National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The National Institute of Health (NIH) is an organization associated to the US Department of Health investing about $41.7 billion annually in medical research. NIH provides funding through 27 Centers and Institutes, each covering their own expertise in a specific disease area. Scroll down for more information on NIH and projects like SBIR.

NIH institutes release various funding opportunities regarding multiple topics (therapies, medicines, causes, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of human diseases), examples of institutes are:

• National Cancer Institute (NCI) which focuses on Cancer Research that aims at strengthening the national and global enforcement of cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and survival. NCI leads the coordination and support of all phases of clinical trials nationwide, looking for an opportunity for the development of innovative cancer treatments. Therefore, it is considered crucial to collaborate with private-sector life sciences companies in order to speed up the common effort put in promising innovative technologies.
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) arouses basic and translational discoveries about the diseases etiology which further allow them to be translated into clinical practise. NHLBI aims at fostering training and mentoring of bright and prominent researchers and communicating research findings to the public. Therefore, one of the essential activities is to create partnerships with private and public organizations (including academic and knowledge institutions, for-profit entities).
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is one of the largest NIH Institutes. The core mission of NIDDK is to broadly support research and trainings with the public in the topic areas of diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutritional disorders, and obesity; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases.

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NIH deadlines

Any Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) application is determined by a specific activity code which simultaneously determines the application cycles and their relationship to due dates, review and council dates, and earliest possible start dates. There are usually 3 application cycles per year unless specified differently in the FOA.

This is done via multiple different funding mechanisms using different codes, of which R01 and R21 are the most used. A part of these calls are also eligible for non-US based applicants. The scope and targeted activities are described in the scope of each tender and this differs per tender. The different funding mechanisms define the duration, budget and deadlines for the tenders. Visit the NIH website for more information.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1

Subsidy: $150,000 (may vary per tender)

Funding rate: 100%

Deadlines: 5 January, 5 April and 5 September (may vary per tender)

Project duration: 6 months

Scope:  Phase I awards are intended to establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of the proposed research and research and development efforts. These applications help determine the quality of performance of the small business prior to providing further Federal support in Phase II.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2

Subsidy: $1,000,000 (may vary per tender)

Funding rate: 100%

Deadlines: 5 January, 5 April and 5 September (may vary per tender)

Project duration: 2 years

Scope:  Phase II awards are intended to continue the research and developments efforts initiated in Phase I. Funding is based on the results achieved in Phase I and the scientific and technical merit and commercial potential of the project proposed in Phase II. In general, Phase I awardees are eligible for a Phase II award.

R01 Research project grant

Subsidy: $2,500,000

Funding rate: 100%

Deadlines: 5 June, and 5 October 2022

Project duration: 5 years

R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant

Subsidy: $275,000

Funding rate: 100%

Deadlines: 16 March, and 16 July 2022

Project duration:  2 years

Want to read more about our support for successful NIH proposals?

Read our case article on Intravacc to learn about their NIH funded project and the funding application service they received from Catalyze. Or view other US grants.