SBIR/STTR FAQs

NIAMS participates in the NIH Parent Announcement for the SBIR/STTR program (the omnibus solicitation of SBIR/STTR grant applications -- parent SBIR/STTR clinical trial not allowed).

Please see filtered search results for NIAMS-related small business funding opportunities:

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)

Visit the NIH Grants and Funding page, "How to Apply - Application Guide" for information on how to apply to these opportunities, and additional FAQs to assist with your application.

Please review the description of the NIH review process. The peer review starts with three reviewers who evaluate the application by themselves and give an initial score. Then the review officer ranks all applications based on the average of the initial scores. On the review meeting day, the reviewers discuss the top half of the applications in the study section. Only those discussed applications receive an impact score. The undiscussed ones (bottom half) remain unscored and receive “Not Discussed” status. Every application will receive the reviewer’s critiques in the summary statement, which will be released normally within one month after the review. You can discuss it with the program officer if you have any questions.

NIAMS publishes SBIR/STTR paylines. If the impact score is within the payline, the application will be considered for funding and undergo administrative review, including foreign risk assessment. If the application passes the administrative review, it is most likely it will get funded.

If paylines have not yet been published, applicants are encouraged to contact the program officer with any questions.

NIH is required by the law to notify the funding decisions on the SBIR/STTR applications within 12 months. Even though you knew your application was not going to be funded, NIH still needs to send out the notification within 12 months. The decision on an earlier application does not influence the funding consideration of later submissions.

No-Cost Extensions may be performed automatically one-time by the Signing Official (SO), no earlier than 90 days before the end of the project and no later than the end date. The SO should follow these steps from the NIH eRA Commons to request a no-cost extension.

Note: There can only be one no-cost extension through eRA Commons per grant. If you have applied previously for an extension for this grant, an Extension link will not be available. For the second or third no-cost extension, please visit the NIAMS No-Cost Extensions instructions webpage. 

Unfortunately, the SBIR/STTR Program at NIAMS does not allow clinical trials. However, there are other grant mechanisms that NIAMS participates in that allow for clinical trials. Please see the following from the Grants and Funding/Types of Funding Mechanisms webpage on the NIAMS website that provides all the mechanisms that will permit clinical trials.

Applicants for and recipients of NIH grant funds, whether such funds are received through a grant, indirectly under a contract or consortium agreement, or by a fiscal agent acting on another organization’s behalf, or as student assistance under a training grant, are responsible for and must adhere to all applicable Federal statutes, regulations, and policies, including income tax regulations. Questions concerning the applicability of income tax regulations to grant funds should be directed to the IRS. The applicant also is expected to be in compliance with applicable State and local laws and ordinances.