MRC Proof of Concept (formerly Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme)

MRC Proof of Concept is the Medical Research Council's main translational grant route in the UK, run within UKRI. It was launched in 2008 as the Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) and renamed in 2026 as UKRI harmonised its translation funding names. It pays for academically led work that moves a discovery toward a medicine, diagnostic, device or tool, from prototype to early clinical studies up to phase IIa, in any disease area. No source opened shows a prion award under this scheme. The MRC Prion Unit at UCL is an MRC unit with its own core funding, which is a separate mechanism.

Key facts

  • Scope: any disease area; projects may target prevention, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment, or build research tools and platforms; stages run from prototype and pre-clinical refinement to early clinical studies up to phase IIa.
  • Budget: MRC gives a scheme budget of 35 to 40 million GBP a year; around 380 projects and about 460 million GBP have been funded since 2008.
  • Award size: no upper limit and no duration limit, but costs must be justified. MRC usually pays 80 percent of full economic cost and 100 percent of permitted exceptions. No per-award typical figure is published.
  • Process: outline (stage one) deadlines fall three times a year (March, July, November); stage two is by invitation only for successful stage one teams or approved resubmissions; the panel meets in January, May and September; decisions cannot be appealed.
  • Exclusions: basic research without a development plan, disease mechanism studies, late-phase trials (NIHR territory), health service delivery and population-level solutions.
  • Panel: the former DPFS panel is now the MRC Proof of Concept panel, with 28 members and 2 associates, chaired by Professor Peter Parker, membership applying from 1 April 2026.
  • Current stage two round: invitation only, total fund 10 million GBP, closes 4 November 2026 at 4pm, funding decision meeting 20 to 21 January 2027.
  • Stage one in the current cycle: the Proof of Concept page gives a stage one close of 18 November 2026; a secondary summary gives opening on 2 July 2026.
  • Outcomes: a 2025 evaluation of spin-outs from MRC translational funding (2008 to 2023) found 146 spin-outs that raised about 3.1 billion GBP in external equity against 577 million GBP of research funding.
  • Prion link, unit core funding: UKRI lists the MRC Prion Unit as an MRC unit at UCL, with a blood test for prion protein and two therapy programmes among its current projects. Search excerpts (unopened pages) say the Unit is MRC core funded, with the National Prion Clinic research supported by an NIHR biomedical research centre and a joint 30 million GBP MRC and UCL building investment; treat as unverified.
  • Prion link, history: search excerpts (unopened pages) point to early MRC support for the Unit around 1996 to 1998, including a reported plan of about 1.5 million GBP a year for five years; unverified.

Timeline

  1. 2008DPFS established by MRC.
  2. 2018Independent review of MRC translational funding finds it helped projects progress and attract further funding.
  3. 2025DPFS stage one opens; closed 2025-12-22.
  4. 2026Renamed panel membership takes effect.
  5. 2026MRC Proof of Concept stage two opens, invitation only.
  6. 2026Stage two closes.
  7. 2026Proof of Concept stage one closes.
  8. 2027Funding decision meeting for stage two, 20 to 21 January.

Last checked 1 November 2026

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