September 16, 2008

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has informed agencies of recent legislative developments affecting the authorization of the SBIR Program, originally set to expire September 30, 2008. SBA has determined that P.L. 110-235 (signed into law on May 25, 2008), temporarily extends through March 20, 2009, all programs authorized under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. SBA’s Acting General Counsel has provided official notification (PDF - 360 KB) to agencies that this extension includes the SBIR program. Therefore, agencies’ responsibilities for the SBIR Program will continue uninterrupted until March 20, 2009. (Note: The STTR Program is reauthorized through September 30, 2009.).

September 5, 2008

NIH announces the availability of a Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) for its SBIR Phase II awardees from the past five years. Now in its fifth year, this program is designed to help some of the nation's most promising life science small companies develop their commercial businesses and transition their SBIR-developed products into the marketplace. New this year is two distinctive tracks that offer customized assistance for both early stage and seasoned companies: Commercialization Training Track and Accelerator Commercialization Track. For details, check the NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-08-113 and also review the full program description at http://nihcap.larta.org/about/ProgramDescription.aspx.

August 19, 2008

NIH has contracted with Foresight Science and Technology to perform Technology Niche Analyses (TNA™) for 75 NIH SBIR Phase I awardees for fiscal year (FY) 2008 and the upcoming FY 2009. For each eligible SBIR Phase I project, the TNA™ will assess potential uses of the technology and result in a report that addresses the end-user needs, current and emerging competing technologies, the market dynamics, and the technology’s competitive advantage. (NOTE: This program is not available to STTR awardees.) For a full description of the program, check the NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-08-100 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-100.html).

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