The Cutting Edge of Medical Technology Content, Community & Collaboration
U.S. SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Program ... Set to Expire 31 July 2009
Colleagues,
As reported in the New York Times ... the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program) is set to expire on July 31, 2009 unless Congress acts to reauthorize it...
... Inaugurated in 1982, SBIR is an effort to spread federal research funds to small businesses. The program requires federal departments & agencies that spend more than $100 million in grants for extramural research to set aside 2.5% for small business. (“small business” means fewer than 500 employees). Currently, 11 departments & agencies participate in the program, which recommends grants up to $100,000 in Phase 1, the early, exploratory stage of a project, and up to $750,000 in Phase 2, a two-year follow-on phase...
... In 2007, $1.9 billion in SBIR funds were awarded ... A second, smaller program, the Small Business Technology Transfer (S.T.T.R.) program requires the five agencies that spend more than $1 billion on extramural research to set aside an additional 0.3% for partnerships between small firms and nonprofit/educational institutions...
... For small firms, SBIR/STTR is basically, non-dilutive, interest free money, without strings — the intellectual property is theirs to keep, and hopefully profit from. Moreover, the programs’ imprimatur is often useful in landing later stages of private capital. The Government benefits from newly commercialized technology, either in the general sense of society benefiting from it, or directly, as in the case of the Department of Defense, Energy and NASA, as a customer ...
... Last week, the Senate did its part to reauthorize SBIR, but its version is markedly different from the House bill passed July 8, 2009. Now Congress faces the difficult task of reconciling the two visions of how the government should harness the power of small firms to innovate, and the competing interests are choosing sides. The bills pit companies with venture funding against those without it — and research institutions against them both...
... The House bill allows venture capital companies to own a majority stake in a SBIR grantee, and raises the recommended grant ceiling to $250,000 for Phase 1 and $2 million for Phase 2 ... It also creates new priorities/preferences for research topics (renewable energy, medical technology, rare diseases, mass transit, nanotechnology and “water delivery systems”) and for applicants (from rural areas, places that have high unemployment or have lost a major employer; firms owned by Native Americans or other minorities, & firms owned by veterans)...
... The Senate’s version of the bill permits small companies controlled by venture firms to compete for up to 18% of SBIR funds set aside at NIH (to accomodate biotech firms). At all other agencies, these VC backed firms can compete for up to 8% ... The Senate would increase Phase 1 to $150,000, and Phase 2 to $1 million, with a cap at 50% over these amounts. And the Senate would gradually raise the total SBIR set-aside to 3.5% by 2020, and double the STTR set-aside to .6% by 2015...
Interesting times!
Read on at: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/how-should-government-spur...
ENJOY!
CC
As reported in the New York Times ... the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program) is set to expire on July 31, 2009 unless Congress acts to reauthorize it...
... Inaugurated in 1982, SBIR is an effort to spread federal research funds to small businesses. The program requires federal departments & agencies that spend more than $100 million in grants for extramural research to set aside 2.5% for small business. (“small business” means fewer than 500 employees). Currently, 11 departments & agencies participate in the program, which recommends grants up to $100,000 in Phase 1, the early, exploratory stage of a project, and up to $750,000 in Phase 2, a two-year follow-on phase...
... In 2007, $1.9 billion in SBIR funds were awarded ... A second, smaller program, the Small Business Technology Transfer (S.T.T.R.) program requires the five agencies that spend more than $1 billion on extramural research to set aside an additional 0.3% for partnerships between small firms and nonprofit/educational institutions...
... For small firms, SBIR/STTR is basically, non-dilutive, interest free money, without strings — the intellectual property is theirs to keep, and hopefully profit from. Moreover, the programs’ imprimatur is often useful in landing later stages of private capital. The Government benefits from newly commercialized technology, either in the general sense of society benefiting from it, or directly, as in the case of the Department of Defense, Energy and NASA, as a customer ...
... Last week, the Senate did its part to reauthorize SBIR, but its version is markedly different from the House bill passed July 8, 2009. Now Congress faces the difficult task of reconciling the two visions of how the government should harness the power of small firms to innovate, and the competing interests are choosing sides. The bills pit companies with venture funding against those without it — and research institutions against them both...
... The House bill allows venture capital companies to own a majority stake in a SBIR grantee, and raises the recommended grant ceiling to $250,000 for Phase 1 and $2 million for Phase 2 ... It also creates new priorities/preferences for research topics (renewable energy, medical technology, rare diseases, mass transit, nanotechnology and “water delivery systems”) and for applicants (from rural areas, places that have high unemployment or have lost a major employer; firms owned by Native Americans or other minorities, & firms owned by veterans)...
... The Senate’s version of the bill permits small companies controlled by venture firms to compete for up to 18% of SBIR funds set aside at NIH (to accomodate biotech firms). At all other agencies, these VC backed firms can compete for up to 8% ... The Senate would increase Phase 1 to $150,000, and Phase 2 to $1 million, with a cap at 50% over these amounts. And the Senate would gradually raise the total SBIR set-aside to 3.5% by 2020, and double the STTR set-aside to .6% by 2015...
Interesting times!
Read on at: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/how-should-government-spur...
ENJOY!
CC
Views: 1
MedTechIQ VideoLibrary
Upcoming Events
© 2025 Created by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight.
Powered by
