NIH funded $1 billion in investments that drove critical biomedical innovation and discovery
A new interactive mapping tool from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) showcases some of the many small businesses that have developed successful healthcare products with the help of NIH small business funding, which totals over $1 billion annually, states a NIH press release.
Highlighting 50-plus small businesses across the United States, the interactive map links to the story behind healthcare products and services that the NIH small business program has supported through grants. NIH small business funding, for example, helped set the stage for BioMedomics of North Carolina to pivot from a rapid blood test for diagnosing sickle cell disease to a rapid COVID-19 blood test that provides results within 15 minutes. The company recently teamed up with BD, a global medical technology company, to distribute the test in the U.S pending authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.
The interactive tool can also help users find stories by stage of development, funding institute, woman or minority owned businesses, and more. Investors can get a good understanding for how NIH involvement strengthens cutting-edge technologies that move toward improved patient access, while entrepreneurs can be inspired by the successes of their peers. Additionally, Congressional representatives can find NIH-funded small business successes in their own state or district using the filters. The first 50 stories are just the start — stories will be added regularly to highlight NIH-supported small businesses that are changing people’s lives.
“It’s important to show how NIH funding and support helps innovators convert their laboratory discoveries into solutions that address some of the nation’s highest healthcare priorities,” said Dr. Matthew McMahon, director of NIH’s Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) office. “In the end, the public benefits by gaining access to a stream of innovative new therapies and cures.”
Select a pin in San Francisco and read about the tremor-cancelling spoon that helps patients with movement disorders like cerebral palsy and Huntington’s disease feed themselves. The innovative medical device was developed by Anupam Pathak of Lift Labs, who received small business program funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke that helped him propel the advanced technology into people’s daily lives.
SEED’s mission is to educate and support innovators to advance their research from bench to bedside. The success story mapping tool complements the existing suite of tools for exploring the collection of over 1,500 life science and healthcare companies that NIH invests in each year.
