SBIR reauthorization

Companies seeking Small Business Innovation Research program grant money could be majority-owned by venture capital outfits under the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act, S. 3362, approved by the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship July 30. A similar measure was passed by the full House on April 23 (1"The Pink Sheet," April 28, 2008, p. 27). Industry has complained that restrictions on SBIR grants for VC-funded firms detract from the value of the federal program that helps jump-start small company research. The Senate bill would allow no more than 18 percent of National Institutes of Health SBIR funds to go to firms that are majority-owned by venture capitalists