PRIP Scheme Opens INR 50 Cr Discovery Track for Startups & MSMEs

The second call for applications is now live through the PRIP portal.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals has opened a new Discovery Track under the Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma & MedTech (PRIP) Scheme, offering Startups and MSMEs financial assistance of up to INR 50 Cr for high-risk drug discovery projects.

The PRIP Scheme has been designed to strengthen India’s domestic research and innovation pipeline across pharmaceuticals and medical technology.

Its latest Discovery Track has been introduced specifically to address the funding gap faced by early-stage innovators working on potentially high-impact drug candidates.

Under the new track, Startups and MSMEs developing New Chemical Entities (NCEs) or New Biological Entities (NBEs) at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1, 2, or 3 can apply. Selected projects can receive support to progress towards higher TRLs, up to TRL 6.

Financial assistance of up to INR 50 Cr will be available per company, project or portfolio of projects, subject to at least 25% co-funding from bona fide institutional investors.

The second call for applications is now live through the PRIP portal.

The funding model is intended to bring institutional capital into drug development at an earlier stage, when scientific and commercial risks remain high.

By supporting projects from discovery towards clinical development, the scheme aims to help more indigenous drug candidates progress through the innovation pipeline.

The second PRIP Scheme call is also accepting applications across three priority areas: New Medicines, including NCEs, NBEs and phytopharmaceutical drugs; complex generics and biosimilars; and novel medical devices.

Alongside the Discovery Track, the scheme has retained Early Stage and Later Stage tracks. The Early Stage track is open to Startups and MSMEs working on TRL 1-3 projects and provides assistance of up to INR 5 Cr per project, with projects costing up to INR 1 Cr requiring no applicant co-funding.

The Later Stage track covers TRL 4-6 projects and offers assistance of up to INR 100 Cr per project, capped at 35% of the approved project cost.

The PRIP Scheme has a total financial outlay of INR 5,000 Cr. Under its first call, 41 projects have already been approved for approximately INR 1,600 Cr in financial assistance, while evaluation of the remaining applications is underway.

Applications for the second call can be submitted through the PRIP portal, with scheme guidelines, concept-note guidance, application guidance, milestone descriptors, FAQs, and an application support toolkit available for applicants.

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