The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the renewal of the NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) program, established to facilitate and accelerate the translation of academic biomedical discoveries into products that improve patient care and public health.
Donor Name: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/30/2023
Size of the Grant: $1,000,000
Grant Duration: 4 years
Details:
Through this program, NIH will provide the qualifying institutions with the funds to seed the creation of academic entrepreneurship Hubs. Hubs will be responsible for providing innovators with both the initial investment and resources to support the proof-of-concept work and the mentorship in product development and commercialization needed to develop high priority technologies within the NIH’s mission.
Funded Hubs are intended to work as a consortium to enable:
- the infrastructure for identifying the most promising technologies
- funding for product definition studies (e.g. feasibility studies, prototype development, proof-of-concept studies) provided to individual researchers
- access to resources and expertise in areas required for early stage technology development (including scientific, regulatory, reimbursement, business, legal, and project management)
- and skills development and hands-on experience in entrepreneurship. Establishing public-private partnerships and providing additional non-federal funds will be critical for success.
The NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) program is a partnership program between NIH and the qualifying research institutions to accelerate the creation of small businesses and the transition of discoveries originating from academic research into products that improve patient care and enhance health. REACH Hubs foster the advancement of therapeutics, preventatives, diagnostics, devices, and research tools that address unmet patient and public health needs across the entire NIH mission. Applicants are encouraged to focus on building robust entrepreneurial ecosystems in the areas of highest U.S. burden of disease and disability and areas that historically attract lower levels of private biomedical capital investment.
Although every technology development project is unique, broad guidelines for different types of projects are as follows:
- Small Molecule Therapeutics: The compound is at the lead optimization or preclinical stage. The target is known, and/or there is some method or assay to determine its effect.
- Biologics or Cell Based Therapies: The biologic or cell population has been identified and some reasonable method of development, sourcing, manufacture, or proliferation is proposed. Mechanism of action has been determined to a sufficient level that there is a reasonable understanding of the product to be developed or tested in the project.
- Interventional Medical Device: The proposal includes prototype development and testing, either on the bench or in animals. Physiologic experiments have been conducted or reported in the literature, providing rationale for prototype development.
Diagnostic Medical Device/IVD/MDx: The proposal includes prototype development and some method of testing. - Health IT, Software, Apps, and Algorithms: The proposal should be beyond the concept stage and already have an existing code base. The idea should be grounded in previous experiments or solid peer reviewed evidence. The proposal should include steps to validate the technology by demonstrating its efficacy versus the standard of care or utility in pilot studies or user testing, or, if already validated, to refine the technology to make it appropriate for commercialization.
Hubs must meet all the following requirements
- Hub Leadership
- Collaborations and Partnerships
- Regional and Local Impact
- Technology Development
- Project Management
- Educational Activities
- Sustainability Plan
NIH recognizes that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogeneous teams. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved populations participate in, and benefit from research, and enhancing public trust. See Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity.
To support the best science, NIH encourages inclusivity in research. Examples of structures that promote diverse perspectives include, but are not limited to:
- Transdisciplinary research projects and collaborations among investigators from different fields.
- Engagement from different types of institutions and organizations (e.g., research-intensive, undergraduate-focused, minority-serving, community-based).
- Individual applications and partnerships that enhance geographic and regional heterogeneity.
- Investigators and teams composed of researchers at different career stages.
- Participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including groups historically underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce, such as underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, those with disabilities, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and women.
- Project-based opportunities to enhance the research environment to benefit early- and mid-career investigators.
Funding Information
- The maximum budget for a Hub is $1,000,000 total costs per year.
- The maximum project period is 4 years.
Eligibility Criteria
Higher Education Institutions
- Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
- Private Institutions of Higher Education
The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
- Hispanic-serving Institutions
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
- Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
- Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
- Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education
- Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
- Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
The primary applicant organization must be a university or other research institution that participates in the NIH STTR program. Participation means that a university or other research institution has been a formal partner to a small business on an STTR award. Many NIH-supported universities or other research institutions will be eligible. Institutions in IDeA-eligible states are strongly encouraged to apply for this funding opportunity.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
