SBIR/STTR Program

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - April 12, 2026 - The U.S. Senate passed legislation reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which had lapsed on September 30, 2025, cutting off competitive grant access for early-stage medtech companies. AdvaMed, the Medtech Association, publicly supported the Senate vote and called on the House of Representatives to act swiftly on passage. The programs channel competitive grants through 11 federal agencies - including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense - directly to small medtech businesses at the most capital-constrained stages of product development. Restoring authorization removes a period of funding uncertainty that had stalled R&D planning across hundreds of early-stage medical device companies.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - April 12, 2026 - Early-stage medtech companies that lost access to federal competitive grant funding when SBIR and STTR program authorization lapsed on April 12, 2026, now face a clearer path to restored capital after both chambers of Congress advanced reauthorization legislation. The Senate passed the measure first, followed by House passage of S. 3971, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, on April 12, 2026, bringing the programs within reach of full restoration pending presidential signature.