Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - August 14, 2007
Melissa Frederick, melissa.frederick@dcexaminer.com
Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., introduced S.1932 this month to double the amount of funding for the Small Business Innovation Research program over the next five years. Current law requires federal agencies with research and development budgets of more than $100 million to set aside 2.5 percent of its awards for small business. Under the new bill, the agencies would have to put aside 5 percent. The SBIR program is a key way for start-up technology companies in the area to get off the ground. In Maryland, for example, about 425 companies have received an SBIR grant, according to the Maryland Technology Development Corp. Web site.
"It's been somewhat underfunded, so the prospect of possibly getting more money is good news," TEDCO Vice President John Wasilisin said. "A lot of businesses either don't know about it or are turned off by the red tape."
SBIR grants are extremely competitive, according to Judith Kelleher-Andersson, president of Neuronascent Inc., a Clarksburg-based firm working on treatments for stroke and depression, which has tried three times, unsuccessfully, to get an SBIR grant.
"You usually have to submit at least twice before you get one, even if you're doing innovative science," Kelleher-Andersson said. "As they put more money in, there is a chance of getting money earlier, which is really critical for a small company."
The funding can be key for companies doing work investors might shy away from, said Frank Robey, president of Gaithersburg-based AriaVax, an SBIR recipient.
"We do HIV vaccines, and nobody in their right mind invests in that; that's the only way we can advance this product," he said.
Robey and Kelleher-Andersson said investors tend to look kindly upon SBIR recipients because it's an endorsement of the science behind a product. The grants can also serve as the only way for companies to get feedback on the viability of their technology, since even unsuccessful applicants receive a detailed review from experts in their field.
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