Small Business Innovation Research
By Kedma Ough
As a women-owned firm based in Portland, Ore., Vesticon has received seven Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Vesticon received the grants for its signature product the Epley Omniax. The device, which looks like a giant gyroscope, is used to diaGRangnose and treat balance disorders by rotating and flipping patients. It has a 90 percent success rate for patients who suffer from dizziness attacks.
The SBIR program, established by Congress in 1982, funds research and development of small businesses to stimulate innovation.
More than $2.2 billion dollars is set aside annually and more than 11 agencies participate in the program, including the National Institute of Health, the Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation.
In spite of the opportunities to tap into SBIR funds, women-owned firms are still lagging in receiving those awards, according to data analyzed by the Micro-inventors Program of Oregon or MIPO.
Form the onset of the SBIR program there have been more than 83,000 awards. Of those, 12,000 (14 percent) went to women-owned firms. Since 1983, Oregon-based companies have received 1,006 awards (Phase I and Phase II) with 101 or 10 percent of those going to women-owned firms.
Tapping into the SBIR funding process can leverage a tremendous amount of funding for women-owned startups. Phase I awards that determine the feasibility of new technology receive about $100,000.
If the feasibility is favorable, companies can apply for a Phase II award to build a prototype and evaluate commercialization success with about $750,000 in appropriated funds. The goal is for the technology to obtain a Phase III commercialization stage where non-SBIR funds are utilized to launch the product to market.
After developing a comprehensive review of SBIR awards received by women-owned firms, MIPO contacted Edsel Brown, assistant administrator of the Office of Technology for the U. S. Small Business Administration.
After we revealed the dearth of women-owned firms competing and winning SBIR contracts, the administrator acknowledged the problem and said one of the agency’s top priorities is to educate more women-owned firms on accessing SBIR funds.
Meantime, interested firms should begin with a review of their current technology concepts and register with various SBIR alerting services to receive up-to-date topic considerations prior to applying for a grant. Scour its Web site at sbir.gov
Attending a local or national SBIR conference also provides immediate access to many of the program managers who review and solicit for the governmental agencies.
As for Vesticon, it’s in the commercialization phase selling its Omnimax product to clinics and institutes around the world. To date the company has raised $5 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health – a testament to its persistence and the attitude that failure is not an option.
Visit www.mipooregon.org or call 503.546-8813
Editor’s note: This article appears in the May 2010 print edition.
