NIA SBIR Phase II (AD/ADRD)

NIA SBIR Phase II (AD/ADRD)

Funds U.S. small businesses developing technologies for Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias through NIA SBIR Phase II grants.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) SBIR Phase II AD/ADRD grant is a non-dilutive federal research grant administered by NIA, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It sits under the NIH Small Business Innovation Research program, which is authorized by the Small Business Innovation Development Act. NIA specifically designates an enhanced budget track for projects addressing Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD), recognizing this as a priority research area.

For AD/ADRD-focused projects, NIA may provide up to $3 million in total costs per Phase II award. For all other SBIR projects within the NIA mission space, the Phase II limit is $2.5 million. Phase II typically covers multi-year research efforts building on a completed Phase I feasibility study. There is no mandatory cost share requirement; the federal government funds 100% of allowable costs.

Eligibility is restricted to for-profit small business concerns located and operating in the United States. Applicants must first have completed an NIH SBIR Phase I award — Phase II is not open to first-time applicants without prior Phase I. The principal investigator must be primarily employed by the small business at the time of award. NIA's SBIR program is open to companies working on technologies that advance the health and wellbeing of older adults, with AD/ADRD being the highest-priority topic area.

Applications are submitted through NIH's standard SBIR solicitation process via grants.nih.gov, using standard NIH application forms. NIA evaluates proposals on scientific and technical merit (Significance, Investigator, Innovation, Approach, Environment) and on commercialization potential. Applications are reviewed by a Scientific Review Group followed by NIA's National Advisory Council on Aging. No specific open deadline is published on this overview page — applicants should check the active NIH SBIR parent solicitations on grants.nih.gov for current due dates.

Key practical notes: the AD/ADRD enhanced budget ($3M vs $2.5M) applies only when the project is directly focused on AD/ADRD. VC-majority-owned companies may apply to NIH SBIR under a special eligibility path (unlike NSF SBIR, which excludes VC-majority firms). Budget requests above the stated limits require additional NIA internal review and may delay award.