MSDx, A Pioneering Diagnostics Company, Receives Grant to Advance Technology

The Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI) is pleased to announce that the Flinn Foundation has selected MSDx, Inc. to receive grant funding and program services through the Foundation’s 2013 Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program.  MSDx is a personalized medicine diagnostics company developing blood test products for monitoring disease activity in neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  The Foundation funding will be used to support further development of the MSDx blood testing technology.

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November and December Deadlines for Small Business Cancer Technology Grant Funding Opportunities

  Funding for Companies Developing Innovative Technologies that Improve Molecular and Cellular Analysis of Cancer – November 4 deadline
  2013 HHS SBIR & STTR Omnibus Solicitations for Investigator-Initiated Projects – December 5 deadline
  Funding for Innovative Health IT and Single-Cell Analysis ToolsDecember 5 deadlines
  Before You Submit: Registration Requirements for SBIR/STTR Applications
  Technical Assistance Available for Phase I Awardees – Niche Assessment Program re-opened October 28
The Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR & STTR) Programs are government set-aside programs that represent one of the largest sources of early-stage technology financing in the United States. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) SBIR/STTR Programs are designed to catalyze the development of innovative technologies and therapeutics to advance cancer research, prevention, detection, and treatment.

In FY2014, the set-asides reserved for small businesses have increased from 2.5% to 2.7% for SBIR and 0.35% to 0.40% for STTR. Please note the budget caps for the specific funding opportunity you are applying for, as they cannot be exceeded. We encourage you to review the opportunities below and consider applying for funding to the NCI SBIR & STTR Programs. NCI SBIR Development Center Program Directors are available to discuss ideas and opportunities with you.

 
Funding Opportunity: Innovative Molecular Analysis Technology Development for Cancer Research and Clinical Care (SBIR-IMAT, PAR-13-327)

Full FOA: Innovative Molecular Analysis Technology Development for Cancer Research and Clinical Care (PAR-13-327)
Upcoming Receipt Dates: November 4, 2013; May 28, 2014

The SBIR-IMAT funding opportunity is aimed at accelerating the development and commercialization of highly innovative technologies that improve molecular and/or cellular analysis of cancer with a significant likelihood for either overcoming persistent challenges or obstacles or opening entirely new fields for cancer research or clinical care. This Program Announcement complements the goals of the NCI’s Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) Program by facilitating a path towards technology commercialization. Prior participation in the IMAT Program is not required for eligibility for this FOA. Applications are expected to indicate the significant attributes and advantages of the proposed technology over currently available technologies and conventional approaches.

A non-exclusive list of product examples relevant to this funding opportunity are available at: http://sbir.cancer.gov/funding/technology/.

Additional Resources Available
To learn more, please click here to download slides from an SBIR-IMAT pre-application webinar. An audio recording and transcript from the webinar are also available for download.

 
 
2013 Omnibus Solicitation

Funding is available to support small businesses working across a wide range of cancer-related research topic areas through the NIH SBIR & STTR Omnibus Solicitations, investigator-initiated grant funding opportunities. The next deadline to submit applications is December 5, 2013.

SBIR Program
PA-13-234, Re-issue PHS 2013-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, FDA and ACF for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44])

STTR Program
PA-13-235, Re-issue PHS 2013-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (Parent STTR [R41/R42])

The 2013 Omnibus Solicitations expand eligibility and impact the application process, so please read the solicitations carefully.

  • Small business concerns that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds and/or private equity firms are eligible to apply to the NIH SBIR program and compete for up to 25% of NIH’s SBIR set-aside.
  • All applicants are required to register at the SBA Company Registry prior to application submission and attach proof of registration. See below for the full list of registration requirements for submitting SBIR/STTR applications to HHS.
 
 
Upcoming Funding Opportunity Deadlines

The NCI SBIR & STTR Programs have grant funding opportunities available in a wide range of cancer-related topic areas to help small businesses advance their research concepts towards commercialization. The grants below share the deadline of December 5, 2013. Don’t miss your chance to apply!

SBIR Program

  • PA-12-196, Innovative Health Information Technology for Broad Adoption by Healthcare Systems and Consumers (SBIR R44)
    For more details and examples of applicable projects, click here.
  • PA-13-140, Development of Highly Innovative Tools and Technology for Analysis of Single Cells (SBIR R43/R44)

For a complete listing of funding opportunities from the NCI SBIR & STTR Programs, please click here.

 
 
Registration Requirements Prior to Submitting SBIR/STTR Applications to HHS

If you are considering applying for an SBIR/STTR award, check that your registrations are all completed.

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide prior to submitting an application to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Registration can take six weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible.

If you have difficulties with the submission process, please contact the eRA Commons helpdesk: Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552; Email: commons@od.nih.gov.

 
 
Niche Assessment Program for NIH SBIR/STTR Phase I Awardees – Applications reopened October 28

 
How to Apply
For resources and tips for applying, please click here.

Please visit http://sbir.cancer.gov/ to learn more about the NCI SBIR & STTR Programs.

VisionGate Presents Clinical Data At IASLC Meeting Showing Its Cell-CT™ 3D Imaging Platform Detects Lung Cancer With High Sensitivity And Specificity

SYDNEY and PHOENIX, Oct. 28, 2013 — VisionGate, Inc., a company developing a revolutionary non-invasive test for the early detection of lung cancer, today reported clinical data showing that its automated 3D cell imaging platform, the Cell-CT™, can detect lung cancer in sputum samples with high sensitivity and specificity. The data was presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer.Continue reading

SEC Releases Crowd Funding Rules for Non-Accredited Investors Under the JOBS Act.

On October 25, 2013, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the Proposed Rules to govern the implementation of crowd funding by non-accredited investors under the JOBS Act.   Comments will be open for a 90 day  public comment period from the date that the proposed regs appear on the Federal Register. (As of this writing, the proposed regs have not yet been posted.) Continue reading

Scottsdale diagnostics company licenses biomarker technologies developed at ASU Biodesign with support from AzTE

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, October 25, 2013 – Provista Diagnostics, Inc., a leading molecular diagnostics company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary diagnostic, prognostic and predictive tests for cancers affecting women, has licensed a series of biomarker technologies developed by researchers at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University. Provista will evaluate the technologies for use in the early detection of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and HPV.