Hungary’s National Research and Technology Office (NKTH) has awarded a combined HUF 13.7bn in R+D grants to 27 applicants, Hungary’s R+D minister Karoly Molnar announced at a press conference in Budapest on Monday. The 27 winners – who will contribute an additional HUF 4.5bn to R+D projects – were picked from 136 applicants.
Among the winners was a consortium led by drug maker Richter and including the Semmelweis University and the Zoltan Bay Applied Research Foundation. The consortium won a HUF 1bn grant to research nanotechnology in the field of medicine. Richter will contribute HUF 300m from its own resources to the project, which it aims to use to develop and start producing a generic version of the drug Doxil, a liposome-encapsulated dosage form of doxorubicin, Richter CEO Erik Bogsch said. Richter hopes to introduce the drug in four years, he added.
Mr Bogsch said he could not say how much revenue the drug would generate when asked by MTI.
A consortium led by vehicle maker Raba won a HUF 894m grant to develop integrated vehicle parts and technology. Raba will contribute HUF 300m to the project.
A third winner introduced by NKTH was Experimetria, which won a HUF 400m grant to develop a heart monitor for patients under extreme stress.
NKTH has HUF 30bn to award for R+D grants this year. It will call a second tender for the money on September 15.
Last year NKTH awarded R+D grants worth a combined HUF 20bn to 55 applicants.