WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) advocated for increased small business-led research related to the coronavirus pandemic and response. The Senators wrote to the eleven federal agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and called on them to coordinate their efforts and focus research on addressing the coronavirus response where applicable. 

“[S]mall businesses are ready, willing, and more than able to support this response with their own novel ideas and research.” wrote the Senators in their letters. “The SBIR/STTR programs are some of America’s most successful tool at fostering cutting-edge research. Through these programs, we can harness the power of innovation against this pandemic by enlisting small business in the fight.”

A copy of the letters can be found HERE.

SBIR has a proven track record supporting job creation in innovative industries for almost four decades. To date, funding from the SBIR program has resulted in 70,000 issued patents, close to 700 public companies, and approximately $41 billion in venture capital investments.

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