BIO asks Congress to restore SBIR grant eligibility

WASHINGTON The Biotechnology Industry Organization is asking Congress to restore eligibility for many small biotech companies to allow them to compete for Small Business Innovation Research grants.

Small biotech companies have been ineligible to compete for SBIR grants since 2003.

The organization is asking Congress at a Congressional roundtable held by the Senate Committee on small business and entrepreneurship that is preparing for the upcoming reauthorization of the SBIR program, a program designed to support small business innovation.

“By excluding these biotech companies from the SBIR program, a less competitive system is preventing the best science and innovation from being funded. Meanwhile, some companies have taken advantage of the system by receiving hundreds of awards,” said Alan Eisenberg, BIO executive vice president for Emerging Companies and Business Development. “Without SBIR grants, companies have been forced to postpone, sometimes indefinitely, promising new therapies. This is not in the best interest of patients.”