NIH SBIR and STTR awards and R&D opportunities
NIH's institutes fund biomedical and health technology through SBIR and STTR grants, mostly through omnibus funding opportunities that accept investigator-initiated ideas, plus some contract topics. NIH's official SBIR/STTR site has its current topics and deadlines.
- Awards, 2022–2026
- 4,950
- Awarded
- $4.6 billion
- Phase II share
- 39%
- Open NIH R&D notices
- 30
Open NIH R&D opportunities, due soonest
30 open notices on SAM.gov have an R&D NAICS code or a BAA, SBIR, STTR or commercial solutions opening in the title.
- SURPASS Webinar and Proposers' Day Information
Due in 2 daysOct 13, 2026
- Simulation-augmented, Real-time Platform Adaptive Seamless Trials (SURPASS)
Due in 2 daysOct 13, 2026
- Restorative and health-Enhancing Sleep Time (REST)
✦ ARPA-H, a federal health research agency, is seeking proposals for its REST program on objective, home-based, closed-loop sleep technologies that detect sleep patterns and…
Due in 2 daysOct 13, 2026
- UNifying Imaging with QUantum Entanglement (UNIQUE) Proposers' Day
Due in 3 daysOct 14, 2026
- Area of Interest under PHO ISO: ASCENT-IBO
Due in 5 daysOct 15, 2026
- Systems for Phenotypic Evaluation, Clinical Trajectories, Response, and Agency (SPECTRA)
✦ ARPA-H, a federal health research agency, is asking for ideas for SPECTRA, a research program on autism that follows how people's health and development change over a lifetime…
Due in 8 daysOct 18, 2026
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Get R&D alertsNIH and the 2026 SBIR restart
SBIR and STTR lapsed from October 1, 2025 until the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act reauthorized them on April 13, 2026, through September 30, 2031. NIH issued new SBIR (PA-27-100) and STTR (PA-27-102) funding opportunities on May 28, 2026, with standard due dates of September 5, January 5 and April 5. HHS now limits each company to nine new Phase I, Fast-Track and Direct to Phase II applications per fiscal year.
NIH SBIR and STTR awards by year
| Award year | Phase I | Phase II | Dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 647 | 456 | $744.9 million |
| 2024 | 705 | 476 | $1.2 billion |
| 2023 | 819 | 520 | $1.4 billion |
| 2022 | 825 | 502 | $1.3 billion |
| 2021 | 840 | 473 | $1.2 billion |
| 2020 | 827 | 525 | $1.3 billion |
| 2019 | 1,122 | 473 | $1.2 billion |
| 2018 | 1,110 | 406 | $1 billion |
| 2017 | 892 | 479 | $1 billion |
| 2016 | 863 | 441 | $936.4 million |
985 of the 4,950 awards since 2022 were STTR, which requires a research institution partner.
2025 and 2026 are low because the programs' authority lapsed from October 2025 to April 2026, and because agencies report new awards to SBIR.gov months late (some agencies' newest reported awards are from 2024 or 2025).
Top NIH SBIR recipients
Small businesses with the most NIH SBIR and STTR dollars since 2022:
| Company | State | Awards | Dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epicypher, Inc. | NC | 23 | $40.5 million |
| Helixbind, Inc. | MA | 8 | $21.1 million |
| Biosensics LLC | MA | 15 | $19.7 million |
| Rise Therapeutics, LLC | MD | 12 | $16.6 million |
| Redbud Labs, Inc. | NC | 10 | $15.6 million |
| Minnesota Healthsolutions Corporation | MN | 17 | $15.4 million |
| Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc | NC | 9 | $15.2 million |
| Kephera Diagnostics LLC | MA | 9 | $14.5 million |
| Pascall Systems, Incorporated | MA | 11 | $14.2 million |
| Sanaria Inc. | MD | 9 | $14 million |
| Celdara Medical, LLC | NH | 12 | $13.9 million |
| Turing Medical Technologies Inc | MO | 6 | $13.8 million |
| Physical Sciences Inc. | MA | 14 | $13.6 million |
| Microbrightfield, LLC | VT | 6 | $13 million |
| Inhalon Biopharma, Inc. | NC | 7 | $12.8 million |
Newest NIH SBIR and STTR awards
| Awarded | Company | Project | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2025 | Electric Indigo | SBIR Phase I Indigo Eyewear for Treating Myopia Progression | $356,807 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Neovascularx, Inc. | SBIR Phase I Topical Ophthalmic Treatment for Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration (nAMD) | $305,321 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Revbio, Inc. | SBIR Phase II Improved Treatment Options for Vertebral Compression Fractures in Elderly Patients Using Minimally… | $2 million |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Molecular Instruments, Inc. | SBIR Phase I Advancing Probe Technology for Ultrasensitive RNA Imaging via Hybridization Chain Reaction | $306,788 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | XR Navigation Inc | SBIR Phase II Developing and Evaluating Visual, Auditory, and Tactile and Text Digital Thematic Map Viewer to Provide… | $1 million |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Bluebird Photonics, Inc | SBIR Phase I Novel light source development for robust multi-MHz retinal OCT | $305,853 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Quantumbio Inc | SBIR Phase I Addressing Structural Disorder and Conformational Heterogeneity in Modern Therapeutic Modalities: A Unified… | $254,182 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | N'waii Inc. | SBIR Phase I First in Class Mitochondrially targeted antioxidants with transcriptional modulator capabilities and their… | $348,800 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Kuria Therapeutics, Inc | SBIR Phase I IND-enabling studies of KTX-1161, a novel NRF2 activator for corneal endothelial disease | $399,865 |
| Sep 26, 2025 | Kommodo Holdings Corp. | STTR Phase I Engineered Memory T cells as a Platform to Treat Enzymopathies | $304,838 |
| Sep 26, 2025 | DFH Pharma, Inc | SBIR Phase II IND-Enabling Development of HIV Maturation Inhibitors Formulated for use as either Oral or Long-Acting… | $986,894 |
| Sep 26, 2025 | Eysz, Inc. | SBIR Phase I Detecting Absence Seizures Using Hyperventilation In a Home Environment | $545,156 |
Frequently asked questions
How many SBIR awards does NIH make?
National Institutes of Health (NIH) made 4,950 SBIR and STTR awards worth $4.6 billion from 2022 through the latest SBIR.gov data, 1,954 of them Phase II. The average Phase I award was about $363,611 and average Phase II about $1.8 million.
Where does NIH post SBIR topics?
On its official SBIR/STTR site (seed.nih.gov). Related R&D solicitations and broad agency announcements are also posted on SAM.gov.
Is NIH accepting SBIR proposals in 2026?
SBIR and STTR lapsed from October 1, 2025 until the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act reauthorized them on April 13, 2026, through September 30, 2031. NIH issued new SBIR (PA-27-100) and STTR (PA-27-102) funding opportunities on May 28, 2026, with standard due dates of September 5, January 5 and April 5. HHS now limits each company to nine new Phase I, Fast-Track and Direct to Phase II applications per fiscal year.
Other SBIR agencies
Award data from SBIR.gov's public award file, updated monthly; contact and researcher names are left out. Open notices from SAM.gov, updated daily.