The 27 winners — who will contribute an additional Ft 4.5 billion 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 Zoltán Bay Applied Research Foundation. The consortium won a Ft 1 billion grant to research nanotechnology in the field of medicine.

Richter will contribute Ft 300 million 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. Bogsch said he could not say how much revenue the drug would generate when asked by MTI.

A consortium led by vehicle maker Rába won a Ft 894 million grant to develop integrated vehicle parts and technology. Rába will contribute Ft 300 million to the project. A third winner introduced by NKTH was Experimetria, which won a Ft 400 million grant to develop a heart monitor for patients under extreme stress. NKTH has Ft 30 billion 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 Ft 20 billion to 55 applicants. (MTI-Econews)