Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 23 035
Apply for RFA CA 23 035
- The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Small Business Transition Grant For Early Career Scientists (R42 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.172, 93.279, 93.286, 93.394.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2023-04-21.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-08-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal:
Opportunity Summary:
The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is offering the Small Business Transition Grant for Early Career Scientists under FOA number RFA-CA-23-035. This is an SBIR-style award using the R42 mechanism (a Small Business Technology Transfer approach), and it is specifically marked as "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning the supported work must focus on technology development and related preclinical or non-clinical activities rather than running human clinical trials. The overall purpose is to help move promising cancer-related technologies out of academic labs and into small businesses where they can be developed into real-world products that benefit patients and the public.
The program is designed around a common problem in research commercialization: academic discoveries often have technical promise, but they stall at the point of handoff to a company because the right leadership and business skill set is missing, and because early-stage product development funds are hard to secure. NCI is trying to address both issues at once by making the grant serve two equally important goals. First, it supports entrepreneurial mentoring so that early-career academic scientists can realistically transition into an entrepreneurship pathway, learn how to operate in a small business setting, and build the capability to lead technology translation. Second, it provides product development support so that the underlying invention can move beyond an academic proof-of-concept toward a more mature, commercially viable technology. In practical terms, the FOA is meant to strengthen the team around the invention while also paying for the work needed to de-risk and advance the product.
Eligibility is centered on U.S. small businesses, consistent with NIH small business programs. The listed eligible applicants are small businesses, and the FOA clearly excludes non-U.S. entities: foreign institutions cannot apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, it notes that "foreign components" may be allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means limited, well-justified parts of the project could occur outside the U.S. if they are essential and meet NIH policy requirements, but the applicant organization itself must be a qualifying U.S. small business and the project must remain compliant with NIH rules for foreign components.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the areas of education and health, administered by NIH/NCI, and associated with CFDA numbers 93.172, 93.279, 93.286, and 93.394. The opportunity was created on April 21, 2023, with an original closing date of August 21, 2023. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided summary, and the number of expected awards is also not listed here, so applicants would normally need to consult the full FOA text for budget limits, project period details, and programmatic priorities.
Overall, the grant is best understood as a bridge for early-career scientists who have an academically developed technology and want to build a commercialization pathway through a small business, with NCI support aimed at both training the future entrepreneur and accelerating development of the product itself, while keeping the work outside the scope of clinical trials.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this grant opportunity?
This opportunity is the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Small Business Transition Grant for Early Career Scientists under FOA number RFA-CA-23-035. It is offered by NCI, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What funding mechanism does this program use?
The program uses an SBIR-style award built on the R42 mechanism, described as a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) approach.
Are clinical trials allowed under this FOA?
No. The FOA is explicitly marked "Clinical Trial Not Allowed." The supported work must focus on technology development and related preclinical or non-clinical activities rather than running human clinical trials.
What is the main purpose of the program?
The purpose is to help move promising cancer-related technologies out of academic labs and into small businesses where they can be developed into real-world products that benefit patients and the public.
What problem is NCI trying to solve with this program?
The program targets a common commercialization gap: academic discoveries can stall during the transition to a company due to missing leadership and business skills, and because early-stage product development funds can be difficult to secure.
What are the two main goals of the grant?
The grant is designed to do two things at the same time: (1) support entrepreneurial mentoring so early-career academic scientists can transition toward entrepreneurship and learn to operate in a small business setting, and (2) provide product development support to mature the invention beyond an academic proof-of-concept toward a more commercially viable technology.
What types of activities does the grant support?
Based on the summary provided, the grant supports technology development and product development work intended to de-risk and advance a cancer-related product, along with entrepreneurial mentoring to strengthen the leadership and commercialization capability around the invention.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is centered on U.S. small businesses, consistent with NIH small business programs. The listed eligible applicants are small businesses.
Can a foreign institution apply?
No. Foreign institutions cannot apply under this opportunity.
Are non-domestic components of U.S. organizations eligible to apply?
No. The FOA indicates that non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply.
Are any foreign activities allowed in the project?
The summary notes that "foreign components" may be allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement. In practice, that typically means limited and well-justified parts of the project might occur outside the U.S. if they are essential and meet NIH policy requirements, while the applicant organization itself must remain a qualifying U.S. small business and the overall project must comply with NIH rules for foreign components.
Which agency administers this grant?
The grant is administered by NIH/NCI.
How is this opportunity categorized?
It is described as a discretionary grant opportunity in the areas of education and health.
What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?
The summary associates this opportunity with CFDA numbers 93.172, 93.279, 93.286, and 93.394.
When was this opportunity created and when did it close?
The opportunity was created on April 21, 2023. The original closing date listed in the summary is August 21, 2023.
Is the award ceiling listed in the summary provided?
No. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided summary.
Is the expected number of awards listed in the summary provided?
No. The number of expected awards is not listed in the provided summary.
Where would an applicant normally look for budget limits, project period, and program priorities?
Because the summary does not list budget limits, project period details, or programmatic priorities, applicants would normally need to consult the full FOA text for those specifics.
What kind of applicant or team is this program best suited for?
This program is best understood as a bridge for early-career scientists who have an academically developed cancer-related technology and want to build a commercialization pathway through a small business, with NCI support aimed at both training the future entrepreneur and accelerating development of the product, while keeping the work outside the scope of clinical trials.
Browse more business programs for Business Consultants
Browse more opportunities from the same agency: National Institutes of Health
Browse more opportunities from the same category: Education, Health
Next opportunity: Limited Competition: Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Bioinformatics Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Previous opportunity: Developing Measures to Advance Access and Quality in Global Mental Health Services (R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
USGrants.org Applicant Portal:
Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.
Apply for RFA CA 23 035
[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?
Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (RFA CA 23 035) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Integrating Health Disparities into Immuno-Oncology (HDIO) (P20 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA CA 23 038 Funding Number: RFA CA 23 038 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| Translating Socioenvironmental Influences on Neurocognitive Development and Addiction Risk (TranSINDA) (R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA DA 24 019 Funding Number: RFA DA 24 019 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $450,000 |
| Patient Engagement Resource Centers to Inform SUD Treatment Services Research (R24 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA DA 24 016 Funding Number: RFA DA 24 016 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $350,000 |
| Advancing Psychedelics Research for Treating Addiction (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA DA 24 028 Funding Number: RFA DA 24 028 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $350,000 |
| Advancing Psychedelics Research for Treating Addiction (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required) Apply for RFA DA 24 024 Funding Number: RFA DA 24 024 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $700,000 |
| Advancing Psychedelics Research for Treating Addiction (R61/R33 Basic Experimental Study with Humans Required) Apply for RFA DA 24 029 Funding Number: RFA DA 24 029 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $700,000 |
| Emergency Medicine Research Career Development Program in the Neurological Sciences (EMRCDP-NS) (K12 - No Independent Clinical Trial Allowed) Apply for PAR 23 151 Funding Number: PAR 23 151 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NLM Grants for Scholarly Works in Biomedicine and Health (G13 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 23 183 Funding Number: PAR 23 183 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $75,000 |
| Field-Deployable, Low-Cost Point-of-Need Approaches and Technologies to Lower the Barriers to Substance Use Disorders (SUD) Diagnosis and Treatment (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA DA 24 018 Funding Number: RFA DA 24 018 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $295,924 |
| Field-Deployable, Low-Cost Point-of-Need Approaches and Technologies to Lower the Barriers to Substance Use Disorders (SUD) Diagnosis and Treatment (R41/R42 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA DA 24 017 Funding Number: RFA DA 24 017 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $295,924 |
| Accelerating Behavioral and Social Science through Ontology Development and Use: Research Network Projects (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 23 182 Funding Number: PAR 23 182 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Limited Competition: Cooperative Human Tissue Network (CHTN; UM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA CA 23 024 Funding Number: RFA CA 23 024 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $800,000 |
| Investigator-Initiated Research in Genomics and Health Equity (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA HG 23 017 Funding Number: RFA HG 23 017 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Leveraging Social Networks to Promote Widespread Individual Behavior Change (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA AG 24 025 Funding Number: RFA AG 24 025 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Leveraging Social Networks to Promote Widespread Individual Behavior Change (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA AG 24 026 Funding Number: RFA AG 24 026 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $225,000 |
| NIH Neuroscience Development for Advancing the Careers of a Diverse Research Workforce (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 23 178 Funding Number: PAR 23 178 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Substance Use/Substance Use Disorder Dissertation Research Award (R36 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 23 194 Funding Number: PAR 23 194 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| The Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network - Data Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA HL 24 011 Funding Number: RFA HL 24 011 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| The Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network - Core Clinical Centers (UG1 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA HL 24 010 Funding Number: RFA HL 24 010 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Advancing Cancer Control Equity Research through Transformative Solutions Coordination Center (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA CA 23 027 Funding Number: RFA CA 23 027 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
Grant application guides and resources
It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!
Apply for Grants
Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers
Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.
If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.
Subscribe to Leads
Request more information:
Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "RFA CA 23 035", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:
Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.