SBIR Phase I and Phase II Award Data for FY 2002

The Small Business Administration has published the FY 2002 SBIR Phase I and Phase II award data by state. The data reflects SBIR awards bestowed by the ten federal agencies that participated in the SBIR Program.

Even though Pennsylvania dropped a ranking to 8th place from its seventh-place ranking in FY 2001, the state won $12,248,847 more in 2002 than it did in 2001, when Pennsylvania won $42,635,988.

For a more detailed listing of award results, visit the SBA’s SBIR/STTR website at http://www.sba.gov/sbir/indexsbir-sttr.html and click on #3, “SBIR Statistics.”

“Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand."
Bruce Marton

Words from a Winner: Integral Molecular

Company name: Integral Molecular
Website: www.integralmolecular.com
Address: 3701 Market Street, Suite 340, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Number of employees: 10
Awarded by: NIH

According to Dr. Benjamin Doranz, a blank page can be daunting. As president and co-founder of Integral Molecular--a Philadelphia-based biotechnology company--Dr. Doranz has helped create a technology that promotes the treatment and prevention of such ailments as arthritis, asthma, breast cancer--even HIV. But when it comes to writing SBIR proposals, a blank page can seem as intimidating as any modern disease.

“With experience, it does get easier,” chuckled Dr. Doranz. “But I’d have to say the hardest part of writing an SBIR proposal is simply starting…staring at a blank page.”

It may seem simplistic, but Dr. Doranz has discovered an effective way for overcoming this proposal-writing obstacle: Don’t start with a blank page.

“I start with something already written, like a previous grant I’ve already put together or a template from someone else’s grant,” Dr. Doranz said. “It’s a good way to get started, because you’ve got a template to build on, and several things don’t change very much from grant to grant, such as background information sections.”

This approach has proven effective. Integral Molecular has completed work on three Phase I projects and begun work on two Phase II projects; the company also has several Phase I projects in progress. All awards were granted by the National Institutes of Health.

However, as challenging as starting the proposal-writing process may be, Dr. Doranz points out that half of the difficulties involved with writing SBIR proposals are in the science itself.

“Drafting an SBIR proposal isn’t just about the writing. You’re also trying to design experiments, trying to choose the best pathway to what you want to achieve. When you start out, it’s easy to have the big picture in mind, but the exact steps to the end result aren’t there yet, and you have to determine what those are.”

So, how does one overcome the challenges of both identifying the best method for achieving your desired end result and discussing it in a well-written proposal? By conducting research, says Dr. Doranz. He sites background reading and SBIR conferences as two good sources of information, but some of the best resources come in human form.

“I have found it extremely helpful to talk to other people who have written either SBIR grants or other academic grants,” Dr. Doranz said. “The best people to help you write a grant are those who have written grants before.”

Through these research efforts, Integral Molecular has been able to secure the SBIR funding it needs to develop and commercialize its technology, a tool for drug discovery used by both biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. According to Dr. Doranz, the company started shipping its first product in February of this year--an impressive accomplishment, considering that the company is only two years old.

However, considering the purpose of SBIR funding, this is an essential milestone: “You have to develop products, not just do research,” Dr. Doranz said. “That’s the goal of the SBIR program. I think a lot of folks are focused on the funding part of the program, but it’s there to provide a means to get somewhere--you’ve got to have a specific product in mind.”

Regarding the process of identifying an appropriate SBIR topic, Dr. Doranz has found that his company has encountered little trouble in finding a match for the work it’s conducting.

“The NIH has enough flexibility and breadth of interest that our research usually fits pretty easily somewhere,” Dr. Doranz said. “If it doesn’t, we step back and ask ourselves ‘why.’ Those situations are red flags--if the NIH doesn’t have an appropriate topic match, it’s possible there may not be a true commercial need for the technology.”

But that’s not the only “red flag” that Dr. Doranz heeds. When considering feedback from a proposal review, if multiple reviewers have the same concerns about a specific element of the proposed project, Dr. Doranz and his team closely investigate the issue. It’s important to determine whether it’s just a matter of explaining that particular part of the project more clearly or if an entire restructuring of the project is warranted. Such consideration can enable a team to make any necessary adjustments before a problem becomes larger and more difficult to address further into the project.

Once SBIR funding is secured, Dr. Doranz points out that there are still major decisions to be made and plans that need to continue in order for your business--not just your grant--to be successful.

“You have to think about what happens after Phase I,” Dr. Doranz said. “In other words, what happens to your company, your staff, your office or laboratory space? For example, if you hire people during Phase I, how are you going to keep those people on between Phase I and Phase II? Phase I can go by very quickly, so you need to know before Phase I starts where the next money will come from. Are your grants staggered, so as to provide a continual source of income? Do you have venture capital lined up? Receiving a grant doesn’t mean you’ve reached your destination; the grants are just the fuel to get there.”

And once a company has that momentum, the ultimate goal is to do what Dr. Doranz and Integral Molecular are accomplishing: Building a successful business while conducting meaningful research.

“If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research, would it?”
Albert Einstein