NEWS | NSBA, SBTC Priorities for SBIR/STTR Support More Than $60b in Life-Saving Drugs and Medical Devices
- NSBA
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
NSBA and the Small Business Technology Council (SBTC) continue to urge Congress to act to reinstate the SBIR/STTR programs, which provide critical funds to small-business researchers and innovators driving life-saving technologies.
DEC. 10, 2025 | This week, an economic analysis of drugs and medical devices revealed the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs play a pivotal role in supporting several of the most successful FDA-approved pharmaceutical and medical technologies over the past two decades.
According to a study performed by The National Academies of Science into the NIH SBIR/STTR program, between 1996 and 2020, over 100 drugs approved by the FDA were developed by firms receiving SBIR/STTR awards.
Read the full analysis here.
As the technology council for NSBA, SBTC then ran an analysis cross referencing these drugs with public records, finding 19 of these FDA-approved drugs supported by the SBIR/STR program contributed to a combined $36 billion in annual sales, demonstrating the extraordinary market impact of early-stage federal innovation support.
Three SBIR/STTR-supported drugs ranked among the top 20 highest-selling drugs in the United States, finishing 5th, 11th, and 18th, respectively, based on their most recent annual commercial revenues.
Further analysis found similar results in the medical device sector: the same NAS study found that, between 1996 and 2020, 34 Premarket Approval Applications (PMAs) and 2,475 510K premarket submissions for medical devices were made by firms receiving SBIR/STTR awards.
Today, firms bringing SBIR/STTR technologies to market generate more than $26 billion in combined annual sales. These medical devices include innovations widely used in cardiology, oncology, neurology, metabolic disorders, diabetes, genetic screening, and advanced surgical care.
Given the overwhelming evidence of long-term program effectiveness and economic impact, Congress should act without delay to reinstate and fully reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs.
The current lapse of SBIR authorization threatens critical innovation pipelines, including breakthrough medical technologies and life-saving therapies developed by small businesses.
Immediate Congressional action is essential to maintain U.S. leadership in medical innovation, entrepreneurship, and global competitiveness.
Urge Congress to act to reinstate SBIR/STTR funding immediately.
