Check Section III of the FOA for detailed eligibility criteria.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program has developed an innovative funding opportunity called the SBIR Phase IIB Bridge Award to support the next stage of development for Federally funded SBIR Phase II projects in the areas of cancer therapeutics, imaging technologies, interventional devices, diagnostics, and prognostics. The purpose of this award is to address the funding gap known as the "Valley of Death" between the end of the SBIR Phase II award and the subsequent round of financing needed to advance a product or service toward commercialization. To achieve this goal, the Bridge Award funding opportunity is specifically designed to incentivize partnerships between Federally-funded SBIR Phase II awardees and third-party investors and/or strategic partners.
For any single year of the project period, budgets up to $2 million total costs may be requested. However, the combined budget requested for the entire project period must not exceed $4 million total costs. Development efforts must address one of the following technical/scientific areas:
NCI intends to commit $12M for up to 10 new awards in FY2021.
Competitive preference and funding priority is given to applications deemed likely to result in a commercial product, as indicated by the applicant's ability to secure substantial independent third-party investor funds (i.e., third-party funds that equal or exceed the requested NCI funds). Examples of third-party investors include, but are not limited to, another company, a venture capital firm, an angel investor, a foundation, a university, a research institution, or a State or local government, or any combination of the above. Applicants must provide a commercialization plan that describes the long-term commercialization strategy and details on any independent third-party investor funding that has already been secured or will be provided during the Bridge Award project period.
An SBIR Phase IIB Bridge Award application must represent a continuation of the R&D efforts performed under a previous Federally-funded SBIR or STTR Phase II award nearing completion or recently ended.
*NOTE: Applicants who intend to submit a Phase IIB Bridge Award application that is predicated on a Phase II award funded by a federal agency other than the NIH or a previous Phase II contract award MUST contact the SBIR Development Center prior to submission, so that the NCI can properly arrange for such applications to be accepted.
See the NCI SBIR Bridge Award Success Stories to learn about all current Bridge Awardees and the cancer technologies they are developing.