contribute knowledge that can advance early-stage therapeutic discovery.
  • Develop assays and data workflows suitable for follow-up and downstream research.

Scope

  • Fund academic research projects using AstraZeneca’s high-throughput screening infrastructure and extensive compound library (millions of compounds).
  • Projects should aim to generate novel insights for small-molecule drug discovery.
  • Projects may screen between 100,000 to 1,000,000 compounds depending on optimisation results.
  • AstraZeneca technical staff assist with assay optimisation, alternative readouts, and pilot screens prior to formal HTS.
  • The call is open to all biological targets, with a strategic uplift at ranking for projects targeting mental health or dementia (including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s) in the current round.
  • AstraZeneca may choose to fund a project independently in exceptional cases; applicants may opt to pursue MRC support instead.

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