Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund: a business guide to LSIMF

In the dynamic landscape of life sciences, innovation is the heartbeat that drives progress. From groundbreaking drug formulations to cutting-edge medical devices, businesses in this sector play a pivotal role in advancing healthcare and improving lives.

But what if there were a way to supercharge these efforts, providing a financial boost to fuel growth and increase resilience?

Enter the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), a government initiative aimed at doing just that. Learning the lessons of COVID-19, this funding opportunity seeks to address supply chain weaknesses within the UK life sciences sector by providing support to fast-track capital investment in manufacturing facilities.

What is the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF)?

The LSIMF is part of the Global Britain Investment Fund and makes £520 million available for life sciences manufacturing over five years (2025-2030). The funding aims to build resilience for future health emergencies and capitalise on the UK’s world-leading research and development capabilities.

What projects are eligible for the LSIMF?

Life science manufacturers operating in the following fields are eligible to apply for funding from the LSIMF:

• Human medicines, including the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and finished products. The fund is open to applications across the breadth of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRCA) licenced medicines for human use.

• Medical diagnostics for both disease identification and monitoring in human health.

• MedTech products, including all types of medical devices related to human health.

Full details are not yet available for the latest phase of the LSIMF, but it’s expected that the total value of eligible projects will be in excess of £10 million, with a grant intervention rate of somewhere between 20% and 30%. Project durations could span 12-36 months as a guide.

What are the fund’s objectives?

The LSIMF will prioritise applicants based on their alignment with the fund’s objectives:

• Creating economic opportunity through investments that will provide high-wage, high-skilled jobs.
• Deploying cutting-edge innovations (at both pilot and commercial scale) which can be embedded in either the product itself or the manufacturing process.
• Increasing health resilience, either through increased domestic capacity or by providing flexible capabilities that can be redeployed in some way in a future health emergency.
• Minimising the environmental impact, which might include a reduction in input resources or using alternative input materials to become more sustainable or support the government’s net zero target.

What sort of projects were supported in previous rounds?

Outcomes of previous rounds of the LSIMF included funding for the following projects:

• £75 million to grow the manufacture of innovative medicines for neurological conditions, creating 39 jobs in North Wales and safeguarding a further 37.
• £151 million to increase production capacity for critical gene therapy and vaccine components at a facility in Liverpool, creating 174 jobs and safeguarding a further 156.
• £14 million to create 17 jobs and protect a further 6 in London by establishing commercial scale manufacture of DNA.
• £36 million to modernise the manufacture of antibodies for diagnostic testing in a new facility in Northern Ireland, creating 90 new jobs.

When can I apply to the LSIMF?

Phase 2 of the LSIMF closed to applications in February 2024. However, the government announced in the Spring Budget 2024 that a further window for applications will open in summer 2024 for expressions of interest for large scale transformational investments, with a separate competition for medium and smaller sized companies opening in the autumn.

Benefits of the LSIMF

The LSIMF represents a significant opportunity for life sciences businesses and has the potential to boost the UK economy. Here are four ways in which life sciences businesses and UK plc could benefit:

• Fast-tracking expansion: The LSIMF offers substantial capital grants to eligible businesses, with the potential to supercharge your expansion plans.

• Creating jobs: LSIMF investment projects, businesses contribute to high-wage, high-skilled job creation.

• Pioneering solutions: LSIMF encourages pilot and commercial-scale innovations, from breakthroughs in drug discovery to the development of novel diagnostic tools.

• Future-proofing the life sciences sector: LSIMF strengthens the UK’s capacity to respond to health emergencies by helping to build resilient manufacturing capabilities.

ForrestBrown: your LSMIF navigator

ForrestBrown’s grant advisory team combines technical and financial expertise with a track record of success in securing funding from strategically important government funds, including securing previous LSIMF grants.

We’re on hand to help you through every step of the LSIMF process, starting with a workshop to assess your project or projects’ feasibility. We’ll then support you through the application process and beyond.

Here’s what makes us the go-to partner for LSIMF success:

• Life sciences sector expertise: Our team understands the challenges of funding innovation in life sciences through our long-standing work in securing R&D tax relief funding for clients in the life sciences sector.

• Strategic approach: We position your business for LSIMF success by ensuring your project aligns with the fund’s objectives – and the wider policy goals of the UK government.

• Holistic view: Because we work across the wider innovation toolkit, we can look beyond the LSIMF to identify additional funding opportunities, advising on how they can work together.

We’re passionate about the transformative power of innovation incentives. By helping to secure funding from the LSIMF, we can help your business shape the future of life sciences.