BioAlberta Medical Product Development Program (MPDP)

Thank you for your interest in the MPDP. The 2011 application round is now closed.

Thank you to those who applied for MPDP Round 3 project support. This round has approximately $460,000 of project funding available. The review process to allocate these funds to selected projects will commence shortly. All applicants will be kept informed of their status throughout this process. Please note the following dates:

NOV 29, 2011 - Review panel shortlists top applicants

DEC 13-14, 2011 - Top applicants present to review panel in Calgary and Edmonton

DEC 19, 2011 - Selected companies notified

JAN 2012 - Final approvals and contracts

FEB 2012 - Projects commence

About the Program

The Medical Product Development Program (MPDP) is administered by BioAlberta and jointly funded by Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Government of Alberta through the Canada-Alberta Western Economic Partnership Agreement. The MPDP helps Alberta companies develop and commercialize new medical devices and applications.

Program Benefits

The MPDP supports Alberta SMEs that develop medical technologies and devices. The program funds approved early-stage product development projects, which may involve designing, researching, testing, fabricating and improving new or existing prototypes or products.

MPDP project funds are reimbursed to companies on a 3-1 basis, i.e. the program will support 75% of approved total project costs and industry will support the remaining 25% of costs. For example, on a $100,000 project, MPDP would contribute $75,000 and the company would contribute $25,000. Participating companies must submit a claim for reimbursement of project costs they have incurred and paid on a quarterly basis to receive program funds.

Participating companies benefit not only from program funding, but also from regular interaction with BioAlberta's MPDP team. The MPDP Technical Directors work with the MPDP Manager to provide ground-level support to companies, such as offering feedback and suggested improvements to proposed projects, and sharing information on the user-centric, interdisciplinary approach to product development. They also conduct periodic project assessments with the participating companies to review project budgets, teams and activities.

Application and Review Process

The application and review process is competitive. An external expert review panel evaluates all applications and selects projects for approval. The total pool of available funding (approximately $200,000 each project round) is allocated among projects ranging in size from small (less than $25,000), medium ($25,000-$75,000) and large (more than $75,000), to a maximum of $100,000.

Applications forms are made available when a call for applications is issued. The application and review process for each project round begins in the fall of each year (September/October) and continues through the end of the year (December) when decisions are made. Projects commence early the following year (February/March) and run for a maximum of one year.