The National Cancer Institute (NCI) values the important contributions made by small businesses to innovation in cancer research and technology development. To ensure a steady flow of innovative research by small companies, NCI supports the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

The SBIR program encourages small companies to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from commercialization.

The STTR program supports the expansion of public/private partnership to include collaborative opportunities for small businesses and the Nation’s premier nonprofit research institutions.

NCI accepts investigator-initiated proposals of relevance to any subject in cancer research through the NIH Omnibus Solicitation for SBIR and STTR grant applications. NCI also specifically targets the participation of small business in cancer research by issuing focused program announcements that utilize the SBIR and STTR funding mechanisms. Contract opportunities are available through the annually released SBIR contract solicitation.

NCI is committed to assisting private industry in accessing NCI's infrastructure and resources, and has designated OTIR as the primary coordination point for small business opportunities across the institute. Companies interested in exploring SBIR and STTR with NCI are encouraged to contact us.