Research, development and innovation for Life Sciences is stimulated by the national and European governments through two different forms of subsidies. This is stimulated on a national level by the provision of tax incentives that result in a rebate. Cash grants are also provided at national and European level. These subsidy schemes are briefly explained in the paragraphs below. The figure below illustrates a set of relevant grants at different stages of innovation for the Life Science and Health Sector, at national and European level (non-exhaustive list).
The WBSO (Tax credit for research and development) is (one of) a well-known tax incentive in the Netherlands. If your company develops a new product, (part of a) production process or software in the Netherlands, you can make use of this incentive. The threshold for qualification is low since the R&D activities only need to be technically new to the company. The benefit to be achieved is a reduction in wage costs and other research-related costs and expenses. In addition to the tax incentives, there are also numerous cash grants to promote Research & Development work at both national and European level. Each of these grants focuses on a specific phase in the development of a project or product. While one type of grant may be relevant for activities that are still in the research phase, other grants may be relevant for activities that are closer to the market.
