The major NIH institutes for SBIR/STTR — which one funds your thing.
NIH is a collection of Institutes & Centers (ICs), each with its own mission, budget, and SBIR rules. The SBIR/STTR omnibus (2026: PA-27-100 SBIR, PA-27-102 STTR, PA-27-101 Phase IIB, PAR-27-098 CRP) lets you apply to any participating IC. Approximately 23–24 ICs plus CDC and FDA participate; this page profiles the highest-activity ones. For the complete participating list, always consult the current omnibus NOFO.
LAST VERIFIED 21 JUL 2026 · SCOPE: MAJOR SBIR/STTR ICS — NOT ALL 27
IC priorities, budget caps, and clinical-trial policies change with each omnibus cycle. Always confirm against the current NOFO and speak with the IC program officer before applying. Nothing on this page substitutes for the live NOFO.
We do not publish payline numbers per IC. Paylines vary by IC and cycle, are frequently a matter of program-officer discretion, and are not cleanly or consistently published for most institutes. For funding likelihood, consult the IC's financial-management or funding-policy page and — most importantly — talk to the program officer for your topic.
National Cancer Institute
The largest NIH institute and the largest SBIR/STTR entry point. Has its own dedicated SBIR Development Center at sbir.cancer.gov, and Phase IIB ceilings for cancer projects can reach notably high levels.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Second-largest IC and a top SBIR/STTR funder for infectious disease, vaccines, and immunology. Runs an active CRP track with ceilings listed in the PA-27-100 IC table.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematology, and sleep. Publishes its own SBIR budget-guidance notices (NOT-HL series) that adjust caps for its portfolio.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Broad, investigator-initiated basic biomedical science with no single disease focus. Holds strictly to statutory hard caps except SBA-approved waiver topics.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Neurological therapeutics, diagnostics, and devices. Explicit emphasis on companies and PIs new to SBIR.
National Institute of Mental Health
Mental illness diagnostics and therapeutics, digital mental health, and behavioral intervention technologies.
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Substance use disorder therapeutics and diagnostics, addiction technologies, and prevention tools.
National Institute on Aging
Aging, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and geroscience. Some NOFOs place strong emphasis on health disparities and minority health.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Diabetes, endocrine, digestive, kidney, urology, obesity, and nutrition.
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Funds PLATFORM technologies applicable across many diseases — not projects whose principal focus is understanding basic biology or disease mechanism. Encourages emailing a draft Aims page for pre-submission feedback.
National Eye Institute
Vision, ophthalmic devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, and retinal disease.
National Human Genome Research Institute
Genomics technologies, sequencing, and genomic data science and tools.
The 2026 parent solicitations are Clinical Trial Optional — a single pathway replaced the old CT-required and CT-not-allowed solicitations. Under PA-27-100, NIAMS, NIDCR, NCATS, ORIP, and FDA components do not accept clinical-trial applications; all other participating ICs do. Always confirm your IC's participation and any CT restrictions in Section III of PA-27-100 / PA-27-102.
NIGMS generally holds to the statutory hard caps except SBA-approved waiver topics; other ICs (NCI, NIAID, NINDS, NIDDK) publish higher ceilings under approved waiver topics. Always verify against the live NOFO for your target IC and activity code.
The parent SBIR omnibus NOFO for FY2026 applications. Lists the complete set of participating ICs, budget tiers, and clinical-trial policies. Authoritative source for anything on this page.
sbir.gov's overview of HHS agencies (NIH, CDC, FDA) and how their SBIR programs differ from the DoD/NSF model.
The full directory of all 27 NIH ICs. Use this when your topic isn't obviously served by one of the majors profiled above.