Development of cell-free protein synthesis platforms for discovery and/or production of biologicals

Overview

Funding for the development of cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) platforms to advance discovery and production of peptide- or protein-based biologicals, targeting biopharmaceutical industries, health systems, and researchers in synthetic biology and AI-driven biomolecule design.

Who Can Apply

Consortia of legal entities, including SMEs, startups, universities, research institutions, and biopharmaceutical companies. Entities from the United States are also eligible for EU funding under this call.

Funding Details

Maximum grant amount: 11,000,000 EUR. Funding rate and co-funding requirements are not specified.

What Is Funded

• Addressing bottlenecks in CFPS deployment, including quality-by-design approaches, characterization of cell lysates, and correlation between lysate properties and process parameters.
• Use of synthetic biology and AI for de-novo biomolecule design (e.g., antimicrobial, immunogenic, or angiogenic properties) and high-throughput screening via CFPS.
• Development or optimization of CFPS platforms for GMP-compliant production of clinical-grade biomolecules, with potential clinical trial testing.
• Projects demonstrating superiority over current production systems for specific therapeutic peptides or proteins.

Technology / Maturity Requirements

Projects must target Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 7 to 9.

Key Dates

• Open date: 2027-02-09
• Deadline: 2027-04-12T22:00:00Z

Application Process (High-Level)

Single-stage application process. Proposals must be submitted via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Clinical studies, if included, require a dedicated annex using the provided template.

Post-Award Obligations

The granting authority may object to transfers of ownership or exclusive licensing of results for up to four years post-project. Additional reporting or dissemination requirements are not specified.

Geographic Scope & Language

Eligible countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Application language: English.

Notes

• Projects must address at least two of the specified elements (bottlenecks, synthetic biology/AI, or GMP-compliant production).
• Participation of SMEs is encouraged.
• Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data is mandatory if satellite-based services are employed.
• Restrictions apply for the protection of European communication networks.