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NCI SBIR outlines Investor Initiatives that help portfolio companies pitch to investors; applications open January 2025
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Summary
The National Cancer Institute SBIR program described its Investor Initiatives podcast: an annual showcase that selects roughly 30–40 portfolio companies to pitch at industry events to attract follow-on financing and partnerships. The program cites past cohort outcomes and opens its next application cycle in January 2025.
Billy Baza, program director at the National Cancer Institute Small Business Innovation Research (NCI SBIR) Development Center, opened the Innovation Lab episode by inviting Bridal Connors, identified in the episode as director of investor relations for NCI SBIR, to describe the program’s Investor Initiatives.
Connors said Investor Initiatives is centered on an annual showcase that helps SBIR- and STTR-funded companies connect with potential investors and strategic partners at established industry events such as BIO and RESI. "We’re really, you know, seeing the technologies in our portfolio and the companies in our portfolio that are ready to go out and pitch to attract either their initial funding…or start attracting partnerships," she said.
Why it matters: Connors emphasized that the SBIR program’s public funding is intended to advance technologies toward patients and markets. "The 200 or so million dollars that we’re giving out on an annual basis is taxpayer dollars and we wanna be sure that those taxpayer dollars are funding things that can actually commercialize, can actually get to patients," she said, framing the showcase as part of the program’s effort to improve firms’ commercial readiness.
How the selection works: Connors described a yearlong cycle. Applications open each January for eligible companies (typically firms that received a Phase 1 award within the past two years or a Phase 2 award within the past four years). A review committee of roughly 70 investors and strategic partners—matched to technology areas—scores about 100 applications. After reviewer calls in early June (separate therapeutics and MedTech sessions), NCI SBIR selects about 30–40 companies to sponsor for fall and winter industry events.
Program scale and examples: Connors said the office supports some 400–450 projects in its portfolio and noted private capital is usually required beyond SBIR awards. "Here at NCI, if you go through our Phase 1 to bridge award, you can get up to around $7,000,000 per project," she said, adding that additional funding is often needed for commercialization. She cited a published program review in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science covering 2016–2019 and reported that of 117 companies supported, 32 reported completed deals as of April 2020.
A company example: Connors highlighted Carevive, an EHR-integrated cancer care management platform. According to the episode, Carevive received a Phase 1 contract in 2018, participated in Investor Initiatives in 2019, met an investor transcribed in the recording as "De BioPharm," raised an oversubscribed $18,000,000 Series C in 2021, participated again in 2022 and was subsequently acquired.
Upcoming cycle and cohort details: Connors said the next application cycle opens January 2025 and that eligible companies will receive email notices from NCI SBIR staff. She described the current cohort as 30 companies (14 therapeutics, 7 devices, 6 diagnostics/tools and 3 digital health companies) and listed events the program will attend, including BioPharm America/LSX World Congress, RESI Boston, Life Science Summit, Bio Investor Forum, MedTech conferences and JPM-related events.
Recruitment and constraints: Connors invited professionals with oncology expertise—angels, VCs and corporate venture capitalists—to serve as reviewers and provided examples of organizations represented on review panels (Siemens, Varian, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Merck, RA Capital, Orbomed, Arch Venture Partners). She also noted a compliance constraint on direct outreach: NCI staff cannot unilaterally introduce companies to investors and therefore rely on an opt-in introduction process so investors may request introductions.
Contact and resources: The episode directs listeners to sbir.cancer.gov for funding opportunities and commercialization resources and offers a phone number for inquiries. The hosts closed by crediting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute for producing the podcast.
The episode closed by reiterating that applications open in January 2025 and encouraging eligible companies to monitor communications from NCI SBIR.
