US BIO praise for House Speaker Pelosi over small business grants

The US Biotechnology Industry Association has welcomed the inclusion of reforms to the Small Business Innovation Research grant program by Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in the House Innovation Agenda. The announcement follows an earlier appeal by the BIO's president, Jim Greenwood (Marketletter April 27).

SBIR grant application rules prevent small businesses that have a significant proportion of venture capital investment from qualifying. According to the BIO, this disproportionately discriminates against biotechnology firms, which the group argues is especially inappropriate, as it limits the number and potentially the quality of eventually successful grant applications.

Mr Greenwood said: "I commend Speaker Pelosi for recognizing that the current SBIR eligibility requirements prevent greater competition in the program. The House Innovation Agenda would allow small companies to compete for SBIR grants, regardless of their capital structure." He explained that the 2003 Small Business Administration's "arbitrary interpretation" of eligibility standards overturned "over 20 years" of successful competition for the small business aid by biotechnology firms.