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    Eurostars Funding for Biotech: Call 12 Guide (2027)

    October 19, 20267 min readUpdated
    Neta Kela, PhDWritten byNeta Kela, PhDFounder & Managing Partner

    Short answer: Eurostars funding is the main EU-linked grant route for SME-led, cross-border R&D projects, and Eurostars Call 12 opens on 17 December 2026 with a deadline of 4 March 2027 (14:00 Brussels time). Funding is paid by each partner's national agency, so rates and caps differ by country, and a few countries have no national budget for Call 12. Partner geography is therefore a funding decision, not only a scientific one.

    Eurostars is run by the Eureka network and co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe as part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs. Projects are evaluated centrally, but each participant is paid by its own national agency. That split explains most of the strategy behind a strong application.

    What is Eurostars funding and who can apply?

    Eurostars funds market-oriented R&D projects led by innovative SMEs, in any technology area, including biotech, diagnostics and medtech. An application must meet seven international eligibility criteria, and failing any one of them means rejection:

    • The consortium is led by an innovative SME from a Eurostars country.
    • It includes at least two entities that are independent of one another.
    • Those entities come from at least two Eurostars countries, with at least one organisation from an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
    • SMEs from Eurostars countries carry 50% or more of total project costs (excluding subcontracting).
    • No single participant or country accounts for more than 70% of the budget.
    • Project duration is 36 months or less.
    • The project has an exclusive focus on civil applications.

    Universities, research organisations and large companies can join as partners. Whether they receive money depends on national rules.

    When are the Eurostars Call 11 and Call 12 deadlines?

    Call 11 opened on 9 July 2026 and closed on 10 September 2026 (14:00 CET). Austria's FFG, for example, says Call 11 funding decisions will be communicated by December 2026.

    Call 12 is the next window:

    MilestoneDate
    Call 12 opens17 December 2026
    Applicant webinarPlanned for January 2027
    International deadline4 March 2027, 14:00 Brussels time
    National applicationRequired in many countries; timing varies by agency
    Submission platformmyeurekaproject.org

    Track these dates alongside other programmes on the PXM EU funding calendar.

    How much does each country fund?

    There is no single Eurostars grant rate. Each national agency sets its own caps, rates and eligible organisation types. Figures below are indicative, taken from the Eureka Call 11 country information, and should be confirmed with the national agency before you build a budget.

    Country (agency)Who is fundedIndicative rateIndicative cap
    United Kingdom (Innovate UK)SMEs onlyUp to 60% of project costsEUR 360,000 per project (shared by UK partners)
    Germany (BMFTR)SMEs, research organisations, universities (no large companies)SMEs up to 50%EUR 500,000 for all German partners per project
    Denmark (Innovation Fund Denmark)Per national rulesDepends on organisation typeEUR 300,000 per participant, EUR 500,000 for all Danish participants
    Netherlands (RVO)SMEs, large companies, research organisations, universitiesSMEs up to 50%EUR 500,000 for Dutch partners per project
    Sweden (Vinnova)SMEs, large companies, research organisations, universitiesSMEs up to 50%SEK 5 million per project for SMEs
    Austria (FFG)Companies and research institutionsSmall companies up to 60%EUR 500,000 per project

    The practical consequence: two consortia with identical science can receive very different total funding depending on where the partners sit.

    Which countries will not fund Call 12?

    Not every Eurostars country allocates national budget to every call. For Call 12, national agencies have confirmed that some participating countries, including Italy and Cyprus, will not allocate budget. A company from a non-funding country can still take part, but it must cover its own share of the costs.

    That has three knock-on effects for consortium design:

    1. The unfunded partner still counts. Its costs sit inside the project budget and the 50% SME and 70% concentration rules, but it receives no grant.
    2. Leadership should sit with a funded SME. The lead carries the heaviest workload. An unfunded lead is a hard case to make internally.
    3. The 70% rule bites. If only one or two partners are funded, budgets tend to concentrate in one country, and no country may exceed 70%.

    Check the current national funding status for every partner country before you sign a consortium agreement. It can change between calls.

    How do you build a fundable Eurostars consortium?

    Strong biotech applications usually share a few design choices:

    • A clear SME lead with a commercial plan. Eurostars is market-oriented. Evaluators look at impact and market potential, not only the science, so show who will buy the result and how.
    • Partners chosen for funding and capability. Map each candidate partner's national rules (who is funded, at what rate, up to what cap) before you fix the work plan.
    • A balanced budget. Spread work so no participant or country exceeds 70%, and keep the SME share at 50% or more.
    • A realistic 36-month plan. For biotech, that often means a defined preclinical package, a validated diagnostic prototype or a manufacturing step, rather than a full clinical program.
    • National applications on time. Many agencies require a parallel national submission with its own deadline.

    For larger, multi-partner research projects, Horizon Europe health calls may be a better fit. See our overview of Horizon Europe health calls for 2027 and the wider EU and UK non-dilutive funding landscape for biotech.

    Eurostars Call 12 readiness checklist

    • Confirm your company meets the EU SME definition and can lead as an innovative SME
    • Choose a lead SME from a country that funds Call 12
    • Check each partner's national rules (who is funded, rate, cap)
    • Confirm the Call 12 funding status of every partner country
    • Model the budget: SME share 50% or more, no country or partner above 70%
    • Keep the plan within 36 months and civil-only
    • Register on myeurekaproject.org before December
    • Map national application deadlines for every partner country

    Check your EU funding eligibility with PXM

    PXM's fund practice builds and leads EU non-dilutive funding applications, including Eurostars, EIC Accelerator, EIC Pathfinder and Transition, Horizon Europe, IHI and national programmes. We structure the consortium, model country-by-country funding and write the proposal.

    Call 12 opens in December. Teams that lock partners and budgets before then have the full window for writing. Contact PXM to check your eligibility, or see how the PXM fund practice works.

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