NOT-OD-05-069: NIH Offers Commercialization Assistance Program to SBIR Phase II Awardees

Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)

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NIH Offers Commercialization Assistance Program to SBIR Phase II Awardees

Notice Number: NOT-OD-05-069

Key Dates
Release Date: August 23, 2005

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov/)

Purpose

NIH announces the availability of a Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) for its 2000 through 2005 SBIR Phase II awardees. This program was previously limited to only current Phase II SBIR awardees and the pool of eligible grantees is now expanded to include any SBIR Phase II company who has received a Phase II award since January 1, 2000, to present. (NOTE: This program is not available to STTR awardees.) Those who were previously notified to participate in this year's CAP program and have already applied, need not apply again as their applications have been received and are being considered. Only those companies that meet the SBIR small business eligibility criteria as described in the NIH SBIR/STTR Omnibus solicitation are eligible to apply (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbirsttr1/index.doc (MS word) or http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbirsttr1/index.pdf (PDF)).

The CAP is designed to help some of the nation's most promising life science startups develop their commercial business. NIH has engaged the services of Larta Institute to help implement the program. Over a ten-month period, each participant will:

Work in regular consultations with a Larta Institute Principal Advisor, who will work with the company through the course of the program on their commercialization strategy and equip them with the tools to address their commercialization challenges.
Participate in two workshops to learn about pertinent commercialization issues, acquire valuable business skills, and meet with and get feedback from advisors, industry representatives, and investors
Have the opportunity to participate in the NIH Life Sciences Showcase, the culminating event of the CAP, to showcase their company to a national audience of investors and industry
Have access to a wide network of legal, finance, and industry experts
Gain exposure to and create contacts within the life science industry and investment community
Network with fellow CAP participants and explore partnerships and business opportunities with them

Applicants must be SBIR Phase II awardees that are seeking to advance their commercialization progress and willing to invest substantial time and effort to accomplish one or more of the following:

Find investors
Develop or improve strategic business planning
Develop licensing opportunities
Establish strategic partnerships
Seek regulatory approvals and perform clinical trials

Detailed program information, eligibility requirements, and application instructions are available at http://www.larta.org/nihcap/NIHProgramDescription.pdf. The deadline for submitting an application is September 9, 2005. Approximately 125 companies will be selected to participate.

The CAP program is managed by Larta Institute under a contract from NIH. General inquiries about the CAP may be addressed to:

Ms. Ketaki Sood
Larta Institute
714 West Olympic Blvd., Ste. 750
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Telephone: (213) 765-4824
Email: ksood@larta.org

Ms. Kay Etzler
NIH SBIR/STTR Program
Office of Extramural Programs
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 360
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 435-2713
FAX: (301) 480-0146
Email: sbir@od.nih.gov

Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices