NIH, NSF Collaborate To Find Markets For Biomedical Research Innovations

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced in a press release that it will provide its researchers training, in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), to evaluate biomedical innovations for commercial potential. I-Corps instructors with biomedical business experience will work closely with federally funded personnel with the goal of turning NIH innovations into applied health technologies. Slated to participate in the pilot program are award grantees from NIH institutes, including the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Michael Weingarten Director of the NCI SBIR Development Center, said, “I-Corps will help teach NIH-funded start-ups how to build scalable business models around new technologies they’re developing for the detection and treatment of disease.”

I-Corps Program

The new program at the NIH, the I-Corps at NIH, is modeled on the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps). The NIH pilot program for biomedical researchers advances the agency’s goal of sharing the benefits of federally funded research. The two agencies have collaborated to develop the NIH Team Training Pilot Program, a nine-week curriculum for instructors to work with researchers. The business-oriented instructors with biomedical experience will work closely with teams and individuals. Of particular interest are the discovery methods used to foster innovation as well as the identification of the obstacles that block commercialization. 

Participants may develop and market products for detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. People eligible to apply are entrepreneurs and academics who have been awarded Phase 1 SBIR/STTR (Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer) grants. The groups selected for the pilot program are already working in areas that may have commercial applications and have already established proof of concept. The NIH has begun contacting researchers and teams through its participating NIH institutes, and is conducting briefings at scientific conventions and holding online webinars about the new program. 

I-Corps Requirements

Eligible SBIR/STTR grantees must assemble a team of three people composed of a high-level company executive with decision-making authority, an individual with business development experience, and a scientific investigator. Teams will attend a mandatory immersion course held over three days. Then, via online instruction, the teams will participate in the nine-week curriculum. After the course, teams reconvene in person for two days to report feedback and results. Enrollees can expect to form business plans and a commercialization strategy.