Funding of up to £20 million across two competitions for organisations to develop pharmaceutical, digital and MedTech innovations that address drug and alcohol addiction.
This competition opens on 16 February 2026 and closes at 11am on 6 May 2026.
Who it is for
This competition is open to single applicants.
To lead a project, you can
- be an organisation of any size, including those based in the EU, EEA or internationally
- work alone or with the subcontracted skills and expertise of others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations, or the third sector (charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups)
Your project must
- have total eligible costs of between £200,000 and £1.5 million, inclusive of VAT, per project (justifiable costs outside this range may be considered)
- last up to 24 months
- start on 1 October 2026
- end by 30 September 2028
Support you can get
This competition is part of The Addiction Healthcare Goals (AHG) – Catalysing Innovation Awards scheme, which supports innovations that transform drug and alcohol addiction care, improve recovery outcomes and save lives across the UK.
For this strand, you can get funding through the following contracts
- MedTech and digital health tools up to £1 million, inclusive of VAT, per project for prototype development and field testing
- Pharmaceutical solutions up to £1.5 million, inclusive of VAT, per project for prototype development and field testing
Contracts for Innovation competitions involve procurement of R&D services at a fair market value and are not subject to subsidy control criteria that typically apply to grant funding (i.e. they can cover 100% of eligible costs).
There is also a separate strand for Advancing innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, offering funding of up to £3 million per business, per project.
Support organisers
Contact
Innovate UK
Phone
0300 321 4357
Next Steps
on the Innovation Funding Service website
Published
17 February 2026
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