Good Day BIO: Time's running out for SBIR/STTR

Two federal programs that have been driving small business innovation for 40 years are in danger of running out of money—we take a deep dive. Plus, bluebird bio’s big approval and what we need to do about the bees. (732 words, 3 minutes, 39 seconds)

SBIR/STTR federal seed-funding programs need reauthorization

Two federal programs that have been driving innovation for 40 years by providing seed funding to entrepreneurs are in danger of running out of money—unless Congress acts by Sept. 30, Bio.News reports.

Growing big ideas: The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs typically give up to $250,000 for the first year of development of an idea and up to $750,000 more if the idea proves feasible.

The grants provide good value—generating “a 22:1 return for every federal dollar spent,” with “a commercialization rate of between 50-60% for SBIR/STTR investments,” according to the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZ BIO). (Many BIO members have used the grants to commercialize innovations.)  

But reauthorization is delayed. The largest SBIR/STTR programs are run by the Dept. of Defense (DoD), and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, has expressed concerns about using defense funding for this mechanism, delaying the budget, Bio.News said. While he’s moving towards granting approval, Congress needs to act quickly to get the budget through a packed agenda in September.  

Arizonans approve: “The SBIR/STTR program has supported our small business community as we work to improve health, develop new agricultural techniques, innovate for our national defense, explore space, and more,” said AZ BIO, joining a group of Arizona businesses in supporting the program.

Addressing inequity: BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath has said the SBIR/STTR “play an important role in addressing inequity” by offering support to minority-owned businesses. “As one of the country’s largest sources of early-stage capital for technology commercialization, they help grow and support promising technologies in the private sector and therefore enable life-saving innovations to reach consumer markets,” she told the Mayo Clinic. 

Read more at Bio.News.

More Health Care News:

FDA: FDA approves first cell-based gene therapy to treat adult and pediatric patients with beta-thalassemia who require regular blood transfusions
BIO member bluebird bio’s Zynteglo “is an important advance in the treatment of beta-thalassemia, particularly in individuals who require ongoing red blood cell transfusions,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). 

The New York Times: Walensky, citing botched pandemic response, calls for CDC reorganization
“Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Wednesday delivered a sweeping rebuke of her agency’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it had failed to respond quickly enough and needed to be overhauled.”

Plummeting pollinator populations put food at risk

One-third of the food we eat comes from a plant that requires pollination, but climate change is threatening the pollinating bees, butterflies, and bats, a wildlife expert warned. Can biotech help?

Threats to pollinators pose a huge risk to our food supply, Ron Magill of Zoo Miami, told CNN. According to the USDA, more than 100 types of crops rely on pollinators, which “add more than $18 billion in revenue to crop production every year.”

Monarchs menaced: Last month, the monarch butterfly was added to the endangered list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Climate change has impacted this major pollinator’s migration patterns and food supply, IUCN said.

Bees bothered: Honey bees are “America’s primary commercial pollinators,” according to the USDA. Bees are stressed by diseases that thrive in hotter weather, and climate change causes a mismatch between flowers blooming and bees being ready to pollinate, said Conservation International.

Losses in numbers: “Beekeepers across the United States lost 45.5% of their managed honey bee colonies from April 2020 to April 2021,” an Auburn University study found. A recent New York State study found “as much as 60% of the native insect pollinator fauna may be at risk” in the state.

What to do? We need to address climate change, reduce pesticide use and plant wildflowers, Magill said.

Gene editing can help—by reducing the need for pesticides. (As BIO’s explained, it’s a misconception that gene edited crops hurt bees.)

Biotech’s developing other solutions, too—from next-generation “biologic” pesticides made from peptides, to climate solutions like low-carbon sustainable transportation fuels and enhancing carbon sequestration, according to BIO’s Biotech Solutions for Climate Report.

Conserving biodiversity is key—and BIO members are working on that, too, through organizations like CropLife International, which encourages the biodiversity necessary for pollinators and plants.

President Biden’s Thursday: Continuing summer vacation. Meanwhile, the Biden administration will extend the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days, per POLITICO.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Recess in the Senate and House.