The World Health Organisation has declared COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern according to the International Health Regulation.
To date, over 2.5 million of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide including over 170,000 deaths. COVID-19 is affecting over 200 countries and territories around the world, with new cases continuing to emerge daily.
The Malta Council for Science and Technology and Malta Enterprise Corporation have reacted to the challenges surrounding the current unprecedented circumstances by designing a national fund entitled the “COVID-19 R&D Fund”. This initiative has been possible through the support of the Ministry for Finance and Financial Services, and the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses.
The €5.3 Million COVID-19 R&D Fund is to target public, academic and private entities. As a funding mechanism, it will enable R&D on COVID-19 as a departure point, yet with outcomes not only addressing innovative and/or improved approaches related to the current pandemic, but also potential future waves and other antiviral relevant research.
Eligible projects, including those projects having received a COVID-19 specific Seal of Excellence, are those projects that have started on or after 1 February 2020, but not later than 31 December 2020. The duration of the project should be a maximum of eighteen (18) months.
The Rules for Participation and the Application Form for the COVID-19 R&D Fund may be found below.
National Rules COVID-19 Fund State Aid
National Rules COVID-19 Fund Non-State Aid
Undertaking in Difficulty Form
Enterprise Size Declaration Form
Any queries can be forwarded to ri.mcst@gov.mt
Melchior Cini – Contact point for academic and public entity applicants
Corinne Muscat Terribile – Contact point for private entity applicants
Sarah Ghose Roy – Cross-sector contact point
Claire Grima – Malta Enterprise Representative
More information on the Temporary Framework to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak: https://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/what_is_new/covid_19.html
CALL CLOSED
Projects Awarded
| Project Reference | Title | Beneficiaries | Granted Amount (€) |
| COV.RD.2020.03 (CoV-plex) | Development of a multiplex assay to determine SARS-CoV-2 strains and specific antibody producing transcripts | University of Malta & Omnigene Medical Technologies | €622,510 |
| COV.RD.2020.11 (TargetID) | Novel Drug Targets for Infectious Diseases | University of Malta | €1,992,424.00 |
| COV.RD.2020.22 (ACE) | Rapid Development of an Innovative Therapeutic Approach against SARS-CoV-2 | University of Malta | €331,391 |
| COV.RD.2020.25 (SANITAS) | Infectious Disease Prevention using Plasma-Activated Solutions | University of Malta | €477,325 |
Last updated: 24th April 2020
This article was last updated on: January 25, 2021