National cancer institute (NCI) small business innovation research (SBIR) innovative concept award phase I program
Past New Requirement Updated
- Agency
-
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
- Solicitation expected
- Estimated value
- $3,000,000 to $7,000,000
- Set-aside
- Total Small Business
Forecast facts
- Anticipated award
- NAICS code
- 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
- Points of contact
-
- william.bozza@nih.gov
- Kathleen Sears kathleen.sears@nih.gov
Forecast details come from HHS's procurement forecast. Agencies' dates and values are estimates.
About this forecast
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through its National Cancer Institute (NCI), estimates a June 1, 2026 solicitation release for a new requirement under its SBIR Innovative Concept Award Phase I Program, which funds $300,000 research and development contracts restricted to total small business set-asides under NAICS 541715. The program targets early-stage, high-risk game-changer technologies with transformative patient impact, specifically innovative concepts that require no preliminary data and address rare and pediatric cancers, which the source identifies as underrepresented in the NCI SBIR portfolio. The estimated award date is April 1, 2027.
The estimated award value range is $3 million to $7 million. Program Director William Bozza (william.bozza@nih.gov, (240) 660-1211) and Kathleen Sears (kathleen.sears@nih.gov), both at NIH, are the listed points of contact.
Forecast text
The NCI SBIR Innovative Concept Award solicitation is designed to emphasize innovation and support small businesses that are developing early-stage game changer technologies through $300,000 research and development (R&D) contracts. Traditional Phase I SBIR applications rarely get funded without substantial preliminary data and as a result innovative but high-risk projects tend to not review well. Therefore, disruptive technologies that are early-stage and high-risk are underrepresented in the NCI SBIR portfolio. Also underrepresented in the portfolio are technologies in the rare and pediatric cancer space, which are often overlooked by small businesses due to market size, development risk, and small patient cohorts. By focusing the Concept Award on these areas (innovation, no preliminary data required, and rare/pediatric cancers), NCI aims to increase small business support for early-stage technologies with significant potential for transformative patient impact.
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