The BBSRC-STFC DeepTech Catalyst Bio (DTC Bio) programme gives early-stage biotechnology startups £50,000 in R&D funding, a £10,000 innovation voucher, and a package of business and technical support to help turn their science into a commercial product.
DTC Bio is a business incubator run by two parts of UK Research and Innovation: the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It’s built for young bioscience companies that have already shown their idea works and are ready to push it towards market. It was formerly known as the BBSRC-STFC Biotechnology Business Incubation Centre, or Bio BIC.
Below, I have explained the key things you need to know about this competition before you apply: who is eligible, what funding and support is on the table, and what the application process looks like.
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Who is Eligible?
Your Organisation
To apply, you must be a UK-registered company. You must also:
- Be beyond the concept stage of product development, market penetration, or both
- Be less than five years old
- Be majority-owned by your founders and employees
You must also have already received support that the underpinning research or innovation builds on. That means at least one of the following:
- A BBSRC or other UKRI grant supporting the research behind your product or service
- An Innovate UK or other UKRI commercialisation grant to take a bioscience innovation towards a market opportunity
- Support from a UKRI-supported accelerator or pre-incubation programme
Your Project
The technology behind your product or service must sit within BBSRC’s remit and build on that earlier support. It must be taking a bioscience innovation towards a clear market opportunity.
Your technology must also do at least one of the following:
- Address a biological challenge
- Be biological in nature
- Interact with a biological entity
- Involve a biological process
DTC Bio won’t accept applications based on medical or clinical devices, or therapeutics, that are being developed solely for a specific end-point clinical use, including diagnostics. If you’re not sure whether your technology fits, the DTC Bio team encourages you to contact them before applying.
How Much Funding Can I Apply For?
DTC Bio is a fixed support package rather than a percentage-based cost-share, so every company that gets onto the programme receives the same core offer. The headline award is £50,000 of R&D funding.
Alongside the funding, the programme gives you:
- A £10,000 innovation voucher for R&D activity
- Access to a number of UKRI campuses, including STFC’s Sci-Tech Daresbury, plus the BBSRC campuses at Rothamsted Enterprises and AberInnovation, with extra specialist support available from The Pirbright Institute
- Networking opportunities and introductions to investors, customers and key sector stakeholders
- Technical, commercial, business and intellectual property support
Because the offer is the same for everyone, there’s no match funding to find and no cost-share rates to work out. You just need a project that makes the most of the funding and the support around it.
How Do I Apply?
The deadline to submit your expression of interest is 16 August 2026.
You apply in two stages. First you submit a short expression of interest (EOI) using the online application form. If your EOI is approved, you’ll be invited to submit a full application and given the application template. Each company can submit only one EOI.
EOIs are reviewed in tranches, so the earlier you submit, the sooner you’ll hear back. The review deadlines are:
- Tranche one: 26 June 2026
- Tranche two: 17 July 2026
- Tranche three (final): 16 August 2026
If your EOI is approved, your full application is due by 14 September 2026. You can ask for feedback on a draft before the final deadline, so submitting early gives you time to act on it and strengthen your application.
All applications go through a competitive selection process. Successful full applicants will be invited to present at an in-person evaluation board, held from 20 to 22 October 2026.
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