National Institute of Health (NIH) funding for companies has changed more in the past year than in the previous decade. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) authorization lapsed on October 1, 2025, NIH closed its small business funding announcements in November, and companies went roughly nine months without a way to submit. The programs were reauthorized in April 2026, but the restart has created a logjam: pent-up applications, rescheduled peer review and award timelines that now stretch well into 2027.
Duane Morris Partner Rebecca Guzman was joined by Heath Naquin, senior vice president of innovation and new ventures of the University City Science Center, and Shannon Bass, executive consultant and co-owner of BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting, to discuss:
- Where the NIH SBIR/STTR pipeline stands after the restart and realistic timelines from submission to award.
- How multiyear funding and the end of paylines change the odds and the strategy.
- What staffing changes mean for program officer access and award processing.
- What foreign-risk due diligence examines and how to prepare your cap table, investors and partners before you apply.
- When to look beyond NIH, including the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, Biomedical Advanced Research and Developmental Authority and other agencies, and how to sequence federal funding with private capital.