Austrian Life Sciences Programme

Austria on the way: becoming a research, production and business location for life sciences

Austria is an active life sciences location with internationally visible, excellent research and development and a growing corporate landscape. Compared to other innovative sectors, the life sciences sector is by far the most innovative, has the highest research rate and contributes significantly to national value creation.

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The call for proposals for the years 2024 to 2026 starts on March 8, 2024. 45 million euros in total are available for funding from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economy from the transformation offensive.

The FFG is organizing a webinar on April, 16 2024. Register today for your participation and consultation opportunity.

Further consultation opportunities are available on the following dates

May, 14 2024: Forum Clinical Research 2024, Vienna
June, 4 2024: Life Science Day 2024, Graz

Programme focus

Objective 1: Increasing Austria’s attractiveness as a research location

High development costs, long development times and great technological development risks are particular challenges faced by companies in the Life Sciences sector. In order to meet these challenges and maintain Austria’s attractiveness as a research and development location for companies, relevant funding opportunities are needed along the entire value chain. Research and development (R&D) of new, effective, high quality, safe, as well as available and affordable medicines and medical devic es which address unmet public health needs are key to public healthcare provision. To prevent a brain drain and increase Austria’s attractiveness as a research location, funding must be available to cover both early as well as later development phases.

Objective 2: Increasing Austria’s competitiveness as a location for clinical studies

Clinical studies are a key component in translating new medical findings to healthcare practice. They contribute to an efficient and effective healthcare system focused on the needs of the patient and society as a whole and stimulate a competitive healthcare sector.

In view of the falling number of applications for drug studies, it is important to create an awareness among all stakeholders that global pharmaceutical companies select clinical study centres on the basis of international competition. As the priority always lies in patient benefits and safety, the regulatory requirements in the Life Sciences industry mean that, compared to other industries, drug development is not only a long-winded process, but also complex, risky, and above all, capital intensive. When selecting study centres and locations, some of the most important factors for companies in the Life Sciences industry include rapid implementation, reliability, patient numbers and quality, plus attractive financing options.

Topics and project running times

Digitalisation of health aspects (diagnostics, telemedicine, medical devices etc.)
Development of new, effective, high-quality, safe, available and affordable medicines and medical devices
Interventional phase I and II clinical studies and clinical trials of medical devices in accordance with EU regulations
Flagship Projects in the field of clinical research.

The project running times are 12 to 18 months (company projects industrial research, research and development), 12 to 24 months (clinical studies), 24 months (flagship project)

Budget and call 2024 till 2026

Budget and calls 2022, 2023

In the years 2022 and 2023, the budget for the Austrian Life Sciences Program amounts to a total of 50 million euros.

In the first call for proposals in 2022, the funding instruments "industrial research" and "experimental development"", "clinical studies" (until the submission deadline of 29.12.2022) and "flagship project" (until the submission deadline of 1.9.2022, 12 noon) were offered.

For 2023, a further call for proposals was open from 24.1.2023 to 21.12.2023 with the funding instruments from the previous year (until the submission deadline of 21.12.2023) and "flagship project" (until the submission deadline of 30.6.2023, 12 noon). In addition, submission to the Eureka Call Austria - Israel has been possible in the period from 1.6.2023 to 19.2.2024.

The essentials in brief

Program Owner / Sponsor
Topic	Digitalisation & Broadband, Life Sciences & Health, Production & Materials
Project type	Unternehmensprojekte - Experimentelle Entwicklung Unternehmensprojekt Industrielle Forschung Leitprojekt
Financing	national
Submission	Submission with a proposal process
Target group	The Austrian Life Sciences Programme is aimed at all companies as well as actors from university and non-university research, universities of applied sciences, higher technical educational institutions based in Austria. The participation of foreign partners is possible (depending on the funding instrument). The participation of actors along the entire value chain is required. Further information and any restrictions can be found in the respective instrument guides and in the call for proposals guide.
What is being funded	Funding is provided for R&D company projects and flagship projects in the research categories of industrial research or experimental development, as well as clinical studies.
Which costs are eligible for funding?	All costs attributable to the project that are incurred directly, actually and in addition (to conventional operating expenses) during the funding period according to the funding agreement (e.g. personnel costs, research infrastructure, material and equipment costs, travel costs and third-party costs) are eligible for funding. Details are described in the FFG Cost Guide.
Min. / max. running time	18 - 24 months
Availability from	01.04.2022 - 31.12.2030