Challenge Programme 2027 – Advancing Next Generation AMR Diagnostics for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections

The Challenge Programme 2027 is a research grant competition supporting early-stage proof-of-concept projects to develop rapid, minimally invasive and affordable diagnostics for lower respiratory tract infections and antimicrobial resistance. Grants fund interdisciplinary consortia (2–4 research groups) anchored at research institutions or non-profit organisations, with emphasis on technologies and biomarkers that enable rapid point-of-care testing deployable in global settings. Projects are expected to deliver transformative fundamental knowledge and clinical validity, and for-profit product development is explicitly out of scope.

Research grant funding of DKK 30–75 million per project for up to 6 years (within a total programme budget up to DKK 150 million).

Consortia of 2–4 research groups (main applicant plus 1–3 co-applicants). The main applicant must be an independent tenured/tenure-track researcher employed at a European (EU, Schengen Area or United Kingdom) university, hospital or non-profit research organisation, with at least 75% commitment and guaranteed salary for the project. Co-applicants may be located globally, and at least one applicant (main or co-applicant) must be at least 75% employed and have their research group at a Danish university, hospital or non-profit research organisation at time of submission. Industry partners may collaborate but cannot receive funding.

Two-stage process: Stage 1 is an expression of interest; shortlisted applicants are invited to submit a comprehensive Stage 2 proposal including detailed project plan and budget.