Radiation Research Program (RRP)/Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Collaborations
SBIR/STRR Funding Opportunities
Support is provided to small businesses in radiation oncology and related research using several funding mechanisms available through SBIR Development Center. For details, please visit https://sbir.cancer.gov/funding. Many topics described here are of high interest to the RRP.
For current omnibus solicitations, with standard receipt dates of September 5, 2024; January 5, 2025; April 5, 2025, please click here.
For current contract solicitations please click here. The topics below are of particular interest to the radiation research community.
Topic 472: Antibody-Drug Conjugates as Radiopharmaceutical Theranostics for Cancer
Topic 476: Digital Twin Software for Optimization of Cancer Radiation Therapy
The Radiation Research Program collaborates with NCI’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Development Center to provide funding to for-profit small businesses to support American entrepreneurs, translate, and commercialize laboratory science in radiation oncology and related research through SBIR/STTR grants and SBIR contracts.
RRP Program Directors work closely with SBIR Program Directors, assist in areas for development in radiation oncology, advising potential applicants, and monitoring progress of awardees. RRP-SBIR funded projects include both grants and contracts. Since the establishment of this collaboration, RRP has helped develop several requests for proposals to address specific research, development, and clinical needs in radiation oncology. Targeted contract solicitations include, but are not limited to, development of radiation-effect modulators, targeted radionuclide therapies, radiation biomarkers, radiation immune modulators, sensing tools to measure response to therapy, locally activate or release systemically delivered therapeutics, artificial intelligence tools to improve treatment planning, and mobile application for the surveillance of post-treatment quality-of-life. A list of all contract topics funded through this collaboration since 2013 is provided here. Details of SBIR awards can be found in NIH RePORTER which allows users to perform customized search of the repository of NIH-funded research projects, and access publications and patents resulting from NIH funding.
SBIR funding has become a critical resource in NCI-funded radiation oncology research, its translation, application to clinical cancer care and commercialization. This collaboration has strengthened academic — small business relationships in radiation oncology and accelerated clinical translation of grants in RRP’s portfolio. Examples of successes from this collaboration are listed below:
Collaborative Publications
Prasanna PGS, Narayanan D, Hallet K, Bernard EJ, Ahmed MM, Evans G, Vikram B, Weingarten, M and Coleman CN. Radioprotectors and radiomitigators for improving radiation therapy: The small business innovation research (SBIR) gateway for accelerating clinical translation. Radiat. Res. 184:235-238 (2015).
Zakeri K, Narayanan D, Capala J, Prasanna PGS, Buchsbaum JC, Evans G, Weingarten M, Coleman CN and Vikram B. Current status of radiation oncology research funded through the National Cancer Institute’s Small Business Innovation Program. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 102: e430-431 (2018)
Zakeri K, Narayanan D, Evans G, Prasanna PGS, Buchsbaum JC, Vikram B and Capala J. Advancing targeted radionuclide therapy through the National Cancer Institute’s Small Business Research Innovation Pathway. J. Nucl. Med. 60: 41-49 (2019).
Zakeri K, Narayanan D, Vikram B, Evans G, Coleman CN and Prasanna PGS. Decreasing the toxicity of radiation therapy: Radioprotectors and radiomitigators being developed by the National Cancer Institute through Small Business Innovation Research Contracts. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 104: 188-196 (2019).
Prasanna PGS, Narayan D, Zhang K, Rahbar A, Coleman CN and Vikram B. Radiation biomarkers: Can small businesses drive accurate radiation precision medicine? Radiat. Res. 193: 199-208 (2020)
Zakeri K, Narayan D, Prasanna PGS, Vikram B and Buchsbaum JC. Development of novel radiosensitizers through the National Cancer Institute’s Small Business Innovation Research Program. Radiat. Res. 193: 425-434 (2020).
RRP Point-of-Contact:
Pataje G Prasanna, Ph.D.
Program Director
Tel: 240-276-5690
E-mail: Pat.Prasanna@nih.gov