Key Details
PRIP’s second call offers three funding tracks, with different ceilings and co-funding conditions according to a project’s stage of development.
Track | Eligible projects | Financial assistance |
|---|---|---|
New Discovery | Start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) researching new chemical or biological medicines at Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 1–3 | Up to ₹50 crore per company, project or portfolio, with at least 25% institutional-investor co-funding; support can take projects up to TRL 6 |
Early Stage | Start-ups and MSMEs with projects at TRLs 1–3 | Up to ₹5 crore per project, for progress up to TRL 5; applicant co-funding applies above a ₹1 crore project cost |
Later Stage | Industry, start-ups and MSMEs with projects at TRLs 4–6 | Up to ₹100 crore per project, capped at 35% of approved project cost |
The ₹5,000 crore scheme also invites proposals for phytopharmaceuticals, complex generics, biosimilars and novel medical devices. Its first call has resulted in 41 project approvals for around ₹1,600 crore in financial assistance; other applications remain under evaluation. The portal is open for the second call.
A Dedicated Track for Novel Medicines
The Department of Pharmaceuticals has added New Discovery to PRIP to address the funding gap at the earliest stages of drug research. It is specifically for projects developing new chemical entities or new biological entities — potential medicines based on novel chemical compounds or biological substances.
The track pairs public assistance with institutional-investor funding. That requirement could bring private capital into research earlier, while making access to support dependent on securing an eligible investor. Funding is intended to help projects advance from early research towards validation and development, not to establish that a medicine is ready for clinical use.
Support Changes as Projects Mature
The second call retains separate Early Stage and Later Stage routes. Smaller early-stage projects can receive up to ₹5 crore, with no applicant co-funding required when the approved total project cost is ₹1 crore or less. Later-stage assistance can reach ₹100 crore, but covers no more than 35% of approved costs.
These tracks serve a wider set of pharma and medical-technology projects than New Discovery. Together, they allow applicants to seek support suited to their development stage rather than treating laboratory research and more mature projects as having the same financing needs.
Technology Readiness Levels describe how far an innovation has progressed, from initial research and proof of concept at lower levels towards testing and demonstration at higher levels.
Policy Relevance
The new policy instrument is risk-sharing at the discovery stage: public funding may help promising Indian drug research move forward when commercial returns are still uncertain. The 25% institutional-investor requirement also creates a practical access test for start-ups and MSMEs that have scientific capability but limited investor networks.
The first-call approval figures show demand and funding commitments, not research outcomes. The more consequential measures will be whether supported projects reach higher readiness levels, attract follow-on finance and progress towards clinical development.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How will PRIP assess promising early drug-discovery projects while ensuring that its institutional co-funding requirement does not exclude capable start-ups with limited access to investors?
Follow the Full News Here: New Discovery Track Announced Under PRIP’s Second Call