Juggling multiple Research and Development projects can significantly stretch any company’s resources, putting cashflow under significant pressure. This was the situation faced by a leading biotech company when it sought to innovate its cleaning product range.
Access to almost £250,000 of R&D Tax Credits proved to be the turning point. It gave this company important backing to develop a safe cleaning substance that could tackle an impressive 99.99% of surface bacteria!
The background: why biotech needs investment
Due to the events of 2020, there is a growing appreciation of the role biotechnology plays in hygiene. But, what is biotech? Put simply, it is a broad area of biology that deals with living organisations and natural processes, harnessing technological advances to find new applications for everyday use. Companies in this field engineer a diverse range of products, from new medical treatments and hygiene measures to disease detection tools and biocatalysts which create fuel efficiency.
For one company, a long track record of success in combining science and technology led to a series of advances with products such as anti-bacterial hand sanitisers and food safety aids.
However, like many other biotech companies, the organisation needed to expand its knowledge and expertise alongside its ability to create feasible commercial solutions. Their ultimate aim was to find a new cleaning product with a competitive edge over similar household brands.
Cash injection from R&D Tax Credits
The work to create a next-generation antibacterial household cleaning product required expert personnel, prototyping activities and various other traditional R&D elements. This made the project a perfect fit for the government’s R&D tax relief scheme.
Having access to this cash underpinned the biotech engineering needed to transform a potentially toxic substance into a safe cleaning agent. Previously, there had been no successful project to harness the anti-bacterial benefits of what was classed as a dangerous and heavily regulated material.
With the support of R&D tax credits, the company was able to develop a method to neutralise the risks and optimise the formula’s performance as a cleaning product. They also worked hard to factor in other variables, including such things as pH level, appearance, fragrance, viscosity and shelf life. On top of this, they had to navigate the legislative controls that impact on biotech firms and the hoops new products need to jump through to become verified and marketable.
However, the hard work paid off and all development milestones were achieved. As such, a much-needed antibacterial cleaning product can now be found on supermarket shelves.
How was R&D tax cash unlocked?
Prior to this important innovation project, the biotech company was unaware that they could qualify for R&D tax credits, which is why they were delighted to receive insightful advice and step-by-step help from R&D Tax Solutions.
Claiming biotech Research and Development tax relief is a complex process, but we helped this company to achieve a much-needed credit benefit of over £240,000.
This is money that will not only help the company to achieve its commercial aims but will also make the world a safer, cleaner place.
Author: Evgeni Vachkov, Business Operations Director, R&D Tax Solutions
