Biopharmaceutical Investment Program (BIP)

These guidelines, as well as the BIP application form are subject to change from time to time without notice at the sole discretion of the Ministry of Research and Innovation.

Application & Review Process

6. Overview

Applications to the Biopharmaceutical Investment Program may be submitted at any time (that is, no discreet funding rounds), as detailed below. 

BIP is a discretionary, non-entitlement program and only the best proposals, in the ministry’s opinion, may be funded.  This means that even if a proposal meets all of the program’s objectives and criteria, the Government of Ontario is under no obligation to award funding, as there may be projects that, in the ministry’s sole opinion, more effectively meet the program’s objectives and criteria, limits to the availability of funding, or other considerations.  All Applicants whose projects are conditionally approved will be so notified in writing.

7. General Principles

Applications may fall under one, or both, of the following types of investment.

1) Research and Development
2) Advanced Manufacturing

Applicants can work with ministry staff via the aforementioned one-window portal to finalize their applications, however Applicants ought to be aware that any such ministry assistance does not provide any assurance that the Application will be acceptable and conditionally approved.

Even should a proposal meet all of the program’s objectives and criteria, there is no guarantee that funding will be awarded as all such decisions are at the sole discretion of the ministry 

8. How to Apply

Prior to completing an Expression of Interest, potential Applicants are encouraged to review their proposed Project in the context of the criteria outlined in Appendix A, the “Project Assessment Tool”.  The Project Assessment Tool allows for the testing of a concept or idea for a potential submission to the Biopharmaceutical Investment Program, as it provides details of the criteria used by the Ministry of Research and Innovation to review applications to this program.  This will enable an Applicant to determine whether to apply to the BIP and, if so, ways to strengthen the application.  A high rating result using the Project Assessment Tool does not guarantee that an application will be approved as any approval is at the ministry’s discretion.

The BIP program will use a two stage application process, as follows.  The 1st stage Expression of Interest Form is available on the MRI web site.

1st Stage submission of an Expression of Interest (EoI)	eligibility review high potential Projects invited to submit full application, without guarantee of eventual funding approval
2nd Stage submission of invited Full Application	where relevant, ministry works with Applicant to complete/strengthen application full due diligence review of final Full Application*  (as relevant, business, technical, scientific, financial reviews) approve/decline funding * Please note that the Full Application Form is not available on the ministry’s web site.  It will be sent to those applicants invited to make a 2nd Stage submission

 

9. Selection Criteria

Projects will be assessed on the following criteria.  Detailed information on these criteria is provided in Appendix A, “Project Assessment Tool”.  A subset of these criteria will be used to assess the EoI submissions.

ALIGNMENT	COMMITMENTS	IMPACTS
Alignment with Ontario Strengths	Company Track Record	Jobs
Alignment with Company Strategies and Plans	Investment	Skills
Risk	Collaboration and Partnerships	Building Capacity
Innovation	Follow On Potential	Economic Benefits
	Project Plan

10. Eligible & Ineligible Project Costs

Eligible project costs are one-time costs directly attributable to the development and implementation of the Project, and are detailed in the non-exhaustive lists set out in Appendix B, “Eligible and Ineligible Project Costs”.  Eligible Costs do not include ongoing costs of production or operations. The ministry will have the sole discretion to determine the eligibility of specific cost components for any particular Project.

Only costs incurred and paid after the date of the program launch or April 1, 2008, whichever is earlier, are potentially eligible for reimbursement. For those cases in which the submission date is later than both of the foregoing dates, then only costs which are incurred and paid on and after the submission date, are eligible for reimbursement.

Eligible costs are actual cash outlays (not in-kind contributions) that must be documented through invoices or receipts acceptable to the ministry and are subject to verification by an independent auditor.   Otherwise eligible costs which are paid to parties not at arm’s length to the Applicant must be supported by an auditor’s certificate of fair market value.  Evidence of payment must be maintained for audit purposes.  The ministry’s decisions as to the expenditure eligibility and valuation shall be final and determinative.

11. Eligible Project Start Date

The project start date will be determined by the ministry and will, in all cases, be no earlier than the project cost eligibility date (see 10. Eligible & Ineligible Project Costs for further details on the eligibility date for eligible project costs).

12. Review of Proposals

The following reviews will be undertaken. 1st Stage submission of a completed Expression of Interest (EoI) Form	review of eligibility of proposed Project review to identify high potential applications to invite to submit Full Application, without guarantee of eventual funding approval for R&D proposal, determination of Ontario baseline R&D value
2nd Stage submission of a completed Full Application Form	review to ensure completeness of Full Application relevant external technical and scientific expert review , using criteria outlined in Appendix A, “Project Assessment Tool” review to ensure Project alignment with the Government of Ontario’s strategic priorities final decision is at ministry’s discretion

 

Technical reviews will focus on the Applicant’s technological, managerial and financial ability to achieve the stated objectives of the Project, and the alignment of proposed scientific activities with Ontario’s strategic priorities and strengths.

All external reviewers will be bound by conflict of interest and confidentiality provisions/agreements.  For conflict of interest reasons, employees of pharmaceutical companies and their agents will not be eligible to serve as reviewers.

13. Timeline for Applications & Funding Decisions

Applications may be received at any time during the five-year window of the program (i.e. until March 31, 2013), subject to program changes or prior full allocation of the $150 million.  In the event of prior full allocation of the $150 million, the ministry will provide a notice on its web site.

For conditionally approved Projects:

• a letter of offer will be sent to the Applicant, setting out principal business terms for the Project as negotiated with the company;
• the funding agreement will be prepared after the acceptance of the offer by the company and will be with the Applicant Company only, which assumes responsibility for partners/collaborators to the Project; and
• no payments will be made until the funding agreement has been signed and any conditions for disbursement have been fulfilled. In any case, payments will not be made earlier than April 1, 2008.

Project/Funding Approval

The Minister of Research and Innovation makes the final decision on which Projects to conditionally approve for funding, based on the outcome of the external expert reviews and ministry staff reviews.  Any Minister’s decision not to conditionally approve funding is final and binding.

Confidentiality

The Ministry of Research and Innovation is subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.  The Act provides every person with a right of access to information in the custody or under the control of the ministry, subject to a limited set of exemptions.  Section 17 of the Act provides a limited exemption for third party information that reveals a trade secret or scientific, commercial, technical, financial or labour relations information supplied in confidence where disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in certain harms.  Any trade secret or any scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information submitted to the ministry in confidence should be clearly marked. The ministry will notify you before granting access to a record that might contain information referred to in Section 17 so that you may make representations to the ministry concerning disclosure. 

All external advisers (e.g. technical reviewers, scientific reviewers) to the ministry will be bound by conflict of interest and confidentiality provisions/agreements.  Any trade secret or any scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information submitted to the ministry in confidence by an Applicant should be clearly marked as such.  If there is information that the Applicant does not wish to be shared with external advisers/reviewers, this information should be clearly marked, although the Applicant ought to consider to what degree the ability of the ministry’s external advisers/reviewers to conduct a thorough due diligence review may be adversely impacted.

>>> Continue to Appendix A – Project Assessment Tool