NHLBI SBIR/STTR — Standard
Supports small businesses advancing heart, lung, blood, and sleep-related technologies through NHLBI.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute participates in the NIH-wide SBIR and STTR omnibus solicitations, providing non-dilutive federal R&D funding to US small businesses advancing prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. NHLBI's small business program office is led by Stephanie Davis, Ph.D. (Small Business Program Coordinator) with Julia Berzhanskaya, Ph.D. serving as REACH Program Officer; the program contact is nhlbi_sbir@mail.nih.gov. Standard receipt dates in 2026 include April 5 and September 5. Phase II SBIR awards (R44) can reach $2.1 million in total costs under the omnibus mechanism.
NHLBI issues Notices of Special Interest that focus SBIR/STTR applications on priority disease areas including technologies addressing heart, lung, blood, and sleep complications in maternal and women's health; RNA delivery and biomaterials; AI and machine learning for diagnosis and treatment; digital health tools; treatment adherence technologies; and omics-based precision medicine approaches. NHLBI also runs the Commercialization Readiness Pilot program and Small Business Transition Grants for New Entrepreneurs alongside the parent SBIR/STTR solicitations, creating a staged funding ladder from early-stage feasibility through commercialization readiness. VC-majority-owned small businesses may participate via the NIH SBIR opt-in process at up to 25% of NHLBI's SBIR set-aside.
Applicants must be US for-profit small business concerns; nonprofit institutions, universities, and individual researchers are not eligible for SBIR funding. STTR applications require a formal collaborative agreement with a US university or nonprofit research institution. Teams seeking late-stage bridge funding above the Phase II cap should review the separate NHLBI SBIR Phase IIB Bridge Award (RFA-HL-26-014 series), which provides up to $3.5 million over three years exclusively for prior NHLBI Phase II awardees pursuing regulatory clearance.
Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, including AI/ML diagnostics, novel therapeutics, medical devices, digital health tools, and precision medicine approaches.
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