Industry Urges Congress to Revise Small Business Funding Program

The House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology recently held a hearing on legislation that would revamp small business innovation research (SBIR) and related Small Business Technology Transfer programs. However, the Small Business Administration restricts SBIR grants distributed through the NIH to companies with less than 50 percent VC ownership. “This is a catch-22 situation,” Brett Loper, AdvaMed’s senior executive vice president of government affairs, said at the hearing. “It is far more attractive for a venture group to invest in risky technology if there is a track record of SBIR successes.”
Devices & Diagnostics Letter