Notice Number: NOT-OD-09-145

Key Dates
Release Date: August 27, 2009

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

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to announce the availability of a Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) for NIH SBIR Phase II awardees. Now in its sixth year, this program is designed to help NIH SBIR Phase II awardees develop their commercial businesses and transition their SBIR-developed products into the marketplace. Through a contract with Larta Institute of Los Angeles, CA, the CAP will provide participants with individualized assistance toward accomplishing their commercialization goals.

The 2009-2010 CAP will begin in October 2009 and will conclude in July 2010.  With two distinctive tracks, the program offers customized assistance to meet the specific needs of both early stage and seasoned companies: Commercialization Training Track (CTT), and Accelerated Commercialization Track (ACT), respectively.  Each is different in their objectives and outcomes.

The Commercialization Training Track (for which 60 slots are available) is customized for early stage companies in need of establishing a strong basic understanding of the industry/marketplace dynamics before presenting themselves to potential partners. Participants in CTT will acquire or enhance their skills and tools and create the infrastructure, documentation, and business models needed to become viable commercial partners.

The Accelerated Commercialization Track (for which 20 slots are available) is an accelerated customized program designed for high-performing SBIR awardees.  Unlike the CTT, this is not a training program.  The goal is to target the most critical issues pertinent to the participant and to achieve a desired commercialization outcome Participants in this track may very well complete the program in as short as three months. This track is most appropriate for those companies that have commercialized other products, have clearly-defined markets and partners, or have raised financing through institutional channels.

All NIH SBIR awardees (grantees and contractors) that have a Phase II award that is active or was active in the past six years are eligible to participate. Participants must, however, meet the SBIR small business eligibility criteria as described in the current SBIR Parent Funding Opportunity Announcement available from the NIH Small Business Funding Opportunities website https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm. Please note that this program is not available to STTR awardees.

CAP participation is free of charge for selected participating companies; however, participants are responsible for travel and lodging expenses associated with attending workshops and partnering investment events. NOTE:  NIH will not provide additional funding for this purpose; however, participants with a currently active Phase II SBIR award may rebudget funds within the total costs awarded to cover allowable travel expenses for CAP events without NIH prior approval unless the rebudgeting action constitutes a change in scope or if the terms of award prohibit the use of funds for this purpose.  

Detailed program information and application instructions are available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/cap/index.htm. The deadline for submitting an application is September 14, 2009. Eighty (80) companies will be selected to participate in this year’s NIH CAP (60 for CTT and 20 for ACT).

Inquiries

General inquiries about the CAP may be addressed to:

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

Or

Ms. Judy Hsieh
Programs Manager
Larta Institute
606 Olive Street Suite 650
Los Angeles, California 90014
Telephone: 213-538-1444 Ext: 144
E-mail: jhsieh@larta.org

Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

	Office of Extramural Research (OER)			National Institutes of Health (NIH) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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