Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation

 

 
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
A new way to look at funding
The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) raises money and awards grants to academic and biotechnology industry scientists who are conducting drug discovery research for Alzheimer’s Disease, related dementias and cognitive aging.
The way research is funded is evolving and by employing a venture capital model, [...]

House renews SBIR bill, now onto the Senate!

Yesterday, the House voted overwhelmingly (368-43), to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.  This bill will allow more biotechnology companies to compete for research funding.
This act will increase access to early-stage funding for treatments and cures for debilitating diseases.  Congress has recognized the capital-intensive needs of emerging biotechnology companies, whose development of a [...]

And the Grant Goes To … The Importance of the SBIR grants

CNN Money has a great piece describing the variety of projects that compete for and receive competitive SBIR funds – from sticky medical devices and anti-virus computer programs to creative recycling of (cow) waste.  The SBA office of Technology oversees this project of the federal government as a way to fund the early, innovative ideas [...]

In which we respond to California Biotech Law Blog

California Biotech Law Blog posted a summary of recent House hearings on reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR).

In the world of biotechnology, the principle at stake is the United States’s claim to be an innovation engine in the global economy. Our members and their scientists are developing disease treatments and cures at a rapid rate, but because these cutting-edge treatments are so new, it takes 10-15 years before they reach the market. In the meantime, they thrive on traditional venture capital and the government’s version of VC: the SBIR program.

If Congress wants to perpetuate the image – and reality – of the US as the center of innovation, they must adapt the criteria for SBIR grants to match the reality for these budding treatments and burgeoning companies.

New therapies deserve diverse funding sources

Getting financing can be difficult. This news article from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette demonstrates the importance of SBIR funding.
“Not all start-up companies have been able to tap into venture capital to fund their businesses. Mr. Prescott of Crescent Innovations has secured federal Small Business Innovation Research funding, grants and money from [...]