# SR&ED for Biotech & Life Sciences Companies | GrantOps

Biotechnology and life sciences R&D is a cornerstone of the SR&ED program. Drug development, clinical research, medical device innovation, diagnostic assay development, and formulation science involve inherent technological uncertainty and systematic investigation — making them prime candidates for SR&ED tax credits.

## What Biotech R&D Qualifies for SR&ED?

Life sciences projects that typically qualify include:

- Drug discovery and development — from target identification through preclinical and clinical stages
- Medical device design and testing where outcomes are technically uncertain
- Diagnostic assay development, including novel biomarker identification and validation
- Formulation research — testing new drug delivery systems, excipients, or stability profiles
- Bioinformatics and computational biology research involving novel algorithms or analytical methods
- Cell line development, protein engineering, and gene therapy research
- Agricultural biotechnology — crop genetics, fermentation optimization, and biological pest control
- Regulatory science — developing novel testing methodologies to meet Health Canada or FDA requirements

## SR&ED Rates for Biotech Companies

- **CCPCs**: 35% refundable credit on first $3M of qualifying expenditures — covers researcher salaries, lab materials consumed, and subcontractor costs
- **Other corporations**: 15% non-refundable credit
- **Provincial top-ups**: Ontario (10%), Quebec (up to 30%), BC (10%), Alberta (8%)

Materials consumed during experimentation (reagents, cell lines, biological samples) are fully claimable. GrantOps helps biotech companies document their systematic investigation and generate audit-ready T661 narratives.

- Automate your SR&ED claim: https://grantops.ai/en/automate-sred/
- Full SR&ED guide: https://grantops.ai/en/sred/
- Get started: https://app.grantops.ai