Health-research sector small businesses invited to learn about NIH funding at national conference

The 18th Annual HHS SBIR/STTR Conference is expected to attract nearly 800 participants from around the country.

Small businesses seeking to commercialize health-related technologies in the medical or life science sector can learn how to access more than $870 million in federal funding during the Department of Health and Human Services Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) conference, which will be held in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 15-17, 2016.

“We are hoping businesses take advantage of this opportunity and register to attend the conference.”

—Matthew Portnoy, Ph.D., Coordinator, NIH SBIR/STTR program

“This flagship SBIR/STTR event provides the chance for entrepreneurs and researchers to meet one-on-one with federal representatives, network with each other, and learn how the National Institutes of Health helps small businesses forge new relationships that can help bring technologies and discoveries to market,” said Matthew Portnoy, Ph.D., the NIH SBIR/STTR program coordinator. “We are hoping businesses take advantage of this opportunity and register to attend the conference.”

The 18th Annual HHS SBIR/STTR Conference, titled Shining a Light on Small Business Innovation, will be co-hosted by the State University System of Florida and the University of Central Florida, Orlando, and is expected to attract nearly 800 participants from around the country.

One of the key objectives of the SBIR and STTR programs is to foster and encourage participation in innovation and entrepreneurship by women and socially and economically disadvantaged people. The NIH keynote speaker will be Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and interactive workshops and sessions will feature presentations by women-owned and minority-owned businesses supported by the SBIR/STTR programs.

Attendees will include representatives from NIH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Administration for Community Living, Office of the HHS Inspector General, and the Small Business Administration. Early bird registration is available until August 31, 2016, and a draft agenda is available online at: https://www.regonline.com/sbirsttrorlando(link is external).

About the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) SBIR/STTR program: The HHS Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are designed to help researchers and small businesses forge academic partnerships and build new businesses based on recently developed medical and biotechnology. The conference is hosted in a different location around the country every year. The National Institutes of Health leads HHS SBIR/STTR activities, and more information can be found at: https://sbir.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®