Biotech funding, handled.
Biotech runs on long, uncertain, lab-heavy R&D: assay and method development, strain and bioprocess engineering, preclinical work. We secure the non-dilutive funding that extends runway through the discovery and development years.
Long, lab-heavy R&D, strong funding fit
Biotech is R&D by definition: molecular and cell biology, bioprocess development, bioinformatics and preclinical studies all qualify. Non-dilutive funding covers the wet-lab and process work that takes the longest.
Why R&D funding fits Biotech
Four reasons biotech companies are well positioned for German R&D funding.
Long discovery-to-data cycles
Discovery, optimization and preclinical work run for years before any revenue. That is exactly the window the Research Allowance is built to support.
Lab equipment counts too
Since 2024, depreciation on bioreactors, sequencers and analytical instruments used directly in an R&D project can be included in the eligible base, which matters for wet-lab-heavy work.
Scientist-heavy teams
Funding is built around R&D wage costs, and biotech teams are full of the molecular biologists, process engineers and bioinformaticians those costs cover.
Strong EU pull
The Horizon Europe health cluster (Cluster 1) and the bioeconomy cluster (Cluster 6), together with the EIC, actively fund biotech, giving teams a route to larger grants on top of the national instruments.
What biotech activities qualify
Four categories of biotech R&D that consistently qualify. The common thread is technical uncertainty.
Assay and method development
- New assays, screening systems or analytical methods
- Method validation under uncertainty (sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility)
- Protocols developed where no standard solution exists
Strain and bioprocess engineering
- Strain construction and metabolic engineering
- Fermentation and bioprocess development from shake-flask to bioreactor
- Downstream processing and purification under new constraints
Therapeutic and molecule development
- Lead identification and optimization
- Formulation and delivery development
- Preclinical studies resolving biological uncertainty
Bioinformatics and computational biology
- Pipelines for sequencing, omics or screening data
- Predictive models for targets, variants or process parameters
- Computational methods validated against experimental data
The line that decides a claim
The line that decides a claim is technical uncertainty. A quick orientation for biotech:
Usually qualifies
- Assay, strain or bioprocess development under biological uncertainty
- Preclinical work up to Phase IIIa that resolves open scientific questions
- Bioinformatics methods validated against experimental data
Usually does not
- Routine quality control and standard analytics
- Regulatory and approval documentation on its own
- Phase IIIb, Phase IV and observational studies (narrow exceptions apply)
How much biotech companies typically receive
Indicative ranges based on R&D team size and intensity. Actual figures depend on eligible costs and the funder's decision.
Mostly the Research Allowance on a core lab team.
The Research Allowance stacked with a ZIM or KMU-innovativ Biotechnologie project.
Toward the Research Allowance ceiling, plus stacked national grants and Horizon Europe health funding.
* Indicative figures. The actual amount depends on company size, eligible costs and the programs you qualify for.
The kind of biotech work that qualifies
If it carries genuine technical risk and novelty, it usually counts. A few examples:
New assays and analytical methods validated under uncertainty.
Strain, fermentation and downstream development with technical risk.
Lead optimization, formulation and preclinical studies.
Omics pipelines and predictive models with genuine uncertainty.
Best-fit funding for Biotech
We usually combine two or three of these for the largest total.
Research Allowance
25-35% of R&D costs back as cash, retroactive to 2022.
Explore program →Grant + equityEIC Accelerator
EUR 2.5M grant + up to EUR 10M equity for deep biotech.
Explore program →GrantEurostars
~50%, up to EUR 500k per partner for international R&D.
Explore program →GrantHorizon Europe
up to 100% for collaborative health and bioeconomy consortia.
Explore program →Biotech funding, answered
The R&D that resolves genuine biological or technical uncertainty can qualify. Routine quality control does not, but systematic development and testing does. We help you separate the two.
Yes. The Research Allowance is paid out even with no profit, which suits the long pre-market period typical in biotech.
Since 2024, depreciation on bioreactors, sequencers and other instruments used exclusively and directly in an R&D project can be included in the eligible base. We assess which of your equipment qualifies.
Yes. Contract research is eligible at 70% of the cost, so working with a university, institute or CRO does not exclude you, it adds to the eligible base.
The Research Allowance and national grants (ZIM, KMU-innovativ Biotechnologie) cover the national base, while Horizon Europe (Cluster 1) and the EIC fund larger, more ambitious programmes. We design the stack so they reinforce each other.
Ask us anything
Tell us about your project and we'll assess your case by hand. No prep, no obligation. Prefer to talk?