Vinnova life science call puts 3 MSEK behind joint projects
Vinnova is backing joint life science projects with up to 3 million SEK apiece, the first money out of a government programme that also funds CCRM Nordic. Applications need three independent parties, including a company and a university, and close on 9 February 2027.
The First Money Out of Avancerad Life Science
Vinnova has opened the first call under Avancerad life science. The Vinnova life science call will back joint projects with up to 3 million SEK each over twelve months, and applications close at 14:00 on 9 February 2027.
The same government assignment that created the programme also funds the continued build-out of CCRM Nordic, which Vinnova calls a central part of the initiative and ties directly to developing, manufacturing and commercialising advanced therapies. Vinnova describes this as the first call under the programme, and the assignment runs to 2028 with the budget climbing from 35 MSEK in 2025 to a planned 113 MSEK.
The call itself is open to the whole of life science and singles out no therapy area or technology. Applications are judged against one another, so a cell or gene therapy project competes for the same money as diagnostics, medical technology and digital health.
Vinnova Pays Half, Industry Pays the Rest
Vinnova will cover no more than half of a project’s eligible costs, a ceiling that comes from the government assignment itself, which tells the agency to have industry match its contribution as a rule at least krona for krona. Within that half, an academic partner’s costs can be covered in full, while a company’s share depends on its size and on whether the work counts as industrial research or experimental development.
Vinnova will not pay for small improvements to products or processes already on the market, nor for work that is purely academic research. Decisions are due on 15 April 2027, and projects then run for up to twelve months.
Three Parties, None of Them Your Own Spin-Out
Every application needs at least three parties, among them a company and a university or högskola. They also have to be independent of each other, and Vinnova names the case it will not accept: a research group cannot apply alongside a spin-out it founded.
A foreign company can take part, but it needs a Swedish branch or permanent establishment, and its costs have to sit with the Swedish operation. Smaller companies must show turnover or equity worth a quarter of their eligible project costs, or produce an auditor’s certificate instead.
Vinnova runs the call through its e-service, in Swedish or English. The agency’s own project description and CV templates are compulsory, and anything submitted on a different form is turned away. Karin Stenström is the call’s utlysningsansvarig, and questions go to avanceradlifescience@vinnova.se. Read the application form here (Swedish).
