Overview
Bright Biotech is developing a proprietary plant-based platform for recombinant protein production, with applications in regenerative medicine and advanced cell therapies.
Its R&D project spans several years and highly specialised areas of biotechnology. As the research has progressed, experimental results have created new scientific questions, unexpected findings and areas of investigation, shifting the focus of the work from one financial period to the next.
Since appointing Catalyst Solutions in 2023, Bright Biotech has received over £200,000 in R&D tax relief. Across a project of this scale and scientific complexity, Bright Biotech needed a partner able to identify where the qualifying advances and uncertainties sit, distinguish them from routine or commercial activity, and translate the work into a clear, well-supported claim.
The challenge
Bright Biotech appointed Catalyst Solutions as a first-time R&D tax claimant. At the time, the business had a team of just three people, with its internal resources focused heavily on progressing a highly specialised biotechnology R&D project.
Managing the financial, legislative and submission requirements of an R&D tax claim would have added a significant administrative burden. Bright Biotech therefore needed a partner that could manage the full process with the right expertise.
Choosing a partner with enough scientific depth was particularly important given the nature of the R&D. The project spans chloroplast molecular biology, genetic engineering, recombinant protein expression, protein folding and purification, bioactivity and process scale-up, with the qualifying scientific uncertainties and activities evolving from one financial period to the next. As HMRC has increased its scrutiny of R&D tax relief claims, the work needed to be understood in sufficient depth and translated into a clear, well-supported claim.
Our Approach
Catalyst Solutions manages Bright Biotech’s full R&D tax claim process end to end, bringing scientific, financial and legislative expertise together through one full-service team.
From preparing Bright Biotech’s pre-claim notification and scientific narratives, through to identifying qualifying expenditure, completing the financial calculations and managing the required HMRC submissions, each part of the claim is developed as one integrated process.
For a project as specialised as Bright Biotech’s, this keeps the scientific case and financial claim closely aligned, while giving the client one coordinated team across the full process.
The Outcome
Catalyst Solutions has supported Bright Biotech since 2023, from its early-stage beginnings through to a larger and increasingly advanced biotechnology business. As they have grown and their R&D project has become more complex, Catalyst Solutions has continued to support their claims as the scope of the work has developed.
To date, Bright Biotech has received over £200,000 in R&D tax relief through claims supported by Catalyst Solutions.
The claims have continued to reflect the R&D as the project has developed, with the qualifying scientific work and associated expenditure assessed for each financial period rather than treating it as a static, year-on-year claim.
“What we value most about working with Catalyst Solutions is their ability to really understand the substance of our research and translate it into what is required for an R&D tax submission. Preparing these submissions can be very time-consuming, and Catalyst Solutions takes much of that burden away by understanding the rules, identifying how our R&D work fits within the relevant requirements, and ensuring it is presented appropriately. The R&D tax relief we have received has enabled us to reinvest directly into our research and continue advancing our technology. ”
